464 
BUSTARDS, TH1CKNEES, AND CRANES. 
ancestral stock from which originated the rails, the Limicolce, and most of the other 
birds treated in this chapter. It will, however, scarcely support his opinion that 
the herons are likewise descended from the cranes, seeing that a member of the 
latter existed in the London Clay, belonging to the lower part of the Eocene 
period; while it is scarcely likely that the cannon-bone of a heron could have 
True Cranes. 
been derived from that of a crane. 
Although the members of the family have been arranged under 
several genera, it seems on the whole preferable to include all but the 
crowned cranes in the typical genus ( Grus ). In the ordinary cranes the long and 
straight beak is of moderate length, compressed and pointed, with the nostrils 
placed in a groove near the middle, and partially closed behind by membrane; the 
wings have the third quill the longest; a large part of the tibia is bare; the front 
of the metatarsus is covered with scutes; and the toes are short, with blunt nails. 
Generally there is a naked region about the eye and the base of the beak, while 
occasionally the entire head may be devoid of feathers. They are birds of large 
size, with the plumage either grey or white; and the elongation of the inner 
secondaries into a kind of false tail, gives them a peculiarly graceful appearance. 
Inhabiting extensive plains and swamps, and endowed with a powerful and long- 
sustained flight, most cranes are in the habit of performing migrations of great 
length. The windpipe being lengthened and arranged in coils within a cavity in 
the breast-bone enables them to utter, when alarmed or on the wing, a loud 
trumpet-like call, which is often audible at a distance of a couple of miles. 
Terrestrial in their habits,—it is said never perching on trees,—all the cranes 
build on the ground; their huge nests being placed in swamps, and the two or 
occasionally three eggs having a greenish ground more or less spotted with 
reddish. 
The common crane (G. cinerea), which some three centuries ago 
Common Crane. . ... . . . 
nested m the British Islands, where it is now but a rare visitor, is 
the typical representative of the genus, and is characterised by the moderate 
length of the beak, which is high and sloping at the base, and straight in its 
terminal half, by the naked forehead, cheeks, and crown, and the general grey hue 
of the plumage. The naked part of the crown is reddish, the sides of the face and 
neck are white, and the elongated secondaries black. Young birds are nearly 
uniformly coloured. In length, full-grown specimens measure from 43 to 48 
inches. The crane is widely distributed over Europe and Central and Northern 
Asia, visiting India, Persia, South China, and Northern Africa in winter, and 
passing through Japan on its migrations. Its breeding-range extends from the 
Arctic Circle in Western Siberia, to Italy and the Danube Valley. In North 
America this species is represented by the brown crane ( G . canadensis). Cranes 
usually reach their breeding-grounds in Central Europe from the south at the end 
of March or April, while a month later they arrive in the Arctic regions. At all 
times gregarious, they migrate in vast flocks, which fly during the day at a great 
height in the air in a Y- or W-shaped formation, each bird having its long legs 
stretched out behind. Writing of the flight of the American species, Dr. Newberry 
observes that, under the orders of an experienced leader, “each bird keeps his 
place in the ranks; the advancing column now rides higher over some suspected 
