78 
CRANES 
peats its name. True to their more dignified appellation, the herons 
feed mainly at night, but they are seen on the wing occasionally dur¬ 
ing the day. 
Social at all times, they are especially so during the breeding 
season, nesting in small groups of three or four families to a tree, or 
in colonies numbering many thousands. The largest colonies usually 
have their nests on the ground, in tule swamps or reed patches, the 
nests, which are only a few feet apart, covering many acres. 
Vernon Bailey. 
Subgenus Nyctanassa. 
203. Nycticorax violaceus (Linn.). Yellow-crowned Night 
Heron. 
Bill much shorter than tarsus ; back with long narrow plume-like 
feathers reaching beyond end of tail. Adults: crown and patch under 
eye creamy white ; sides of head and chin black ; rest of plumage bluish 
gray, striped with black and light gray on wings and back. Young: 
striped and mottled with brownish on back and belly. Length: 22-28, 
wing 10.50-12.65, bill 2.50-3.00, tarsus 3.10-4.20. 
Distribution. — Tropical America and north to the Carolinas and Colo¬ 
rado, and casually to Massachusetts and Maine; south to Brazil. 
Nest. — In trees, a platform of sticks. Eggs: 4 to 6, dull bluish. 
ORDER PALUDICOL^E : CRANES, RAILS, ETC. 
FAMILY GRUIDiE: CRANES, 
GENUS GRUS. 
General Characters. — Size very large, hind toe short and elevated; 
head partly naked, the warty skin covered with scattered bristly hairs. 
KEY TO SPECIES. 
1. Crown and cheeks naked in adults ; plumage white. 
americana, p. 78. 
1'. Crown naked in adults, cheeks feathered ; plumage gray and brown. 
2. Larger, wing 21.00-22.50 . mexicana, p. 79. 
2'. Smaller, wing 17.50-20.00 .canadensis, p. 79. 
204. Grus americana (Linn.). Whooping Crane. 
Adults. — Plumage pure white except for black primaries and their cov¬ 
erts, and sometimes a slaty patch on back of head ; naked skin of crown, 
face, and cheeks with stiff black bristles. Young: mainly white, but 
more or less washed with brownish on upper parts ; head entirely feath¬ 
ered. Length: 50-54, wing 22-25, bill 5.35-5.80, tarsus 11-12. 
Distribution. — Interior of North America, breeding from Illinois west 
to Colorado; north to Great Slave Lake, and migrating to central Mexico. 
Nest. —On ground, usually in marsh. Eggs: 2, olive or buffy, spotted 
with brown and gray. 
