BIRDS OF INDIANA. 671 



hazy. At their breeding ground the first intimation of their presence is 

 their "loud trumpeting or croaking, which seems to shake the air for 

 miles" (Thompson). In the Wabash Valley old settlers recall the 

 earlier days, when the birds were abundant, and tell with pleasure of 

 the sight of them soaring grandly hundreds of yards above the earth. 



They have been reported in recent years to breed in the following 

 counties: Carroll (Sterling); Fulton (Dr. V. Gould); Lake (Ball); and 

 Starke (Deane, Gault); and as migrants from Knox (Chansler), and 

 Newton (Pfrimmer). 



Soon after arrival they begin mating. Their actions at that season 

 are admirably described by Colonel Goss. He says: "During court- 

 ship and the early -breeding season their actions and antics at times 

 are ludicrous in the extreme, bowing and leaping high in the air, hop- 

 ping, skipping, and circling about, with drooping wings, and croak- 

 ing whoop, an almost indescribable dance and din, in which the female 

 (an exception to the rule) joins, all working themselves into a fever of 

 excitement, only equaled by an Indian war dance, and, like the same, 

 it only stops when the last one is exhausted." 



Mr. B. T. Gault wrote me in 1892 that he was informed a pair or 

 two still nested each season at Beaver Lake, Starke County, their nest- 

 ing site being a marshy island in the lake. They were also said to per- 

 form their dances or "cotillions" in that region every spring. Mr. R. 

 W. Stafford saw two eggs taken from a nest at North Judson, Starke 

 County, May 5, 1890 (Deana). Mr. Joseph E. Gould, in a letter to 

 Mr. Ruthven Deane, tells of finding young cranes east of Runnymede, 

 in the same county, June 11, 1891. He says: "On emerging from the 

 opposite side of a hummock of small poplars, I saw two Cranes feeding 

 near a large oak that stood alone on a small elevation. Both birds flew, 

 one going out of sight, while the other circled around and alighted a 

 short distance off. I walked over to the tree and looked about in the 

 grass, hoping to find their nest, but could see no sign of it. I then 

 climbed up into the tree and sat perfectly still, and soon the old bird 

 began to call and walk toward me. When within about one hundred 

 yards of me she began to retrace her steps, and then I saw a little 

 downy Crane following her. I jumped out of the tree and ran over, 

 but the little fellow was too quick, and dodged me. I repeated the 

 operation three times, but without success. I should say the young 

 Crane was two or three weeks old. I was informed a farmer had cap- 

 tured a small Crane in that locality, which, I think, accounts for my 

 only seeing one. I feel certain from the number of birds I saw that 

 there are several pairs breeding on the north marsh." 



Dr. H. M. Smith, of Knox County, once had a pet Sandhill Crane, 



