194 



THE WHOOPING CRANE. 



times it would look upwards, cry aloud as if calling to some acquaintance 

 passing high in the air, and again use its ordinary note whenever its compa- 

 nion the Snow Goose sent forth her own signals. It seldom swallowed its 

 food without first carrying it to the water, and dipping it several times, and 

 now and then it would walk many yards for that express purpose. Although 

 the winter was severe, the thermometer some mornings standing as low as 

 10°, the bird fattened and looked extremely well. So strong was the natu- 

 ral suspicion of this bird, that I frequently saw it approach some cabbage 

 leaves with measured steps, look at each sideways before it would touch one 

 of them, and after all, if it by accident tossed the leaf into the air when at- 

 tempting to break it to pieces, it would run off as if some dreaded enemy 

 were at hand. 



The trachea of this bird confirms my opinion that the Canada Crane and 

 the Whooping Crane are- merely the same species in different states of 

 plumage, or in other words, at different ages; and, in truth, the differences 

 are not greater than those exhibited by many other birds, both aquatic and 

 terrestrial. In illustration of this subject I might adduce Ibises, Herons, 

 Divers, and Grebes; but this is quite unnecessary. 



In reading the accounts given of the Canada Crane of authors, I find no 

 description of its manner of breeding. In the Fauna Boreali-Americana of 

 Mr. Sw t ainson and Dr. Richardson, the eggs of both are described, and in 

 Nuttall's Manual those of the Whooping Crane also; but in these works 

 the account given of the birds and of their eggs is such, that one might even, 

 from comparing the descriptions, suppose them to be of the same species. I 

 have never had the satisfaction of finding any of the breeding-places of the 

 Whooping Crane; but I well know that many birds breed long before they 

 have attained their full plumage. The supposed new species of Heron de- 

 scribed under the name of Ardea Pealii, by my excellent friend Prince 

 Charles Bonaparte, breeds as the White-headed Eagle sometimes does, 

 the immature bird in a snow-white dress, the adult in purple and greyish- 

 blue plumage. The young of Jlrdea ccendea were for some time consider- 

 ed to form a distinct species, they being white also, then blue and white, and 

 finally dark blue. But the most remarkable instance of change of plumage 

 in the Waders is exhibited in the Scarlet Ibis. My humble opinion is, that 

 unless in cases where birds are at first of one colour, and that colour remains 

 ever after, little dependence can be placed on the tints of the plumage as a 

 specific character. 



On looking over my notes, I find that I have omitted to inform you that 

 the extraordinary strength of the thighs, legs, and feet of the Whooping 

 Crane, tends greatly to make it more terrestrial than the Herons; and that 

 the great size of their nostrils, which so much resemble those of the Vul- 



