148 AVES. 



FAMILY III. 



CULTRIROSTRES. 



THIS family is recognised by the tliick, long, and strong beak, which is 

 most generally trenchant and pointed, and is almost 

 wholly composed of the birds comprised in the genus 

 ARDEA of Linnaeus. In a great number of species, the 

 trachea of the male forms various curves. 



We subdivide it into three tribes ; the Cranes, the 

 True Herons, and the Storks. The first tribe forms but 

 one great genus. 



GRUS, Linnaeus. 



The Cranes have a straight beak, but slightly cleft ; the membranous fossic 

 of the nostrils, which are large and concave, occupy nearly one half of its 

 length. Their legs are scutellated, and the toes moderate ; the external ones 

 but slightly palmate, and the thumb hardly reaching to the ground. A more 

 or less considerable portion of the head and neck is destitute of feathers in 

 nearly all of them. 



We first find PSOPHIA, Lin., or the Trumpeters, which have a shorter beak 

 than the other species ; the head and neck are merely invested with down, and 

 the circumference of the eye is naked. They live in the woods, and feed on 

 grain and fruit. 



The species best known is from South America, and is called the Trum- 

 peter, from its faculty of producing a low, deep sound. It is a very grate- 

 ful bird, and as susceptible of attachment to man as a dog. It is even said 

 to be so docile as to take the command of the poultry-yard. It flies badly, but 

 runs fast, and builds on the ground at the foot of a tree. Its flesh is eaten. 



Certain Cranes foreign to Europe, with a shorter beak than is found in 

 those that belong to it, should come next Such is the Crowned Crane from 

 Africa. 



The Common Cranes have a beak as long as the head, or longer : to which 

 belongs the common species celebrated for its migrations. 



Between the Cranes and Herons we must place 



Ard. helias, Lin. (The Sun-Bird.) It is about the size of a partridge ; 

 and its long slender neck, broad and open tail, and rather short legs, give it a 

 very different appearance from that of any other wader. Its plumage, shaded 

 in bands and lines with brown, fawn-colour, red, grey, and black, recals to 

 our minds the colouring of the most beautiful of the nocturnal Lepidoptera. 

 It is found on the banks of the rivers in Guiana. 



The second tribe is more carnivorous, and is known by its stronger beak and 

 larger toes : we may place at its head, 



