189 



Sub-Order GRUES. 



Family GKUID^. 

 CRANE. Grus communis (Bechstein). 



Coloured Figures. Gould, ' Birds of Great Britain,' vol. iv, pi. 

 19 ; Dresser, Birds of Europe,' vol. vii, p. 505 ; Lilford, 

 ' Coloured Figures,' vol. iv, pi. 64. 



In days gone by the Crane 1 was a fairly common species 

 in parts of the British Isles. At the present time it is a 

 scarce and an irregular visitor to England. Among recent 

 records of its occurrence may be mentioned : One from 

 Flamborough, February, 1892 ; and one near Lowestoft, 

 June, 1893 (Harting, ' Handbook Brit. Birds,' 1901, p. 157). 



In Scotland this species is very rare. 



In Ireland there have been only nine or ten occurrences 

 within the last hundred years. Of these the most recent 

 records are : An adult male shot near Thurles, co. Tipperary, 

 about September 3rd, 1896 (W. Johnston, ' Irish Naturalist,' 

 1898, p. 51), and another male shot on Inch Slobs, Lough 

 Swilly, co. Donegal, on June 23rd, 1896 (D. C. Campbell, 

 'Irish Naturalist,' 1896, p. 214). 



The remaining counties from which birds have been 

 recorded are : Kerry, Cork, Gal way, Mayo, Down. In 

 Kerry and Cork several Cranes were met with in October 

 and November, 1851 (Proc. Dub. Nat. Hist. Soc., December, 

 1851). 



With reference to the Crane as a British bird in the 

 past, Mr. Harting states that "In the time of King John 



1 The term 'Crane' is still used, especially among country-folk, to 

 denote the Common Heron. Many of the older writers, when speaking 

 of the abundance of the Crane in Britain, may have meant the Common 

 Heron. 



