172 GRALL.E. 



CRANE (Grus). 



The common crane (Grus cinerea), which is the only bird 

 of the genus that appears in Britain, even as a straggler, is in 

 many respects the reverse of the preceding species. The bill 

 is long, strong, and pointed, and the feet have the hind toe 

 articulated on the tarsus, the whole structure of the foot 

 having a considerable resemblance to those of the birds that 

 walk upon firm surfaces, and use the foot for scraping. 



For popular purposes in British ornithology, it is now of 

 little consequence to point out the relations of the crane to 

 other birds, or to localities, for it only appears as a strag- 

 gler ; though, from the old statutes for the protection of its 

 eggs, it appears to have been in former times well known as 

 a native bird breeding in the country. The crane is a bird 

 of the wastes that lie on the edges of marshes, or are subject 

 to seasonal overflowing by rivers ; and as in England those 

 places are now generally enclosed, or otherwise divided, and 

 under culture, the country affords no fit pasture for the crane. 

 The crane is not, however, a bird of solitude, for in those 

 southern and eastern countries which suit its habits, it is 

 said to build not only in inhabited places, but on the tops of 

 houses. 



IBIS (Ibis). 



The glossy ibis (Ibis falcinellus) is the only species of this 

 genus of ancient fame of which even a straggler comes occa- 

 sionally to Britain. It is a bird of long flight, and ranges 

 seasonally far and wide over the continent, even to the re- 

 motest north ; and thus a solitary straggler not unfrequently 

 drops upon our shores. 



The plumage of this bird is exceedingly rich, from the 



composed of slicks. K^s two or three in number, of a pvenish white. 

 " As for the stork, the iir-trees are her house :" Psa. civ. 17. M. 



