CRANE, a large wading bird. Formerly inhabiting England, the crane (Megalornis grus) breeds in the marshes of Spain, Tur key, Russia, N. Germany and Scandinavia, migrating in large flocks in autumn to Africa and India. The nest is formed on the ground and the same spot is utilized year after year. The eggs are brown with dark spots and two in number. The young, which are able to run soon after they are hatched, are clothed in tawny down. The adult plumage is grey, with black, white and red (the - last due to bare skin) on the head and neck. The crane has a loud trumpeting call, correlated with the formation of the trachea, which is received into a hollow space formed by the walls of the keel of the sternum, where it makes three turns before running upwards and backwards to the lungs. The crane and its allies form the family Gruidae, whose nearest allies are probably the bustards (q.v.) ; they are an ancient group, species of the Grus occurring in the Miocene of France and Greece. At the present time, cranes inhabit all the great zoo-geographical regions except the Neotropical. The dem oiselle crane (Anthropoides virgo), distinguished by its white ear-tufts, inhabits S. Europe, Asia and Africa and allied species occur in other parts of Asia and Africa. In Australia there is G. australis, the "native companion," and four species are found in N. America, of which the little brown crane (G. canadensis) and the sandhill crane (G. mexicana) are widely distributed. The whooping crane (G. americana) is on the verge of extinction. The African crowned cranes (Balearics) have a tuft of slender yellow feathers on the head. The food of the cranes consists of small animals of all kinds.