482 GAME BIRDS, WILD-FOWL AND SHORE BIRDS. 



Probably there were few Cranes inhabiting Massachusetts 

 when the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth, except along 

 the coast, on the islands and on the meadows and marshes 

 of the river valleys, for most of the State was then covered 

 with primeval forest; and while Cranes are sometimes found 

 in open woods, they are shy and wary birds, and prefer the 

 open country, where they can discern their enemies from afar. 



The statements of Wood and Morton probably refer to 

 both this species and the Sandhill Crane. Both would nat- 

 urally appear from the south in spring, but it is probable 

 that the Sandhill Crane was the one that remained in largest 

 numbers through the summer, for while the Whooping Crane 

 is known to have bred in this latitude in the western States, 

 it does not seem probable that it summered in any numbers 

 in a forested region like Massachusetts. 



The fact that, as Morton states, they sometimes ate the 

 corn proves that they were actually Cranes, not Herons, and 

 also helps to explain their early disappearance from Massa- 

 chusetts. They paid with the death penalty for eating the 

 corn. Also, as these birds occupied the only natural open 

 lands, — those that were first sought by settlers, — they were 

 driven out within a few years after settlement began. Even 

 had they not attacked the corn they must soon have succumbed, 

 because of their large size, their white color and their general 

 conspicuousness. In the early days the Indians used to steal 

 upon the Cranes and shoot them with arrows. Now the few 

 survivors of this species in the west will hardly come know- 

 ingly within a mile of the white man. 



Lawson says that Cranes are sometimes " bred up tame," 

 and are excellent in the garden to destroy frogs and other 

 vermin.^ 



This bird is long lived and grows wary as the years go by; 

 it now frequents prairies, marshes and barren grounds, over 

 which it stalks, always alert and watchful. It flies low, its 

 wings sometimes almost brushing the grass tops, but in migra- 

 tion it rises to such tremendous heights that it may pass over 

 a large region unnoticed by man. It feeds on frogs, fish, small 



» Lawson, John: History of Carolina, 1860, p. 239. 



