THE CRANE,

OR, COMMON CRANE.

(Ardea Grus, Lin.-La Grue, Buff.)

THE bill is about four inches long, straight, pointed, and compressed at the sides, of a greenish black colour, turning lighter towards the point; the tongue is broad and short, and horny at the tip. The forehead, to the middle of the crown, is covered with black hairy down, through which, if the bird be healthy, the skin appears

red; behind this it is nearly bare, and entirely so for the space of about two inches on the nape of the neck, which is ash coloured. The sides of the head behind the eyes, and the hinder part of the neck are white. The space between the bill and the eyes, the cheeks, and the fore part of the neck, are of a blackish ash colour; the greater wing coverts are also blackish, and those farthest from the body, with the bastard wing and quills, are quite black the rest of its plumage is of a fine waved light ash colour. From the pinion of each wing springs an elegant tuft of loose feathers, curled at the ends, which fall gracefully over the tail, in their flexibility, their position, and their texture, resembling the plumes of the Ostrich. The legs and bare part of the thighs are black. The Crane measures, when extended, from the tip of the bill to the toes, more than five feet in length, and weighs nearly ten pounds; its gait is erect, and its figure tall and slender.

This species is widely spread, and, in its migrations, performs the boldest and most distant journies,

"Marking the tracts of air, the clamorous Cranes
"Wheel their due flight, in varied lines descried;
"And each with out-stretch'd neck his rank maintains
"In marshall'd order through the ethereal void."

In the summer they spread themselves over the north of Europe and Asia as far as the arctic circle, and in the winter are met with in the warmer regions of India, Syria, Egypt, &c. and at the Cape of Good Hope. The course of their flight is discovered by the loud noise they make, for they soar to such a height as to be hardly visible to the naked eye. Like the Wild Geese, they form

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themselves into different figures, describing a wedge, a triangle, or a circle. It is said that they formerly visited the fens and marshes of this island in large flocks, but they have now entirely forsaken it.

(Ardea Ciconia, Lin.—La Cigogne, Buff.)

THE White Stork is smaller than the Crane, but much larger than the Heron: its length, from the point of the bill to the end of the tail, is three feet six inches; and its breadth, from tip to tip, above six feet. The bill is of a fine red colour, and its length, from the tip to the corners of the mouth, is seven inches; the legs and bare

part of the thighs are also of the same colour; the former below the knees measure eight inches, and the latter five. The plumage is of a bright white, except the quills, greater coverts, and some of the scapulars, which are black; the eyes are dark and full, the orbits bare of feathers, and of a dusky reddish hue. The neck is long and arched; the feathers near the breast, like those of the Heron, are long and pendulous; the secondary quills are nearly of the same length as the primaries, and when the wings are closed, they cover its short tail. The female nearly resembles the male in her plumage and general appearance: her nest is made of dry sticks, twigs, and aquatic plants, sometimes on large trees or the summits of high rocky cliffs: this, however, seldom happens, for the Stork prefers the neighbourhood of populous places, where it finds protection from the inhabitants; who, for ages, have regarded both the bird and its nest as sacred, and commonly place boxes for them on the tops of the houses wherein to make their nests; to which they return after the most distant journies, and every Stork takes possession of his own box. When these are not provided for them, they build on the tops of chimnies, steeples, and lofty ruins.

The Stork lays from two to four eggs, the size and colour of those of a Goose, and the male and female sit upon them by turns. They are singularly attentive to their young, both together never quitting the nest, which is constantly watched by one of them, while the other is seeking for, and bringing provisions, which the young receive with a sort of whistling noise.

The food of the Stork consists of serpents, lizards, frogs, small fish, &c. for which it watches with a keen

eye, on the margins of lakes and pools, and in swamps and marshes. In low countries abounding with places of this description, the Stork is a welcome visitant, and always meets a friendly reception.

In its migrations this bird avoids alike the extremes of heat and cold: in summer it is never seen farther north than Sweden or Russia, and in winter it is not known to venture further southward than Egypt, where it is constantly seen during that season in the intermediate countries, both in Asia and Europe, it is common in the temperate seasons of the year.

Before the Storks take their departure from their northern summer residence, they assemble in large flocks, and seem to confer on the plan of their projected route. Though they are very silent at other times, on this occasion they make a singular clattering noise with their bills, and all seems bustle and consultation. It is said that the first north wind is the signal for their departure, when the whole body become silent, and move at once, generally in the night, and, taking an extensive spiral course, they are soon lost in the air.*

The Stork is now seldom seen in Britain: Wallis, in his History of Northumberland, mentions one which was killed near Chollerford-bridge, in the year 1766. Its skin was nailed up against the wall of the inn at that place, and drew crowds of people from the adjacent parts to view it. The foregoing figure was taken from a stuffed specimen in the Wycliffe museum.

"The Stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times; and the Turtle and the Crane, and the Swallow observe the time of their coming." Jeremiah viii. 7.