120 GRUID^. 



Hdbk., Zool, 8fc., Sind, p. 213; id., Veri. Zool. Swd, p. 237; Hume and 

 Marsh., Ga??ie Birds iii. p. 92; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. p. 601, No. 1279. 

 {KoonJ, Sind ; Kulling, N. India). — The Common Crane. 



Forehead to the middle of the crown covered with black hairy down, 

 through which the red skin shows ; behind this nearly bare and entirely so for 

 about two inches on the nape, which is ash grey ; chin, throat and foreneck 

 black ; a broad white streak from behind the eye, extending along the back of 

 the neck from below the nape and partly on the sides ; lores and cheeks 

 black ; upper and lower surface of the body dark bluish ashy ; greater wing 

 coverts dull black ; secondaries and tertiaries grey and tipped with black, 

 the latter in texture resembling the plumes of the ostrich, narrowing to a point, 

 forming an elegant tuft of loose feathers, curled at the ends and falling grace- 

 fully over the tail ; legs and bare part of the thighs black ; bill greenish brown 

 at the base, tinged blackish in the middle, with the tip dark horny; irides 

 yellowish, orange red or reddish brown in some. 



Length. — 43 to 46 inches; wing about 24; tail 7; tarsus S75 to 9; bill 4-3 

 to 4-8. 



Hah. — Europe, India, N. Africa. In India it is a winter visitant everywhere. 

 Besides occurring in Sind, it is recorded from Rajputana, Kutch, Kattiawar, 

 Deccan, N. Guzerat, Rajputana, Central India, Khandeish, Punjab, N.-W. 

 Provinces, Oudh and Bengal. It has also been found in Afghanistan, Beloo- 

 chistan and Persia. 



When feeding the Common Crane has always a sentinel posted to give the 

 alarm of danger, and hence it is extremely difficult to get within gun- 

 shot of the flock. The ordinary procedure is to walk alongside a bullock 

 or horse, as if passing by them, and to fire immediately they rise ; a duck gun 

 with large shot usually brings down 2 or 4 out of a flock. In Sind and pro- 

 bably in other parts of India too, the food of this Crane consists of grain of 

 all kinds ; when in large parties they commit great havoc in wheat fields. 

 Young shoots of grain, rice and pulses generally are however preferred by 

 them. It is when they have fed a fortnight or so on food of this kind that 

 this crane is best fitted for the table. They are then very fat, and the flesh 

 becomes succulent and juicy, and done up in any shape, as Hume says, it is as 

 well tasted a bird as can be found, and when properly cooked well merits any 

 praises that our forefathers, who chiefly saw grain-fed birds, may have bestowed 

 on them. 



Gen. Anthropoides.— VieilL 



Bill shorter than in Grus ; head and neck feathered ; breast feathers lan- 

 ceolate and hackled ; tarsi long. 



