THE WHOOPING CRANE. 
195 
tures, is well adapted to keep the inner parts of the organ from the damp 
earth and other matters with which they are so often in contact, while 
searching in the ground or mud for roots and other vegetable substances, on 
which the bird principally feeds. I am convinced also, that this species 
does not attain its full size or perfect plumage until it is four or five years 
old. The beauty of the plumage may be improved in brilliancy during the 
breeding season by a greater brightness in the colour of the bill, as in the 
Booby Gannet and White Ibis, as well as in the redness of the fleshy parts 
of the head. 
The measurements of the adult bird of my plate, drawn at New Orleans, 
in the month of April, were as follows : — Length from tip of bill to end of 
claws, 5 feet 5 inches ; to end of tail, 4 feet 6 inches ; the drooping feathers 
1 foot beyond ; alar extent 7 feet 8 inches ; length of wing 22 inches ; naked 
part of thigh 5 inches ; tarsus 11^ inches ; length of middle toe 4£, of its 
claw 4. 
The measurements of the specimen kept at Boston : — Length from tip of 
bill to end of tail, 3 feet 9 inches ; to end of claws, 4 feet 6 inches ; tarsus 8 
inches ; naked part of thigh 3 A The elongated inner secondaries equalled 
the tail. The weight was 9 lbs. 144 oz. 
Measurements of that killed on Spring Island : — Length 4 feet 4-| inches, 
the claws being 7 inches beyond the tail, so that the length from the tip of 
the bill to the end of the tail was 3 feet 9£ inches ; alar extent 5 feet 8 
inches. Weight 8f lbs. 
In the Museum of the University of Edinburgh, there is a specimen of 
still smaller size. 
My friend John Bachman, in a note addressed to me, says, “I saw a 
pair of tame birds of this species, which, as they advanced in age, changed 
their colours from grey to white.” 
Whooping Crane, Ardea Americana , Wils. Amer. Orn., vol.'vii. p. 20. 
Grus Americana, Bonap. Syn., p. 302. 
Grus Americana, Whooping Crane , Swains, and Rich. F. Bor. Amer., vol. ii. p. 372. 
Adult. 
Grus Canadensis, Brown Crane, Swains, and Rich. F. Bor. Amer., vol. ii. p. 273. 
Whooping Crane, Grus Americana , Nutt. Man., vol. ii. p. 34. Adult. 
Brown Crane, Grus canadensis , Nutt. Man., vol. ii. p. 38. Young. 
Whooping Crane, Grus Americana , Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. iii. p k 202, Adult ; p. 441, 
Young. 
Male 54, 92. 
From Texas to North Carolina during autumn and winter, and across to 
the Rocky Mountains. Breeds from Upper California northward to the 
