OOLOGIST'S EXCHANGE. 



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T. VERNON WILSON, Austin, III. 



Entered in the Post Office at Austin 111, as second-class matter 



CEANES AND COBMOEANTS. 



My title does not refer to the lordly 

 members of the "Grass" family, but to 

 the more humble, though still magnificent 

 species, the Grreat Blue Heron, as that is 

 the "Crane" in the vernacular of this lo- 

 cality. 



In my youthful days, when birds-nest- 

 ing was a new pursuit with me, it was the 

 height of my oological ambition to explore 

 a heronry, such as I read of with such 

 interest in the ornithologies that I had 

 access to; and several expeditions were 

 made into what seemed to our boyish 

 minds to be a "howling wilderness" in 

 search of a heronry, which tradition said, 

 had at some remote period of the past 

 been located in its depths; but never 

 were our efforts crowned with success. 



So when in later years, I found myself 

 stationed at one of our Minnesota lakes 

 within a short distance of a noted resort 

 of both the Heron and the Double-crested 

 Cormorant, my early enthusiasm returned 

 in full force; and with much interest I 

 watched for the spring home-coming of 

 these birds. 



The Cranes, as I shall still call them, 

 came very quietly dropping in, one by one, 

 as soon as the icy fetters that bound the 

 edges of the lake and slough were broken, 

 and were first seen stalking in sohtary 

 majesty, along the shore of some se- 

 cluded bay, or in the twilight, flapping 

 slowly overhead to some more remote 

 feeding ground, with their long legs 

 stretching out behind, the most prominent 

 feature of their outliue. 



To the villagers, weary with their long 

 winter and eager to receive once more the 

 throng of summer visitors, the announce- 

 ment, "The Cranes have come!" is a 

 welcome precursor of spring. 



A little later, their neighbors, the Cor- 

 morants, arrive in companies of five or ten, 

 flying noiselessly and rapidly along, near 

 the surface of the water, to their rendez- 

 vous, and with their broad wings and jet 

 black plumage, present a striking appear- 



ance as they pass by and quickly vanish 

 in the distance. 



As the two species do not generally 

 nest at the same time, a date about the 

 middle of May is set for our visit to their 

 home, in tne hope of finding some late 

 Crane's eggs and early Cormorants; and 

 the rising sun sees us embarking for a five 

 miles row, equipped with lunch-basket, 

 climbing irons, etc. The day is cool and 

 bright and our ride over the clear depths 

 of the lake a continuous delight. In due 

 time the isolated home of our feathered 

 friends comes into view, and is easily dis- 

 tinguished from the surrounding islands, 

 even at a distance, by the unusual luxu- 

 riance and deeper color of the foliage on 

 its trees. 



On landing we find it is not a swamp, 

 but a high and level island of about twelve 

 acres, and covered with a fine growth of 

 elms, maple and linden. The birds seem 

 to congregate in a group of large elms, 

 near the south side of the island, and as 

 shooting the birds, or otherwise molest- 

 ing them, is forbidden by common consent, 

 we find them very tame. As there are 

 many young Cranes in the nests it is 

 rather dangerous to venture under the 

 trees, but being forewarned, and having 

 donned our oldest clothes, we pass on. 



There is but little underbrush, and the 

 ground is carpeted with a coarse wiry 

 grass, and the soil, which is naturally 

 covered to a considerable depth with an 

 almost pure "guano", feels strangely elas- 

 tic under our feet, reminding one much 

 of a rubber mat. 



We also notice a large number of striped 

 snail (Helix Alternata) on the grass; the 

 only place at the lake where we have 

 found them. 



Several nests are built in the same tree, 

 the two species indiscriminately together; 

 but we soon notice that the Cormorant's 

 nests are smaller and more spherical, and 

 generally nearer the extremities of the 

 branches than the Crane's. 



A dizzy climb or two furnishes us with 

 what specimens we wish, the beautiful 

 smooth green egg of the Crane, and the 

 smaller and duller colored egg of the Cor- 

 morant, nearly covered with a thick, 

 chalky coating of white; and then we re- 

 pair to a more savory location at one end 

 of the island, where, by the ruins of the 

 old "claim shanty" we eat our lunch. 

 Then off for home, while the erect figures 

 of the Cranes, looking strangely out of 

 place as they perch on their lofty nests, 

 watch us safely away. 



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