THE SANDHILL CRANE. 
THE sandhill crane is so often 
confused, in the popular mind, 
with the great blue heron, 
that it may not be amiss to sug- 
gest the real differences between them. 
We should first remember that the 
crane is not found east of Illinois, ex- 
cept casually or accidentally, but is 
numerous from Illinois westward to the 
western border of the plains during the 
migrations. It ranges as far north as 
Manitoba. The great blue heron is 
pretty evenly distributed over the 
whole of North America. The cranes 
usually, if not always, migrate in greater 
or lesser flocks, alternately circling 
upward to considerable heights and 
sailing straight away, with both soaring 
and flapping motion, and with pro- 
digious croakings. The herons mi- 
grate singly or in pairs, with long, 
steady sweep of the wings, and make 
no outcry. Close at hand the two spe- 
cies would hardly be confused by an 
ordinarily careful observer, but these 
large birds are rarely seen close at 
hand. 
The feeding habits of the two birds 
are very similar, and to this superficial 
similarity is largely due the confusion, 
I suspect. Both wade into the water 
searching for some hapless frog or toad, 
often standing motionless for minutes 
at a time until the victim comes within 
range of the sharply-pointed beak, when 
a lightning-like movement of the head 
sends the beak completely through the 
creature, killing and capturing it with 
one stroke. The long legs and neck 
are admirably adapted to this kind of 
fishing. 
Colonel N. S. Goss describes the 
courting antics of these ungainly birds 
as extremely ludicrous at times. A 
veritable Indian war dance, in fact, in 
which the females join heartily, and 
like the war dance, stopping only when 
the last participant falls down with 
exhaustion. It seems to be a sort of 
promiscuous wedding ceremony for the 
whole company. 
The crane nests on the dry, flat 
prairie, usually scraping together some 
wisps of dry grass, but often with not 
even this poor excuse for a nest. Here 
two to four drab-brown colored, rough- 
shelled eggs are laid and the young 
reared. 
Size seems to be the only criterion 
which determines what the crane may 
eat. Perhaps it might better be said, 
what he will swallow. He seems to 
relish stones, pocket-knives, steel nails 
and the like fully as well as the choic- 
est bit of frog or toad. Like many 
other birds, however, he regurgitates 
the indigestible matter, and so takes 
no harm from this promiscuous diet. 
Many of us may have reason to envy 
him this capacity. 
Dr. P. L. Hatch, in his "Birds of 
Minnesota," gives an interesting de- 
scription of the fighting qaalities of a 
pet crane which he offered to pit 
against any and all canines, one at a 
time. One valiant mastiff, which es- 
sayed to do battle with his craneship, 
entered the ring with all the confidence 
of an unbroken record of victories, but 
a moment later he "stayed not on the 
order of his going," carrying with him 
the exact pattern of the crane's beak. 
No other canines ever volunteered for 
a similar service. N 
47 
