122 BIRDS 



The Little Brown Crane {G. canadensis) is a very 

 close relative of the Sandhill, and is distinguished by its 

 smaller size and shorter tarsus. It breeds through Arctic 

 America and Siberia, migrating to the western United States 

 and Mexico for the winter. The inaccessibility of its habitat 

 explains its long confusion with the Sandhill, and also ac- 

 counts for its scarcity in captivity. 



The third and rarest of the American Grues is the beauti- 

 ful Whooping Crane {G. americana). It is pure white in 

 general color, but the primaries are black and the bare por- 

 tions of the head are reddish, bordered posteriorly by a patch 

 of blackish feathers. The secondaries are curved downward 

 and arch gracefully over the tail. No doubt the great 

 scarcity of this bird is due, in part, to reckless shooting, but 

 it seems probable that the invasion of settlers into its breed- 

 ing-grounds in the great middle territories of Canada, and 

 the increasing cultivation along its migration route through 

 the Mississippi Valley, are hastening the inevitable extermi- 

 nation of this finest of American birds. The numerical con- 

 dition of a species in the wild state generally bears an exact 

 ratio to the frequency with which it is met in confinement ; 

 it is probable that the number of Whoopers in captivity 

 could be counted on the fingers of one hand. It is unfortu- 

 nate that this splendid crane cannot be induced to follow 

 the example of the wood duck, which is willing to save itself 

 from extermination by breeding freely in captivity. 



The Manchurian Crane {G. japonensis) is one of the 

 most strikingly handsome of all the group. It is very un- 

 common in captivity. Its general color is white, as in the 

 Whooper, but in this case the arched and pointed secondaries 

 are black and the primaries white. A slaty-black band 

 extends down each side of the neck, the two joining on the 

 nape. The bird measures about fifty inches from tip to 

 tip when fully extended. It ranges from eastern Siberia to 



