284 BIRDS 



Atlantic coasts of Europe and America. The nests are 

 lined with the soft down itlucked b}' the female from her 

 breast. This down, gathered from the nests, furnishes 

 the eider down of commerce. 



The Canada goose is the common wdld goose of America. 

 It migrates in the autumn to the South in Y-shaj^ed flocks, 

 and returns North the follr)wing spring. It breeds in the 

 northern United States and Canada. The nests, made of 

 grass and sticks and lined with down and feathers, are 

 usually placed on the ground. In most cases wild geese 

 remain around lakes or rivers. 



Cranes, rails, etc. — The cranes arc large birds with long 

 legs and h.ing necks. They frecjuent marshy places, ponds, 

 rivers, and suiall sti-eams. The whooping crane is white, 

 with some l)lack on eacli wing, and stands three to four feet 

 high. The s;iiidhill crane is common in the Mississippi 

 ^'alle3^ The rails are smaller Ijirds, with shorter necks and 

 legs, and hardly any tail. Their legs are strong, and they 

 depend on running, t(.) a large extent, for safety. The 

 Carolina crake is a small, slate-colored bird, much esteemed 

 for food. 



Snipe and woodcock. — These are both highly prized 

 game birds, with, perhaps, the woodcock higher in favor. 

 Both of them have long, straight bills, ^^^th which they 

 probe into the soft mud about the margins of pontls and 

 streams in .search of earthworms. The woodcock has a 

 relatively large l)0(h', with sJKjrt legs and tail, feeds mostly 

 at night or in the shell er of undergrowth and is conse- 

 quently difficult t(i kill. The sni]:>e ("Wilson's snipe) 

 usually feeds in more iii)en groiuid and \\lien it takes flight, 

 utters a, slu-ill cry. 



Birds of prey. — The birds (A prey include the eagles, 



