THE WHOOPING CRANE. 
191 
of an old bird. The acuteness of their sight and hearing is quite wonderful. 
If they perceive a man approaching, even at the distance of a quarter of a 
mile, they are sure to take to wing. Should you accidentally tread on a 
stick and break it, or suddenly cock your gun, all the birds in the flock raise 
their heads and emit a cry. Shut the gate of a field after you, and from that 
moment they all watch your motions. To attempt to crawl towards them, 
even among long grass, after such an intimation, would be useless ; and unless 
you lie in wait for them, and be careful to maintain a perfect silence, or may 
have the cover of some large trees, heaps of brushwood, or fallen logs, you 
may as well stay at home. They generally see you long before you perceive 
them, and so long as they are aware that you have not observed them, they 
remain silent ; but the moment that, by some inadvertency, you disclose to 
them your sense of their presence, some of them sound an alarm. For my 
part, reader, I would as soon undertake to catch a deer by fair running, as 
to shoot a Sand-hill Crane that had observed me. Sometimes, indeed, 
towards the approach of spring, when - they are ready to depart for their 
breeding grounds, the voice of one will startle and urge to flight all within 
a mile of the spot. When this happens, all the birds around join into a 
great flock, gradually rise in a spiral manner, ascend to a vast height, and 
sail off in a straight course. 
When wounded, these birds cannot be approached without caution, as 
their powerful bill is capable of inflicting a severe wound. Knowing this 
as I do, I would counsel any sportsman not to leave his gun behind, while 
pursuing a wounded Crane. 
While in the Floridas, I saw only a few of these birds alive, but many 
which had been shot by the Spaniards and Indians, for the sake of their 
flesh and beautiful feathers, of which latter they make fans and fly-brushes. 
None of these birds remain there during summer ; and William Bartram, 
when speaking of this species, must have mistaken the Wood Ibis for it. 
The young are considerably more numerous than the old white birds ; 
and this circumstance has probably led to the belief among naturalists that 
the former constitute a distinct species, to which the name of Canada Crane, 
Grus canadensis , has been given. This, however, I hope, I shall be able to 
clear up to your satisfaction. In the mean time, I shall continue my 
remarks. 
According to circumstances, this species roosts either on the ground or on 
high trees. In the latter case, they leave their feeding-ground about an hour 
before sun-set, and going off in silence, proceed towards the interior of high 
land forests, where they alight on the largest branches of lofty trees, six or 
seven settling on the same branch. For half an hour or so, they usually 
dress their plumage, standing erect : but afterwards they crouch in the man- 
