392 On Breeding the Demoiselle Crane in Captivity.


the young, each parent attending to one young one. As

the young became stronger they would advance to meet

the approaching parent, and receive the insect. Finally

they promenaded the field in line np and down, the young

in the centre, and the two old birds on the flanks, each

picking the flies off the grass, and handing it to the young

one next to it, the latter taking it with great dexterity, so that

the progress of the quartette was scarcely delayed. By degrees

the young might be seen making pecks at insects settled on

the grass in front of them as they advanced. But it was not till

the 23rd June that I saw the young pick anything for themselves

off the ground (mealworms).


At this time the bird first hatched appeared twice as large

as the other. It’s twenty-four hours start seemed to give it a

great advantage over the other, and it probably did get more

than its share of food so long as they received everything from

the parents’ bills. At this date (August 24th) it has quite grown

up to the other, and there seems no appreciable difference in

point of size. F'or the first twelve da> T s I believe the young

lived entirely upon insects captured on the grass stems and

foliage, and 011 a very few mealworms, occasionally thrown to

them. Small earthworms, yolk of egg, etc., the parents would

not offer to the young, but devoured themselves. On the 18th

I saw the old birds give the young some meal and even grains

of w’heat, and from this time they throve and grew rapidly.


The young Demoiselle differs from the other immature

Cranes that I have seen in that the plumage is not fawn or

sandy-coloured at any period, but grey, though duller, and less

silvery, than that of the adult.


The cheeks are white, but, as Blvth says in his Monograph,

the eartufts are “ only slightly indicated,” and the elongated

tertiaries, and pendent breastplumes so ornamental in the adult

are at this early age not noticeable.


The risk of trying to keep Cranes unpinioned was

exemplified in this instance. These young birds couid fly before

their quill-feathers were fully grown. Cousequentljq though

we shortened one wing as closely as was possible at the



