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. Swainson 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 Ardea ccerulea were for some time considered 
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 Yul- 
