FAM. GRUID&A 
BY L. BRASIL 


OHE Griid@ or Cranes are large wading-birds. They form in the Order Gruwes, 
Nein Gruiformes, or Alectorides a well-characterised Family. 
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Characters. The neck is long, The bill is straight, rather compressed, 
moderate in length, with nasal furrows, which reach beyond the middle of the 
upper mandible; the nostrils are elongated or oval, closed posteriorly by a large membran; 
the lower mandible is provided on each side with a lateral groove. The legs are very long. 
The tibiz are partly bare. The metatarsi are slender, scutellated in front, reticulated behind. 
The toes are four in number; they are rather short, strong, and furnished with sharp hooked 
claws; the hallux is Small, much elevated, The wings are ample and powertul; the inner secon- 
daries exceed the primaries and are generally composed of drooping feathers with dissociated 
webs; sometimes the innermost are enormously lengthened. The tail is short; there are twelve 
rectrices, Feathers have an aftershaift. 
Powder-down patches are absent. The oilgland is tutted. 
The ambiens, semi-tendinosus, and accessory muscles are always present. The trachea is 
always convoluted, more or less, with the exception of Balearica, The gallbladder is present. 
The ceca are variable in length, {rom 7 to 20 cm, The skull is schizognathous, without basip- 
terygoid processes and has occipital foramina, The impressions for the supra-occipital glands 
are slight and hard to see from above. The sternum ts generally perforated in front when the 
trachea is convoluted, 
Habits and Reproduction. Cranes, for the most part, are mainly vegetable-feeders, but 
they eat greedily mollusks and earthworms, and they pick up also any small mammal, reptile, 
amphibian or fish that comes in their way. They prefer usually to stay near water, in the 
neighbourood of marshes or lagoons, also they are found on large open plains, sandy flats or 
on the sea-shore, Their voice is generally a sonorous trumpet-like note. Cranes are gregarious 
birds and form usually very large flocks, which in winter, for the northern species, migrate 
southwards, In the breeding season flocks break up into pairs, Nuptial ceremonies consisting 
mainly of special dances are sometimes found, Cranes are said to pair for life; they return 
