FAMILY GRUIDE, VIG.-These birds were formerly placed by Linnæus and the older naturalists with the herons, (gen. Ardea,) but form a group very properly separated from them by modern ornithologists. They differ from the herons in several important particulars. The beak, for instance, is moderate, or even short, and blunt at the extremity; and the toes are short. Instead of deriving their sole subsistence from lakes and morasses, they live in a great measure on vegetable food, and frequent plains, newly sown fallow lands, and similar localities. The trachea, in most species, exhibits something remarkable in its structure, and in the common crane is singularly convoluted.

In some respects the members of this family bear a certain degree of alliance to the ostriches, ( Struthionidæ,) and one, indeed, of their number may be called a crane among ostriches, an ostrich among cranes. This bird is the Gold-breasted Trumpeter; it is placed in a genus by itself, termed Psophia, characterized by a short, compressed, and slightly arched beak; the head and neck being covered with feathers like downy velvet, and by a naked circle round the eye.

The TRUMPETER, or AGAMI, (Psophia crepitans,) is as large as a common-sized fowl in the body, but stands much higher on the legs, and the neck is long. It inhabits the wilds of tropical America, and is gregarious, being found in large flocks. It does not appear to visit fens or marshes, or the margins of waters, but keeps entirely to the upland forests and mountains. Its speed is very great, and to this it is said to trust for the most part for safety, seldom taking to wing, and even when forced so to do, not rising more than a few feet above the surface of the ground.

This remarkable bird has gained the name of Trumpeter from a hollow internal sort of sound which it makes without opening the bill, and which, according to Pallas, is produced by a peculiar construction of the larynx or windpipe, which at first is about as thick as a swan's quill, and almost bony, but becomes much more slender,

loose, and cartilaginous when it enters within the chest, "where two semi-cylindrical canals, of a membranous texture, and capable of being extended, proceed from it.

The air-bag" (for such these appear to be)" on the right side descends to the pelvis; and within the breast it is divided into three or four cells by transverse membranes. The air-bag on the left side is narrower." The sound uttered is a hollow noise, resembling the cooing of a pigeon, or the syllables too-too-too repeated six or seven times with precipitation; during which the chest is seen "to heave, as in birds while singing, though the bill remains shut. It is in fact a sort of ventriloquism resulting from the vibration of the air forced into these air-bags, from the lungs, by the action of the muscles of the chest and back."

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The Trumpeter is often domesticated, and is extremely intelligent, bold, and familiar. It is not only easily tamed," says Monoucour, "but becomes attached to its benefactor with all the fondness and fidelity of the dog; and of this disposition it shows the most unequivocal proofs. When bred up in the house, it loads its master with caresses, and follows his motions; and if it conceives a dislike to persons, it will pursue them sometimes to a considerable distance, biting their legs, and testifying every mark of displeasure. It obeys the voice of its master, and even answers to the call of all those to whom it bears no grudge. It is fond of caresses, and offers its head and neck to be stroked; and if once accustomed to these familiarities, it becomes troublesome, and will not be satisfied without continual fondling. It makes its appearance as often as its master sits down to table, and begins with driving out the dogs and cats, and taking possession of the room; for it is so bold and obstinate, that it never yields, and often after a tough battle can put a middle-sized dog to flight. It avoids the bites of its antagonist by rising in the air, and retaliates with violent blows with its bill and nails, aimed chiefly at the eyes; and after it gains the superiority, it pursues the victory with the utmost rancour; and if not parted, will destroy the fugitive. By its intercourse with man, its instinct becomes moulded like that of a dog; and we are assured it can be trained to tend a flock of sheep. It even shows a degree of jealousy of its rivals; for, when at table, it bites fiercely the naked legs of the negroes and other domestics who come near its master."

Though the above account of the character of the Trumpeter may be considered as extravagant, and far too highly coloured, it is doubtless founded upon truth, and cannot but lead us to desire a better acquaintance with a bird which few naturalists have opportunities of observing in a state of nature. It is said to scratch a hollow in the earth, at the foot of a tree, for the reception of the eggs, which are from ten to sixteen in number, and of a light green colour. The head (except a narrow naked circle round the eyes) and the whole of the neck are covered

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with black velvety feathers; on the breast they become large, and are rounded, their edges being of a glossy metallic purple and green. The back is covered with long silky plumes of a delicate gray, which hang gracefully over the wings. The wings are black, as are also the tail and under surface; the feathers of the tail are soft and falling, but short; and the feathers of the under surface are loose and hairy. The bill is black; the tarsi pale yellowish olive.

To the genus Psophia succeed several species, all foreign, and distinguished by the shortness of the beak, compared to that of the Crane of Europe. They seem to fill up the chasm between the genus just alluded to and that of the truly typical genus of the family, namely, Grus. Of these we may notice the DEMOISELLE, or NUMIDIAN CRANE, (Anthropoïdes Virgo, VIEILL.) and the STANLEY CRANE, (Anthropoïdes Stanleyanus,) which are the only examples of their genus.

The Demoiselle is so named from the exquisite grace and symmetry of its form and the elegance of its deportment. In total length it measures three feet six inches. The top of the head is gray. Behind each eye there springs a tuft of white feathers, passing backwards to the occiput, where they meet and form a drooping crest of soft loose plumes about four inches in length, which undulate with every movement. The neck is black, and at its fore part is garnished with long, slender, pointed feathers, which depend from the chest. The general plumage is of the most delicate slaty gray, and the secondary quill-feathers are elongated into pendent plumes which fall on each side over the quill-feathers, adding much grace to the wearer. Their colour is of a dusky black.

The Demoiselle is a native of Africa, and, like the Cranes in general, is migratory in its habits. "It extends along the Mediterranean and western coasts, from Egypt to Guinea, but is most abundant in the neighbourhood of Tripoli," and throughout the adjacent region. "It arrives in Egypt in considerable numbers at the period of the

inundation of the Nile, and makes its appearance in Constantinople in the month of October, being then probably on its passage from the Black Sea towards the south. It is also stated to have been met with in the interior of South Africa, in the neighbourhood of the Cape."

This beautiful bird bears the English climate well, and soon becomes familiarized. In France it has bred in captivity, and one of the young ones lived for four-andtwenty years. Several fine examples are in the Zoological Gardens.

Allied to the preceding are two species of Crowned Cranes, constituting the genus Balearica of Brisson. Of this, one species is the CROWNED CRANE, (Balearica pavonina, which differs in the most striking manner from the demoiselle. "In size it is considerably larger; and although perhaps less graceful in its form and attitudes, it displays a much higher degree of elegance in the varied colours of its plumage. In this point of view, if the dress of the demoiselle be compared to the tasteful simplicity of a village maiden, that of the Crowned Crane bears as strong an analogy to the artful combinations of fashionable skill." In height this beautiful bird measures about four feet. The front of the head is covered with short, black, velvety feathers; and from the top, or rather occiput, there rises a very remarkable crest of slender bristle-like filaments, four or five inches in length, and diverging from each other, each having a spiral twist throughout its length; their colour is yellowish, but their edges are fringed with minute black hairs. The sides of the head are naked, and the skin is partially white, being tinged more or less extensively with a deep blush of scarlet. Two scarlet wattles hang from the throat. The general plumage is of a bluish slate colour, but the primary quill-feathers and the tail are black; the secondary quill-feathers, which are long, are of a rich brown; and the wing-coverts are pure white.

This splendid species is a native of Guinea and the neighbouring countries, and also of Cape Verd. It frequents swampy places, and subsists, like other cranes, on