332 
THE CRANE DESCRIBED. 
or animals are admitted in the household ; for order and regularity he 
has a perfect passion ; he allows in the courtyard no dispute ; watches 
the cattle as well as the best-trained dog can do it ; punishes those 
who molest him, by uttering piercing cries and striking with his beak ; 
shows, on the contrary, his gratitude and kindly sentiments by courte- 
ous inclinations of the body and lively dances; is very partial to 
persons who treat him well, and seeks their society; but of any ill turn 
he preserves the remembrance for months and years ; — in a word, he 
has a man's heart and mind under the plumage of a bird." 
The reader's breath will almost be taken away by this impassioned 
eulogium, compared with which the warmest panegyrics of our English 
naturalists must seem frigid enough. But let us turn to Toussenel, 
who writes of birds with scientific accuracy and poetic fervour. The 
crane inspires him as it inspires Brehm. 
The European crane, he says, stands three to four feet high. He is 
a bird of noble presence, with black tarsi and beak ; his body plumage 
of a uniform ashen-gray — almost of the same tint as that of the heron, 
but darker. He wears a black collar, and the top of his head is bare, 
and vermilion-coloured. He seems to have been fashioned on a better 
model than any of his congeners ; the proportions between the different 
parts of his body are more harmonious ; lightness is combined with 
strength, and grace with majesty. "A peculiar disposition of the second- 
ary feathers " — we must here translate Toussenel literally, to do justice to 
his enthusiasm — " such as is found in the Australian swan, forces their 
extremities to rise up behind in a sumptuous plume, which gives to the 
ensemble of his attire a stamp of distinction and coquetry. All the family 
seem, by the way, to attach great importance to their toilette ; which 
is very natural, since the dance is the favourite pastime of most of the 
members. We do not oo to a ball in thick boots and a frock-coat ! " 
o 
In Toussenel's opinion, the most coquettish and sportive of the cranes 
is the crested crane of the Senegal. This bird, he says, is possessed of 
an archness and a gaiety which not even captivity can seriously jiffect. 
She is fond of decking herself with feathers and glass beads ; and wears 
them from the tip of her wings to a point below the eyes. Her great 
