Birds of llie Krooustad District. 47 



small island of reeds for some years, as they were never 

 molested. There was also a pair at a pan on the farm 

 Leeuwkuil, Kronstad. These also nested in the reeds ; 

 but, alas ! both these pans have been dry for some years, 

 and the reeds have been destroyed. I could often hav(^ 

 shot them, but never in any way interfered with them ; 

 and the old '^ Boor " looked upon them with a certain amount 

 of reverence, and was proud of seeino- them stalking about in 

 a most stately manner. Their antics in the breeding-season 

 w^ere decidedly ludicrous. 



(j%d). Tetrapteryx paradisea. (Blue Crane.) 

 This Crane is very common here, and is found in flocks of 

 almost one hundred, and they do great damage in the newly- 

 sown mealie-ttclds. They are very wary and can only be 

 shot with a rifle. The young ones are often caught and 

 brought up on a farm. 



089. Baleaeica regulorum. (Crowned Crane.) 



This most handsome bird was at one time not uncommon 

 here, but since the droughts of the last three years I have 

 seen very few. I had a tame pair for a couple of years, and 

 they would come to be fed when called ; but they were often 

 very troublesome, and had to be shut out of the room at 

 meal-times, as they would walk round the table and snap 

 anything off one's plate with considerable smartness, and 

 then trot off making a sort of croak or chuckle. Un- 

 fortunately, they both came to an untimely end. 



I have seen them in a troop of ten or twelve, but only in 

 the winter. 



I think this bird should be protected, as it does no harm 

 and is frequently destroyed in a wanton useless manner. 



701. Otis koei. (Gom Paauw.) 



This fine Bustard is rarely seen here now, though it was 

 never very common. I once saw a pair in captivity, and 

 grand birds they were ; t!ie male had a way of ruffling-out 

 his neck-feathers in great style, 



I have never yet seen one shot that weighed 30 lbs. ; Ijut 



