62 DICTIONARY OF NAMES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 
CRAKE GALLINULE: The LAND-RAIL. (So called by writers 
from Pennant to Montagu.) 
Crake: The MISTLE-THRUSH. (Provincial.) 
CRANE [No. 453]. Derived from Dutch, Kraan; Old German, 
Kraen. The name occurs in Turner (1544), in Barlow (1655), 
and in Merrett (1667). Willughby and most of our eigh- 
teenth century authors call it the ‘Common Crane.” Now 
chiefly known as a straggler on migration in the Orkneys 
and Shetlands, etc., but very rarely occurring in England. 
According to Saunders the Crane used to breed until 1590 
in the fens of East Anglia, but there is no record of its 
having done so later. Willughby in, 1678 writes: “ They 
come often to us in England, and in the Fen-Countries in 
Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire there are great flocks of 
them, but whether or no they breed in England (as Aldro- 
vandus writes, he was told by a certain Englishman who 
said he had often seen their young ones) I cannot certainly 
determine, either of my own knowledge or from the relation 
of any credible person.” Turner (writing in 1544) says: 
“Cranes, moreover, breed in England in marshy places. 
I myself have very often seen their pipers (i.e. young) 
though some people born away from England urge that 
this is false.’ Aristotle credits the Crane with weather- 
wisdom, for he writes: “The Grues furthermore do many 
things with prudence, for they seek for their convenience 
distant places, and fly high that they may look out far, 
and if they have seen clouds or a storm, betake themselves 
to earth, and take rest upon the ground.” According to 
Inwards, if Cranes appear in autumn early, a severe winter 
is expected. Hesiod says that the voice of the Crane utter- 
ing its annual cry both bring the signal for ploughing and 
indicates rainy weather. Cicero (‘‘De Nat. Deor.,” 1, 49) 
states that Cranes in their long flights on migration assume 
the form of a triangle, the apex of which keeps off the wind 
from those birds in the flanks, making their course through 
the air easier, the leader being now and again replaced 
by one of the latter birds, which are said to be able to rest 
in their flight by placing their heads on the backs of those 
in front of them. Martial also alludes to the supposition 
that Cranes fly in a V shape (‘“‘Ep.,” xz, 75), and he 
says the ranks are disturbed and the letter broken if you 
destroy a single bird. 
Crane. The COMMON HERON is often popularly so mis- 
named. The numerous place-names derived from Crane 
refer obviously in most cases to the Heron, e.g. Cranbrook 
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