238 



AYES. 



1 of Uie Ai,'ai 



TliG best known species (P^. crcpllaus, Lin.), inhabits South America, and is called the Trumpeter, fi-om its 



faculty of producing- a low, deep sound, which at first seems to 

 proceed from the anus. It is the size of a larg^e Capon ; pluma;^e 

 black, with reflections of brilliant violet on the breast; and an 

 asliy mantle tinged with fuWous above, Tliis bird soon recoi,''- 

 nizrs persons, becomes attached to them like a Do,i^, and wlicii 

 doiiiesticatcd, it is said, may be left to take change of oUicr 

 poultry. It flies badly, but runs with jjreat swiftness, and nestles 

 on the g-round at the foot of a tree. Its flesh is considered ;2;ood 

 eating-. 



[The location of tliis very sinp;Ti!ar Fjiecies among; the Cranes, 

 is by no means satisfactory j but we do not know that it can be 

 placed to g;reater arlvantag-e elsewhere. Its port resembles that 

 of the Struthious birds (or Brevipenncfi) ; and the confl.^ira- 

 titm of tlie sternum (fiij. 117) is unique, not even approachino^ 

 that of any other group. The trachea is much elonf,'-ated, and 

 continued under tliL' skin of tlie abdomen, which occasions the 

 sound of its \'oicc to ai'ijicar fo come from that part. Upon the 

 whole, we conceive that it is as nearly allied to the Tinamous, 

 which inhabit the same re,:2;ion, as to any other known genus, and 

 ■would prefer to detach it in a more marked manner from that of 

 the Cranes. It has also some remote alliiiity with Palanwha. 



The TIkstrictkd Cranes {Griis, Beclistein) — 

 Have ample \vings, and considerably longer neck and legs. Tlieir figure is much more elegant and 

 graeeful ; ami tbey feed on corn, anrl upon rrjitih-s ; chielly frequenting humid districts in Ii jks that 

 are often iiiimenuis. They do not niu \\ilh s[)ei.-d ; but have singular habits of attitudinizing, \vitli 

 cxjiandLfl ■\\ings, and circling around each other ■with a light and iripping step. Their \oiee ii viry 

 loud and liari,h. Naturalists have further subdivided tliem, first into 



The Baleauicans {Balearica, Vigors), — 

 The occiput of which is adorned \vith a peculiar hushy crest, conijioscd of erect and crinipled harbless 

 stems of equal length ; tlie forehead is clad "with sliort and close feathers, of velvety appearance ; and 

 the throat is furnished with fleshy wattles. The sternum resembles that of a Heron; hut the fiircula 

 is not anchylosed to its ridge, as in the others, nor does the trachea undergo any convolution ; the 

 laryngeal muscles are altaelied to the first true ribs. These birds perch with facihtv, and are very 

 readily domesticated. 



Two species are known, from eastern and western Africa respectively ; the first with a pale ffrey neck, and much 

 larger fleshy wattles, {B. regidonim) ; the other, which is more commonly brought alive to Europe, having; a blackish 

 neck anil small wattles (B. pavoiiin). Botli ha\e aUo naked cheeks. 



The re^it have lengtliened tcrtiab-, and no crest; the furcula is stjldcrcd to the sternal keel, and the 

 latter is hollow ami inflated to receive the trachea, which undergoes a convolution wiihin it, as in 

 several Swans. Such are 



The Demoiselles {Jn/IiropoiiJcs-, Vigors),- — 

 Which have the head and neck quite feathered, and the tertials hanging over the tail to reach the 

 ground. They arc confined to Africa, like the last. 



The Paradise Demoiselle (G. paradisteus, Vieillot ; J /////. s/rin/ri/anus, Bennett). — A lari;:e species, entirely of a 

 delicate ashy-grey colour ; the pluniap;e of the head sluu-t and erectile, having very much the appearance of infla- 

 table skin. The Numidian Demoiselle (Jrr^cfl Wj-^^o, Lin.) is nni:h smaller, and characterized by a black neck, 

 ^utli t\Ao elegant whitish tufts on the sides of the head, formed by the prolongation of the ear-coverts. 



Finally, 



The True Cranes (Orus, Vigors) — 

 Have the beak as long as the head, or longer ; the head and part of the neck generally naked ; ami the 

 tertials commonly recurved. The species are ctmjparatively numerous, and nuich more widely 

 distributed. Halhts migratory. 



One is common iu Europe, and sometimes occurs, but as an exceeding^ly rare strago;Ier, in the British Isles the 

 European Crane (Jrdea grus, Lin. ; Grus dncrea, Bechst.) ]— Four feet and upwards in hei.i^ht, of an ash-colour 

 >vith a black throat ; the summit of the head red and naked. This bird has been celebrated from the earliei^t 

 aijes, on account of its regidar migrations, from north to south in the autumn, and back in the spriuic, which it 

 etfects in numerous and welbordered flocks. It feeds on grain, but prefers the worms and insects of marshy 



