WHITE OK SNOW-WREATH CRANE 127 



saw the birds on any other occasion, and I do not pretend to 

 know what they were, beyond this, that they were cranes of the 

 7)i07iachiis type and probably some undescribed species." No 

 such species has ever turned up, and of course the argument as 

 to date and locality has no value in the case of strong-winged 

 migrants ; there can be practically no doubt that Hume's birds 

 were simply hooded cranes. Not much is known about the bird 

 anywhere ; its eggs have not been taken yet. It travels in small 

 flocks, and arrives at its breeding-grounds in the north in April as 

 a rule, and leaves for the south in August. Although it is rare 

 in captivity, the London Zoo has a fine pair at the time of 

 writing. I can see no brown on their plumage, and I notice 

 that they wade a great deal. 



White or Si\ow-Avrcath Crane. 



Grus leucogeranus. Karekhur, Hindustani. 



In height and length being only by a few inches less than the 

 sarus, this splendid snow-white bird can easily be distinguished 

 from anything else in India if seen where the size can be 

 appreciated, and if this is not the case, still its pinky-red face 

 and legs will distinguish it from a large egret or a spoonbill. 

 From the white stork {Clconia alba), also red-legged, the 

 apparent absence of black in the plumage will distinguish it, 

 while though when on the wing the black pinion-quills are 

 conspicuous, they should not lead to confusion with the stork, 

 which has nearly all the wing as well as the tail black. 



Young birds of the year are still more unmistakeable, being 

 buff in colour, at any rate when they first arrive. Such birds 

 are generally found along with the two parents, for the white 

 crane, like the sarus, is essentially a lover of family life ; the 

 flocks of half a dozen or so sometimes seen appear to be young 

 two-year-old bachelors and spinsters, and no doubt such, with 

 a sprinkling of bereaved old birds, make up the larger flocks 

 which now and then occur. 



This crane is purely a winter visitor, and a rather local and 

 scarce one at that ; though, judging from the numbers the 



