52 BRITISH BIRDS. 



CRANES IN SHROPSHIRE. 



About 7.30 p.m. on May 6th, 1911, two Cranes [Grus communis) 

 appeared over a farm at Longden Common, about six miles 

 south-west of Shrewsbury. They were flying low down, 

 and passed close over the heads of a man named Carswell 

 and his two sons, aUghting in the next field, where they 

 commenced to feed on the grass. The men, who had never 

 seen or heard of such birds before, and curious to ascertain 

 what they were, crept up to the hedge and watched them for 

 about an hour walking to and fro and grazing, at a distance 

 of less than fifty yards. About 8.30 a neighbour named 

 Corfield joined the watchers, and one of the sons then went 

 into the field where the birds were, to try to get a closer view. 

 They took alarm and flew to the next field, where the^^ spent 

 the night. Soon after 9 o'clock next morning, Corfield went to 

 look after the sheep in this field, and found the birds grazing 

 with the animals. On catching sight of him they took wing, 

 and after fl3dng round in circles till they attained such a height 

 that they looked no bigger than pigeons, they flew right away 

 in an easterly direction. The incident was first reported to 

 me by a local clergj^man, who thought that the birds were 

 Great Bustards, but upon investigation I concluded that they 

 were Cranes. The general behaviour of the birds — especially 

 their soaring aloft before departure — supports this view, 

 whilst the full description of the plumage and shape, which 

 I obtained from Carswell and Corfield, confirms it beyond a 

 doubt. They specially emphasize the fact that the birds 

 had a red patch on the head, and that the feathers above the 

 tail had a " crumpled " appearance. The legs and neck 

 were very long, and the feet not webbed. On being shown 

 pictures of the Bustard and Crane, Corfield was positive that 

 the birds were not the former but the latter. This is the first 

 recorded occurrence of the Crane in Shropshire, though in 

 my Fauna of Shropshire mention is made of an example 

 obtained in 1868 at Trippleton-on-Teme — just over the border 

 in Herefordshire. The farmer who shot it, ascertaining from 

 a natural-histor}^ book that it was only a " Common " Crane, 

 gave the bird to his waggoner, who cooked and ate it ! 



H. E. Forrest. 

 [With regard to the above note the Duchess of Bedford kindly 

 writes to us, under date June 23rd, 1911, as follows : *' I think 

 it more than likely that the Cranes came from Woburn, as 

 both Common and White-necked Cranes (bred at Woburn last 

 year and in 1909) have left us during the last few months. 

 The description might apply to either, and the behaviour of 



