240 AVES : PALUDICOL^E. XXXVII. 



FAMILY CXLI. GRUID^E. (THE CRANES.) 



Very large birds, with the legs and neck extremely long, the 

 latter of 1 7 vertebras. Wings large, rather short. Tail short, of 

 1 2 broad feathers. Head more or less naked, with scattered hair- 

 like feathers. Plumage compact, without downy tracts. Bill as 

 long or longer than head, straight and slender ; tibia extensively 

 naked ; tarsus scutellate ; toes rather short ; hind toe highly ele- 

 vated ; nasal bones schizorhinal. Genera 3 ; species 15 ; of various 

 parts of the world, resembling herons in external form, but similar 

 to the rails in general structure. 



376. GRITS Linnaeus. (Lat., crane.) 



739. G. americana (L.). WHOOPING CRANE. WHITE CRANE. 

 Adult pure white with black on wings ; bare part of head very 

 hairy ; young rusty, the head feathered. L. 50. W. 24. T. 9. 

 Ts. 12. B. 6. N. Am.; rare E., a wild bird, avoiding civiliza- 

 tion. " The windpipe is quite as long as the bird itself, 50 inches 

 or more, and over 2 feet of it coiled away in the keel of the breast- 

 bone, which is entirely hollowed out to receive these extraordi- 

 nary convolutions ; the voice is singularly raucous and resonant." 

 (Cowes.) 



740. G. mexicana (M tiller). SAND-HILL CRANE. BROWN 

 CRANE. Slaty gray or brownish, never white; head sparsely 

 hairy. L. 46. W. 22. B. 5J. T. 9. Ts. 10. U. S., chiefly S. 

 and W. 



FAMILY CXLII. RALLIDu3E3. (THE RAILS.) 



Birds of medium or small size, with compressed bodies and large 

 muscular legs. Wings short, rounded, concave ; tail very short, 

 of 10 or 12 soft feathers. Hind toe rather short, a little elevated; 

 front toes very long. Bill various, rather short, not sensitive at 

 tip. Plumage blended, changing little with age, sex, or season. 

 Species about 150, of most parts of the world, skulking in swamps 

 and marshes, gathering their food chiefly from the surface. 



a. Forehead feathered ; no frontal shield. (Rallince.) 

 b. Bill slender, decurved, longer than head, with narrow nasal groove, and 



linear nostril RALLUS, 377. 



bb. Bill stout, straight, not longer than head, with broad nasal groove and 



oblong nostril PORZANA, 378. 



act. Forehead covered with a broad, bare, horny shield. 

 c. Toes scarcely or not lobate. (Gallinulince.) 



d. Nostrils small, oval IONORNIS, 379. 



dd. Nostrils slit-like. GALLINULA, 380. 



cc. Toes lobate, edged with broad flaps. (Fulicince.) . . FULICA, 381. 



