40 



THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



To see the great bustard in a wild state to-da)-, one 

 would ha\'e to travel to Spain. And if one could make 

 a pilgrimage for this purpose during the birds' courting- 

 season, some very wonderful antics on the part of the 

 male would be witnessed. These antics make up what 

 is really a very elaborate love-displa\'. In this perform- 

 ance the bird inflates his neck with wind, draws his 

 head closely down on to the back, throws up his tail, 

 so as to make the most of the pure white feathers 

 underneath, and sticks up certain of the quill-feathers 

 of the wing in a manner that only a great bustard can. 

 Certain long feathers projecting from each side of the 

 head now stand out like the quills of the porcupine, 

 forming a sort of chcval-dc-frisc on either side of the 

 head, and complete the picture, which, in our e_\-es, 

 savours of the ludicrous. The inflation of the neck is 

 brought about by filling a specially de\-eloped \\ ind-bag 



Pftorc by S{holai:ic Photo, t , 



MANCHURIAN CRAME 

 The piebald plutnage cf t/iis species is distincii've 



between the gullet and the skin 

 with air through a small hole 

 under the tongue. F"or manyyears 

 it was believed this bag was used 

 as a sort of water-bottle, to enable 

 the bird to live amid the arid 

 wastes which were its chosen 

 haunts. 



WATTLED CRANE 



Sc called from the pendent lappets of the throat. It 

 is a South African species 



COMMON CRANE 



Cranes. 



Cranes vary much in general appearance Some 

 species have much of the skin round the head bare and 

 brilliantly coloured, such as the S.^RUS Crane of India 

 and the Ci;o\vxi:n Cr.\ne. 



The WiiiTK and Whooping Cr.-\nes are birds of 

 wondrous lieantv. Th" first-named species has been not 

 inaptiv called the "lily of birds." The whole plumage, 

 with the exception of the black quills, is white. The legs 

 are red, as is also the face. Dr. Coues once mistook one 

 of these birds — the \\' ^oopTNG-CR.^NE — for an antelope. 

 He and a companion saw what they "took to he an an- 

 telope standing quietly feeding, with his broad white 

 stern toward us. and only about 300 yards off. We 

 attempted for at least fifteen minutes to 'flag' the crea- 

 ture This jiroving unavailing, my friend i)roceeded 

 to stalk the trame, for a])nut half the distance before 



