CHAPTER XXXIV. 



ALECTORIDES. 



Swamp Birds. (Paludicolae of some Systematists.) 

 Praecocial Birds. 



This order is otherwise called the Paludicolas — from 

 palus, swamp ; and colere, to inhabit. It includes cranes, 

 rails, gallinules, and coots. The birds of the order fall 

 into two types, the crane type and the rail type. The 

 first resemble the herons more than they do the birds 

 of their own order; and the second, while they are very 

 unlike the cranes in body contour, show by their structure 

 that they are closely related to them. 



The cranes are all large birds with extremely long 

 legs and necks, and short tails. The head is partly 

 naked. The bill equals or exceeds the head in length, is 

 straight, slender, wedge-shaped, and strong, and is 

 contracted opposite the nostrils. The nostrils are near 

 the middle of the bill and are broadly open. The tibiae 

 are naked for an unusual distance, and the toes are short 

 in comparison with the size of the bird and its legs. 



Cranes are found everywhere except in Polynesia 

 and South America. North America has two of the few 

 species, Australia has one, Africa has four, and Asia the 

 others. They are gregarious, gathering in large flocks. 

 The cranes living in the northern hemisphere migrate 

 northward at the breeding season. The young of the 

 cranes are praecocial. The nests are rude affairs, raised 



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