534 GRUS CANADENSIS, SANDHILL CEANE. 



.souuding screams, suggested the presence of the humau inhabitants of 

 tile region, whose territory was now, for the first time, invaded by the 

 white man. The Cranes nest in these alpine meadows, and retreat to 

 the milder climate of the valleys of California on the approach of winter. 

 In Oregon they begin to move southward in October." 



Thousands of Sandhill Cranes repair each year to the Colorado Eiver 

 Valley, flock succeeding flock along the course of the gxeat stream, from 

 their arrival in September until their departure the following .spring. 

 Taller than the Wood Ibises or the largest Herons with which they are 

 associated, the stately birds stand in the foreground of the scenery of 

 the valley, the water now reflecting the shadow of their broad wings, 

 then the clear blue sky exhibiting in outline their commanding forms. 

 Such ponderous bodies, moving with slowly-beating wings, give a great 

 idea of momentum from mere weight — of force of motion without swift- 

 ness ; for they plod along heavily, seeming to need every inch of their 

 ample wings to sustain themselves. One would tbink they must soon 

 alight fatigued with such exertion, but the raucous cries continue, and 

 the birds fly on for miles along the tortuous stream, in Indian file, under 

 some trusty leader, who croaks his hoarse orders, implicitly obeyed. 

 Each bird keeps his place in the ranks; the advancing column now 

 rises higher over some suspected sijot, now falls along an open, sandy 

 1 each, swaying meanwhile to the right or left. As it passes on, the in- 

 dividual birds are blended in the hazy distance, till, just before lost to 

 view, the line becomes like an immense serpent gliding mysteriously 

 through the air. When about to alight, fearful lest the shadows of the 

 woods harbor unseen danger, the Cranes pass by the leafy intricacies 

 where the Ibises and other less suspicious birds feed, and choose a spot 

 for the advantage it may ofier of uninterrupted vision. By nature one 

 of the most wary and discreet of birds, his experience has taught the 

 Crane to value this gift and put it to the best use. His vigilance is 

 rarely relaxed, even when he is feeding where less thoughtful birds 

 would feel perfectly secure. After almost every bending of his long 

 neck to the ground, he rises erect again, and at full length glances 

 keenly on every side. He may resume his repast, but should so much 

 as a speck he cannot account for appear to view, he stands motion- 

 less, all attention. I^Tow let the least sound or movement betray an 

 unwelcome visitor — he bends his muscular thighs, sprea-ds his ample 

 wings, and springs heavily into the air, croaking dismally in warning to 

 all his kind within the far-reaching sound of his voice. 



The eggs of the Sandhill Crane are of the same general character as 

 those of G. americana, in texture of shell, its color, and markings, but, 

 to judge from limited comparisons, are usually more elongate, if not also 

 somewhat less capacious— 3.80 by 2.60; 3.90 by 2.60; 4.10 by 2.40 (long 

 and narrow); 3.65 by 2.10; the latter remarkably small, as well as 

 unusually narrow. Eggs are in the collection from Liverpool Bay, on 

 the Arctic coast; from Great Slave Lake; from Washington Territory; 

 Fort Crook, California; Lake Simpson, Utah; Iowa, Florida, and Cuba, 

 They cannot be positively distinguished, in any given instance, Irom 

 those of 6. americana. 



Family EALLID^ : Eails. 



Subfamily Eaxlin^: True Bails. 



Tbe Eails inhabit all temperate countries ; they are remarkably distiugnished by the 

 extreme narrowness or compression of the liody, T\hich enables them to thread a way 

 through the closest reeds and rushes of the marshes where they always live. Instead 



