626 AVES— CRANE. 



These, which bear a resemblance to hair, and are finely curled at the ends, 

 the bird has a power of erecting and depressing at pleasure. Gesner says, 

 that these feathers, in his time, used to be set in gold, and worn as orna- 

 ments in caps. 



The crane is a very social bird, and they are seldom seen alone. Their 

 usual mode of flying or sitting is in flocks of fifty or sixty together ; and 

 while a part feed, the rest stand like sentinels upon duty. It for the most 

 part subsists upon vegetables, and is known in every country of Europe, 

 except England. As they are birds of passage, they are seen to depart and 

 return regularly at those seasons when their provision invites or repels them. 

 They generally leave Europe about the latter end of autumn, and return in 

 the beginning of summer. In the inland parts of the continent, they are 

 seen crossing the country, in flocks of fifty or a hundred, making from the 

 northern regions towards the south. In these migrations, however, they are 

 not so resolutely bent upon going forward, but that, if a field of corn offers in 

 their way, they will stop a while to regale upon it; on such occasions they 

 do incredible damage, chiefly in the night ; and the husbandman, who lies 

 down in joyful expectation, rises in the morning to see his fields laid entirely 

 Avaste, by an enemy whose march is too swift for his vengeance to overtake. 



The cold arctic region seems to be this bird's favorite abode. They come 

 down into the more southern parts of Europe, rather as visitants than 

 inhabitants. 



In their journeys, it is amazing to conceive the heights to which they 

 ascend when they fly. Their note is the loudest of all birds ; and is often 

 heard in the clouds, when the bird itself is entirely unseen. As it is light 

 for its size, and spreads a large expanse of wing, it is capable of floating, at 

 the greatest heights, where the air is lightest ; and as it secures its safety, 

 and is entirely out of the reach of man, it flies in tracks which would be too 

 fatiguing for any other birds to move forward in. 



In these aerial journeys, though unseen themselves, they have the distinct- 

 est vision of every object below. They govern and direct their flight by 

 their cries; and exhort each other to proceed or descend, when a fit opportu- 

 nity offers for depredation. As they rise but heavily, they are very shy 

 birds, and seldom let the fowler approach them. Corn is their favorite food; 

 but there is scarcely any other that comes amiss to them. Redi, who opened 

 several, found the stomach of one full of the herb called dandelion ; that of 

 another was filled with beans ; a third had a great quantity of clover in its 

 stomach ; while those of two others were filled with eartli-worms and bee- 

 tles ; in some he found lizards and sea-fish ; in others, snails, grass, and 

 pebbles, swallowed perhaps for medicinal purposes. 



In general, it is a peaceful bird, both in its own society, and with respect 

 to those of the forest. It is an animal easily tamed. 



