534 



THE CRANE. 



single specimen may be seen there at very long and increasing intervals. In some countries 

 the i)opular name of the heron is the Crane, so that the occasional reports published here 

 respecting the Crane, \vhich sometimes find admission into newspapers, liave often reference, 

 not to that bird, but to the heron. 



The Crane is found in various parts of the continent of Europe, migrating from place to 

 place, and flying in large flocks at a great elevation in the air. They continue their aerial 

 journeys for great distances, and seldom descend but for the purpose of feeding. When they 

 alight, it is generally on marshy ground, the banks of rivers, or the coasts of the sea, where 

 they can find a bountiful supply of marine and aquatic animals ; and sometimes they are 

 attracted by a field of newly-sown corn, among which they make sad havoc, stocking up the 

 seed with their long bills, or eating tlie newly-sprouted blades. The food of the Crane is 



.1 



-'-'■} (i i ^kj'' 



<\i "'* 



i^ARTAM A — Di^holoyhus ciistatus. 



various, mostly consisting of worms, slugs, frogs, lizards, newts, and similar creatures ; but 

 tlie bird will often feed upon grain and the leaves of different plants. 



The voice of the Crane is loud, resonant, and trumjiet-like, and has a singular effect, when 

 heard from the great elevation at whicli the bird prefers to fly. Tlie peculiar resonance of the 

 note is caused by a remarkable structure of the windpipe, whicli is elongated, and instead of 

 running straight down the neck, passes into the breast-bone, lodges between the two plates of 

 bone which form the keel, and, after making some contortions which vary according to the age 

 of the bird, leaves the breast-bone and proceeds as usual to the lungs. 



The Crane makes its nest mostly on marshy ground, placing it among osiers, reeds, or the 

 heavy vegetation which generally flourishes in such localities. l?ometimes, however, it prefers 

 more elevated situations, and will make its nest on tlie summit of an old deserted ruin. The 

 eggs are two in number, and their color is light olive, covered with dashes of a deeper hue and 

 brown. The well-knowi plumes of the Crane are the elongated tertials, with their long droop- 

 ing loose webs, which, when on the wings of the bird, reach beyond the primaries. 



