THE CRANE. S5 
. The flesh of the bittern is greatly in esteem among the luxu- 
J?° Us - For this reason, it is as eagerly sought after by the 
? v yler as it is shunned by the peasant; and as it is a heavy- 
\ IS!n g, slow-winged bird, it does not often escape him. In- 
r efi d, it seldom rises but when almost trod upon ; and seems 
? Se ek protection rather from concealment than flight. At 
. ® latter end of autumn, however*, in the evening, its wonted 
'Violence appears to forsake it. It is seen rising in a spiral 
^ Sc ent till it is quite lost from the view, and makes at the same 
a singular noise very different from its former boomings. 
j he Crane is also a bird which naturalists place in the 
]y T ? n genus. Willoughby and Pennant make the size of this 
1,1 d from five to six feet long, from the tip to the tail. Other 
j' founts say, that it is above five feet high; and others that 
j" 13 a s tall as a man. A bird, however, the body of which 
.. n ° t larger than that of a turkey-hen, and acknowledged on 
hands not to weigh above ten pounds, cannot easily be 
^'Pposed to be almost as long as an ostrich. Brisson, there- 
01 e > seems to give this bird its real dimensions, when lie de- 
C| *bes it about three feet high, and about four from the tip 
s ° the tail. But, perhaps, that from which he took his ditnen- 
’ lQ11s > was one of the smallest of the kind, 
rp, »s a tall, slender bird, with a long neck and long legs, 
b' "i t0 P *^ ie head is covered with black bristles, and the 
l j f t K °f it is bald and red, which sufficiently distinguishes this 
1 ‘ bom the stork, to which it is very nearly allied in size 
A hgnre. The plumage, in general, is ash-coloured ; and 
e J e are two large tufts of feathers, that spring from the 
b' ni ° n of each wing. These bear a resemblance to hair, and 
e finely curled at the ends, which the bird has a power of 
p e phng and depressing at pleasure. Gesner says, that these 
a hers, in his time, used to be set in gold, and worn as or- 
na ^nts in caps. ' 
i he crane is a Very social bird, and they are seldom seen 
Gyne. Their usual method of flying or sitting is in flocks of 
up or sixty together ; and while a part feed, the rest stand 
v e ce ntinels upon duty. It for the most part subsists upon 
SpGbleis ; and is known in every country of Europe, ex- 
to P i England. As they are birds of passage, they are seen 
vk' e P ai * ; ar *d return regularly at those seasons when their pro- 
ab'° U * nv ites or repels them. They generally leave Europe 
0 f° ut ^he latter end of autumn, and return in the beginning 
* Urn me,-. In the inland parts of the continent, they are 
jjj v. ci0ss ing the country, in flocks of fifty or an handled, 
tK U1 S /tom the northern regions towards the south. In 
se migrations, however, they are not so resolutely bent 
