]?4 NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Description Delicacy of its flesh. 



-- 1 i 



thick for the purpose, the claws being useless, as 

 they are feeble, and webbed* 



This bird is the most remarkable of all the 

 crane kind, being not only the tallest, but the 

 most bulky and handsome. The body, which is 

 of a beautiful scarlet, is not bigger than that of a 

 swan ; but its legs and neck are of such an ex*- 

 traordinary length, that when it stands erect, it 

 is upwards of six feet high. Its wings, extended, 

 are five feet six inches from tip to tip, and it is 

 four feet eight inches from beak to tail. The 

 head is round and small, with a large bill, seven 

 inches long; partly red, partly 'black, and crooked 

 like a bow. The legs and thighs, which are not 

 much thicker than a man's finger, are about two 

 feet eight inches high ; and its rieek near three 

 feet long. The feet (as before observed) are not 

 furnished with sharp claws, as in others of the 

 crane kind, but feeble, and united by membranes, 

 as in those of the goose. Of what use these 

 membranes are does not appear, as the bird is 

 never seen swimming, its legs and thighs being 

 of sufficient length for wading into those depths 

 where it seeks for prey. 



This bird was formerly found in great plenty 

 on all the coasts of Europe, but it is now seen 

 only in the retired parts of America. Its beauty, 

 size, and the peculiar delicacy of its flesh, have 

 been such temptations to take or destroy it, that 

 it has long since deserted the shores frequented 

 by man, and taken refuge in countries that are 



