ARAMUS. 135 



50.00-54.00, extent 92.00, wing 22.00-25.00, culmen 5.35-5.80, depth of 

 bill at base 1.40, tarsus 11.00-12.00, middle toe 4.25. Eggs 4.04 X 2.50. 

 Hob. Interior of North America north to the Saskatchewan, south to 

 Florida and central Mexico. 



204. G. americana (LINN.). Whooping Crane. 



a 2 . Tarsus 10.00, or less ; bill more slender, its depth through base less than one- 

 fourth the length of the culmen ; distance from posterior end of nostril to 

 base of upper mandible less than one-half the distance from anterior end of 

 nostril to tip of upper mandible. Adult deep slate-gray or brownish, the 

 cheeks normally feathered. 



Adult: Entire plumage slate-gray, varying from a bluish or plumbeoue 

 shade to brownish, sometimes tinged or even extensively washed with 

 rusty, the primaries darker, the cheeks and throat paler, sometimes 

 almost white. Young : Entirely brown, more or less washed, especially 

 on upper parts, with tawny cinnamon or rusty ; head entirely feathered. 

 6'. Larger: Length 40.00-48.00, wing 21.00-22.50 (21.83), culmen 5.15- 

 6.00 (5.47), depth of bill at base .95-1.10 (1.01), tarsus 9.90-10.65 

 (10.25), middle toe 3.40-3.60 (3.50), bare part of tarsus 4.60-5.00 

 (4.78). Eggs 3.98 X 2.44. Hab. United States, chiefly from Mis- 

 sissippi Yalley west to Pacific coast, south into Mexico, and east- 

 ward along Gulf coast to Florida and Georgia. 



206. G. mexicana (MULL.). Sandhill Crane. 



b\ Smaller : Length about 35.00, wing 17.50-20.00 (18.70), culmen 3.04- 

 4.20 (3.61), depth of bill at base .70-.80 (.77), tarsus 6.70-8.44 (7.57), 

 middle toe 2.60-3.36 (2.91), bare portion of tibia 2.90-3.50 (3.13). 

 Eggs 3.66 X 2.28. Hob. Northern North America, from Hudson's 

 Bay to Alaska, migrating south through western United States, east 

 of Eocky Mountains, to Mexico. 



205. G. canadensis (LINN.). Little Brown Crane. 



FAMILY ARAMID^E. THE COURLANS. (Page 134.) 



* 

 Genera. 



(Characters same as those of the Family) Aramus. (Page 135.) 



GENUS ARAMUS VIEILLOT. (Page 135, pi. XXXYIII., fig. 2.) 



Species. 



COMMON CHARACTERS. Prevailing color dark brown (the quills and tail- 

 feathers glossed with purplish), the head and neck (sometimes back and lower 

 parts also) striped with white. Nest on bushes or clumps of rank grasses or reeds 

 along side of marsh or stream. 



a 1 . White stripes extending over back, wing-coverts, and lower parts. Young simi- 

 lar to adult, but white stripes much narrower and less sharply defined, and 



