BACKBONED ANIMALS. 



nests are built on open plains in the West, often six 

 thousand feet above the sea. Many winter in Cuba. The 

 whooping crane (G. Americana) attains a length of four 

 and a half feet, and is found in the interior from the Gulf 

 of Mexico to Minnesota. The demoiselle crane {Balearica) 

 is a beautiful species from southern Europe and Africa. 

 The head bears a curious, straw-colored brush. The 

 South American trumpeter (Cariama) is an interesting 

 form found on the elevated plateaus. Allied are the cry- 

 ing birds {Aramida\ rails, gallinules, coots, etc. 



The Gallinula gigantea in 1694 lived in the Mascarene 

 Islands, but is now extinct. It was a rail six feet in height. 

 Another allied form was the JVotornis, supposed to be ex- 

 tinct, and known up to 1850 only by its fossil bones; a 

 specimen was discovered alive in New Zealand in 1860. 

 It is now probably extinct. 



VALUE. All are valued as game, and the rich feathers of the gal- 

 linules for various ornamental purposes. 



AvocetS (Recurvirostridce] (Fig. 288, 2) are distin- 

 guished by their long legs and bills, the latter turning up- 

 ward. The American avocet {R. Americana) ranges the 

 entire area of North America. Their general length is 

 eighteen inches, the wings eight inches. The head and 

 neck are colored a reddish brown, the wing-coverts and 

 back black, the lower portion white. The nest is formed 

 of dry grasses and weeds in the high grass near the water, 

 and generally contains four eggs. 



Phalaropes (Pkalarepodida) have toes with narrow 

 lobes or expansions as we have seen in the grebes and 

 coots, enabling them to swim and walk over the sea-weed 

 far out to sea. Only three species are known, and all 

 found in America. 



In the Snipes (Scolopacidce) the bill is elongated and 

 soft-skinned. The sexes are generally alike. The Amer- 

 ica woodcock (Philohela minor] is found in eastern United 



