cranel (kran)

[ = Lith. ger we , a crane. L. grus (> It. grua = Sp. dim. grulla = Pg. grou = Pr. grua = F. grue), a crane, is perhaps related. Root unknown. See crane 2.] 1. A large grallatorial bird with very long legs and neck, a long straight bill Whooping Crane ( Grus american a ). with perv i ous nostrils near its mid dle, the head usually na ked, at least in part, the hind toe el evated, and the inner secondaries usually en larged; any bird of the family Grui da. There are about 15 close ly similar spe cies, found in many parts of the world, most of them includ ed in the genus Grus. The common crane of Europe is G. cinerea; it is about 4 feet long. (See cut under Grus.) The common American or sand-hill crane is G. can a dens is. A statelier and larger species is the whooping crane, G. american a, which is white, with black primaries. The gigantic crane of Asia is G. leuco ger an us, and a common Indian crane is G. anti gone. The wattled crane of South Africa is Grus ( Bugeranus ) carunculata. The crown-crane, or crowned crane, is of the genus Balearica. The Numidian crane, or demoiselle, and the Stanley crane are elegant species of the genus An thro poi des. Nor Thracian Cranes forget, whose silv'ry Plumes Give Pattern, which employ the mimick Looms. Congreve, tr. of Ovid's Art of Love. 2. Popularly and erroneously, one of sundry very large grallatorial birds likened to cranes, as herons and storks. Thus, the great blue heron of North America ( Ardea herodias ) is popularly known as the blue crane; and the name gigantic crane has been erroneously given to the adjutant-bird. 3. [ cap.] The constellation Grus (which see). -41. Same as crinet, 1. cranel (krān), v.; pret. and pp. craned, ppr. craning. [ stretched out like the neck of a crane. Three runners, with outstretched hands and craning necks, are straining toward an invisible goal. Harper's Mag ., LXXVI. 248. Hence-2. In hunting, to look before one leaps; pull up at a dangerous jump. But where was he, the hero of our tale? Fencing? Cran ing? Hitting? Mi ing? Is he over, or is he under? Has he killed, or is he killed? Disraeli , Young Duke, ii. 9. II. trans. To stretch or bend (the neck) like a crane: as, he craned his neck to see what was on the other side of the pillar.