174 



HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



The cold Arctic region seems to be this 

 bird's favourite abode. They come down in 

 the more southern parts of Europe, rather as 

 visitants than inhabitants : yet it is not well 

 known in what manner they portion out their 

 time, to the different parts of the world. The 

 migrations of the fieldfare or thrush, are ob- 

 vious and well known ; they go northward or 

 southward, in one simple track ; when their 

 food fails them here, they have but one region 

 to go to. But it is otherwise with the crane ; 

 he changes place, like a wanderer : he spends 

 the autumn in Europe; he then flies off, pro- 

 bably to some more southern climate, to en- 

 joy a part of the winter ; returns to Europe 

 in the spring ; crosses up to the north in sum- 

 mer ; visits those lakes that are never dry ; 

 and then comes down again, to make depre- 

 dations upon our cultivated grounds, in au- 

 tumn. Thus, Gesner assures us, that the 

 cranes usually begin to quit Germany, from 

 about the eleventh of September to the seven- 

 teenth of October ; from thence they are seen 

 flying southward by thousands ; and Redi 

 tells us, they arrive in Tuscany a short time 

 after. There they tear up the fields, newly 

 sown, for the grain just committed to the 

 ground, and do great mischief. It is to be 

 supposed, that, in the severity of winter, they 

 go southward, still nearer the line. They 

 again appear in the fields of Pisa, regularly 

 about the twentieth of February, to anticipate 

 the spring. 



In these journeys, it is amazing to conceive 

 the heights to which they ascend when they 

 fly. Their note is the loudest of all other 

 birds ; and that is often heard in the clouds, 

 when the bird itself is entirely unseen. As it 

 is light for its size, and spreads a large ex- 

 panse of wing, it is capable of floating at the 

 greatest height, where the air is lightest ; and 

 as it secures its safety, and is entirely out of 

 the reach of man, it flies in tracts which 

 would be too fatiguing for any other birds to 

 move forward in. 



In these aerial journeys, though unseen 

 themselves, they have the distinctest vision of 

 every object below. They govern and direct 

 their flight by their cries; and exhort each 

 other to proceed or to descend, when a fit op- 

 portunity offers for depredation. Their voice, 

 as was observed, is the loudest of all the fea- 

 thered tribe ; and its peculiar clangour arises 

 from the very extraordinary length and con- 

 tortion of the windpipe. In quadrupeds, the 

 windpipe is short, and the glottis, or cartilages 

 that form the voice, are at that end of it which 

 is next the mouth ; in water-fowl, the wind- 

 pipe is longer, but the cartilages that form the 

 vv.ice are at the other end, which lies down in 

 their belly. By this means they have much 

 louder voices, in proportion to their size, than 



any other animal whatever ; for the note when 

 formed below, is reverberated through all the 

 rings of the windpipe, till it reaches the air. 

 But the voice of the duck or the goose, is no- 

 thing to be compared to that of the crane, 

 whose windpipe is not only made in the same 

 manner with theirs, but is above twenty times 

 as long. Nature seems to have bestowed 

 much pains in lengthening out this organ. 

 From the outside, it enters through the flesh 

 into the breast-bone, which hath a great ca- 

 vity within to receive it. There being thrice 

 reflected, it goes out again at the same hole, 

 and so turns down to the lungs, and thus en- 

 ters the body a second time. The loud clan- 

 gorous sound which the bird is thus enabled 

 to produce, is, when near, almost deafening : 

 however, it is particularly serviceable to the 

 animal itself, either during its migrations, or 

 its stay ; by it the flock is encouraged in their 

 journeys ; and if, while they are feeding, 

 which is usually performed in profound silence, 

 they are invaded on any side, the bird that 

 first perceives the danger is sure to sound the 

 alarm, and all are speedily upon the wing. 



As they rise but heavily, they are very shy 

 birds, and seldom let the fowler approach 

 them. Their depredations are usually made 

 in the darkest nights ; at which time thev 

 enter a field of corn, and trample it down, as if 

 it had been crossed over by a regiment of sol- 

 diers. On other occasions, they choose some 

 extensive solitary marsh, where they range 

 themselves all day, as if they were in delibe- 

 ration ; and not having that grain which is 

 most to their appetites, wade the marshes fot 

 insects and other food, which they can procure 

 with less danger. 



Corn is their favourite food ; but there is 

 scarcely any other that comes amiss to them. 

 Redi, who opened several, found the stomach 

 of one full of the herb called dandelion; that 

 of another was filkd with beans ; a third had 

 a great quantity of clover in its stomach: 

 while that of two others was filled with earth- 

 worms and beetles ; in some he found lizards 

 and sea-fish; in others, snails, grass, and peb- 

 bles, swallowed perhaps for medicinal pur- 

 poses. It seems, therefore, that these birds 

 are easily supplied ; and that they are noxious 

 to corn-fields but on some particular occasions. 



In general it is a peaceful bird, both in its 

 own society, and with respect to those of the 

 forest. Though so large in appearance, a little 

 falcon pursues, and often disables it. The 

 method is, with those who are fond of hawk- 

 ing, to fly several hawks together against it ; 

 which the crane endeavours to avoid, by fly- 

 ing up perpendicularly, till the air becomes too 

 thin to support it any higher. The hawk, 

 however, still bears it company ; and though 

 less fitted for floating in so thin a medium, 



