^^Pt^ "! 



r 



412 



AI-KCTORIDES. 



im 



at the timo ii youn^,' liird ut'iuly ifiuly f<> In- liafrlit'il out. Mr. Kuiiilit'ii wnitc nu' 

 ill UctoliiT, IH.')] : "'riiis ('nine, ciillcil Iktc tlic Siiiidliill Criiiic, i.s lar^'cr than the 

 ({rus rhirriii of IOiiro|ir. tail rcst'iiililfs tliat liird vimv much. It is ([uiti' coniinuii ht'rc, 

 hut is till' only Cirus we have. It has both thi' cohu- ami the notes of the Kuropcaii 

 riiicrcii. It is vcu'y.shy. Tin' iit'oidt- here — tliat is. tlic Auu-ricaus — (;onsi(hM' it good 

 to efit. It lu'sts in tlic marslics hitf in Mandi and early in .Vpril." 



Another etjg (No. (m,'!), hiid in eonfinement in a private ),'arden at Niat,'ani Kails, 

 in 18."»1', has a lij;ht ,t,'ray f,'round. The niarkiuga areof sepia, few, faint, and seattereil. 

 except about the larg"!' end. wheie tiu'y form aeouHuent pate h. A few blotches an 

 of a faint innpli.sh tint. This e},'^' measures ,'>.K0 liy 1'. JO incdu's. 



A third fi'om rid)a — sent me by Dr. (Jumlhudi — was found by him anu)ng the 

 mountain nmrshesof that island. It closely resembles Xo. Gij.'{. exce}it that the spots 

 are all (piite small and rounded in shai)e, and iiowhero confluent. This egg mea.surcs 

 3.72 by :.'.;«> iutdies. 



The smaller northern form {(>'riix rinindnials) Iv.ih a history so blended •with that dl 

 the more common and larger raees of the south, that it is now somewhat ditlicult tn 

 separate that which pertains es])ecially to each .six-eh's. This bird was tir.st described 

 by Mr. Oassin from a single young .specimen that had been obtained in October, bS.").'!. 

 near 7\lbu(pierque by Dr. II. li. Mollhaiiseu. It was next mentioned by Mr. !>. 11. 

 Ross, on the authority of Captain Wakiston, as an inhabitant in the siunmer of tlic 

 west side of the Rocky .Mountains. 



Mr. Dresser was confident that he had noticed this species several times near Sau 

 Antonio and onco near the Rio Nueces, and he regarded it as a species of not uncom- 

 mon occurrence in Southern Texas. He also claims to have secured a single exam])lc 

 whifdi had been shot near San Antonio, and preserved for him by Dr. Heernuinu. It 

 was the only specimen that could be i)rocurcd, as the birds were very wary ami 

 difficult of approach. 



Both Mr. I»annister and aMr. Dall met with and refer to individuals belonging to 

 this .species which, at the time, they supposed to btdong to the cdnddi'iniis. ]\lr. 

 Bannister found it comnnm in the marshes of the Island of St. Michael's and the 

 neighboring inainland ; and ^Ir. Dall, always sui)i)osing it to be the canndi'iisis. 

 states that it is a ccminion bird at St. ilichael'.s, as well as at the numth of the Yukon 

 River, but that it is rare in the interior, an not often seen at Xulato. It is called 

 by the Indians "Teltintla;" and by them the young of this species is often domes- 

 ticated, &B these birds become very tame, and eat uj) the vermin and insects, as well 

 as scraps of food about their camps. Mr. Dall adds that the young are downy until 

 their first moult, when the red appears very nuudi as it does in the young Turkey. 

 Mr. Dall obtained the eggs of this species June 17th on the Yukon River. They had 

 been laid in a small depression in the sandy beach, without any attempt at a nest. 

 The flesh when well cooked is eatable, but to 3Ir. Dall's taste is rather strong. The 

 fibula of this bird is among the Indians and trappers a favorite substitute for a pijie- 

 stem. 



Mr. E. Adams ("Ibis." 1878) mentions the arrival of this Crane on the shores of 

 Norton Sound, Alaska, Avith the earliest of the Geese in the beginning of May ; and 

 by the middle of the month the whole of the marshes were alive with these birds, and 

 their noisy croakings were to be heard in every direction, especially about the exten- 

 sive marshes on both sides of the river. Their nests were placed about the dry knolls 

 in the marshes, and they had eggs before the end of May. 



Captain Blakiston states that this species arrives on the Saskatchewan Plains in 

 large numbers in April from the south, and in the beginning of May he met with its 



