478 GAME BIRDS, WILD-FOWL AND SHORE BIRDS. 



History. 



The Whooping Crane was named and described by Linne 

 in the eighteenth century.^ Previous to that time all three 

 American species were lumped together as Cranes. 



Many of the narratives of the early voyagers and settlers 

 tell of Cranes migrating and nesting along the Atlantic coast. 

 During the first century after the discovery of the country, 

 Cranes evidently were more or less numerous all along this 

 coast, from Florida to New England, but the word has been 

 used so frequently to denote the larger Herons that one might 

 be inclined to place little faith in the statements of sailors and 

 colonists were it not for two facts: (1) In those days Cranes 

 were well known and conspicuous birds in England and other 

 countries of which these voyagers were natives, or which they 

 had visited, and undoubtedly they were familiar with these 

 birds, and could distinguish them from Herons. (2) In the 

 lists of birds given by these early adventurers Herons, 

 "Hearnes" and "Hernshaws" or "Heronshaws," "Bitterns" 

 and "Egrets" or " Egrepes " are also referred to, showing 

 that they distinguished the Cranes from the Herons. The 

 common European Heron was a large species (resembling the 

 Great Blue Heron of America) which, at that time, was called 

 the Hernshaw, Hearneshaw or Heronshaw. It is often impos- 

 sible to determine which species of Crane was referred to in 

 these early narratives and lists of birds, as usually no descrip- 

 tion is given; but now and then we find a reference to a bird 

 that must have been the Whooping Crane. Since this bird is 

 now a bird of the interior, some of the evidence of its former 

 abundance on the Atlantic coast is here given. 



The first unmistakable reference to the Whooping Crane is 

 made by Capt. Arthur Barlowe in describing a voyage to 

 America with Capt. Philip Amadas in 1584. They reached 

 Wokokon (one of the islands enclosing Pamlico Sound) in 

 July, and there climbed a hill. He says, " having discharged 

 our harquebuz-shot, such a flocke of Cranes (the most part 

 white) arose under us, with such a cry redoubled by many 



1 Syst. Nat., 1758, ed. 10, Vol. I, p. 142. 



