508 BIRDS—RALLIDZA. 
having been taken in the vicinity of Cincinnati. Mr. Mapes, a com- 
petent ornithologist, informed me that he saw a flock of over fifty of these 
birds flying over this city on the 26th of November, 1876. Dr. Coues 
describes the eggs as follows: 
‘Two eggs of the Whooping Crane are in the Smithsonian from Great Slave Lake, 
wherethey weret: ken by Mr.J. Lockhart. Thotgh from the same nest, oneis noticeably 
more elongated than the other, meaauring about 3.90 by 2 65, the other being about 3.60 
only, with the same width. The shell is much roughened with numerous elevations, 
like little warts, and is, moreover, punctulate all over. The ground isa light brownish- 
drab; the markings are sparse, except at the great end ; they are large irregular spots 
of a pale dull chocolate.brown, with still more obscure or nearly obsolete shell-mark- 
ings.” 
GRrs CANADENSIS (L.) Temm. 
Brown Crane; Sandhill Crane. 
Grus canadensis, WHEATON, Ohio Agric. Rep for 1860, 370, 480; Reprint, 1861, $; Food 
of Birds, ete, Ohio Agric. Rep. for 1574, 573; Reprint, 1875, 13 —LaNnepen, Cat. 
Birds of Cin., 1877, 16; Revised List, Journ. Cin. Soc. Nat. Hiet., i, 1879, 164; Re- 
print, 18. 
Ardea canadensis, LINNEUS, Syst. Nat., i, 1766, 231. 
Grus canadensis, TEMMINCK, Analyse. 
Adult with the bare partof head forking behind to receive a pointed extension of the 
occipital feathers, not reaching on the sides below the eyes, and sparsely hairy. Bill 
moderately stout, with nearly straight and scarcely ascending gonys, that part of the 
under mandible not so deep as the upper at the same place. Adult plumage 
plumbeous-gray never whitening; primaries, their coverts, and alula, blackish. Young 
with head feathered, and plamage varied with rusty brown. Rather smaller than the 
last. 
Habitat, United States from Florida and the Mississippi Valley to the Pacific, and in- 
terior of the fur countries. North to the Yukon and west coast of Baffin’s Bay. Cuba. 
Breeds apparently nearly throughout ite range. 
Rare migrant; probably occasional summer resident. The quotation 
from Dr. Kirtiand above, may refer to this species. Mr. Winslow in- 
cludes it in his list of birds of Northern Ohio, and it has been reported 
to me as breeding within a few years in the vicinity of Toledo. Mr. 
Langdon mentions two specimens taken in the vicinity of Cincinnati. 
I have never seen the bird in this vicinity, and though I have frequently 
heard of its occurrence, the identification has never been unquestionable. 
Both this bird and the Blue Haron are sometimes confounded under the 
common name of Blue Crane. 
FAMILY RALLIDAH. RAILS, GALLINULES, ETC. 
Siz» moderate and small; neck and legs comparatively short. Head completely 
feathered, excepting, in the Coots and Gallinules, a broad horny frontal plate. Toes 
