178 



A LECTORI DBS. 



GRU1D.E. 



GRUS COMMUNIS, Bechstein.* 



THE COMMON CKANE. 



Orus cinerea. 



GRUS, Bechstein If. Beak longer than the head, straight, strong, compressed, 

 and pointed. Nostrils placed longitudinally in a furrow, large, pervious, closed 

 posteriorly by a membrane. Legs long, strong, naked above the joint ; three 

 toes in front ; middle toe united to the outer toe by a membrane ; hind toe 

 articulated high up on the tarsus. Wings moderate, rounded in form ; the 

 first quill-feather shorter than the second ; the third the longest in the wing. 

 * Vog. Deutschl. iii. p. 60 (1793). t loc cit. 



