48 Monograph of the Cranes. 



I suspect, as before remarked, that tlie flocks of them referred to consist of 

 yearling birds as yet unpaired, like those of G. leueogeranus. 



[The following description of this species from the notes of the late 

 Col. Tickell is the most complete with which I am acquainted, and I 

 therefore have much pleasure in quoting it to supplement Mr. Blyth's 

 somewhat short account : I have also given a figure of the head of this 

 species (pi. 1, fig. 3), drawn from a specimen living in the Zoological 

 Gardens, Regent's Park.— W. B. T. 



Head, and neck for a short space from thence, bare and papillous ; crown smooth ; 

 nape, throat, and a collar round the bare neck covered with small fine wool ; a patch of 

 short feathers over each ear. 



Length of a male bird, 4ft. 8iin. ; spread, 8ft. 2in. ; wing, 2ft. 7in. ; tail, lOin. ; bill, 

 6|in. ; tibia, 1ft. .3jin. ; tarsus, 1ft. lin. ; middle toe, Sin. ; neck, 2ft.; weight, 19ilb. 

 Female, 4ft. 4in. in length ; spread, 7ft. 6Mn. ; and the rest in proportion. 



Iris orange; bill pale greenish, horn}-, with dark tips; skin on crown, pale ashy 

 green ; papillous skin of head and neck orange-red, shaded darker here and there, and 

 furnished with a scanty black wool. At the bottom of the neck, bordering the plumage, 

 is a collar-like space of bright orange skin. Entire plumage pale bluish ash (as are the 

 ear patches or auriculars) ; ends of tertials almost white ; secondaries and primaries 

 black or blackish iron-grey ; legs reddish or flesh-colour. The female has less of the 

 naked space on the neck. 



The young are at first covered with a brown down, which gets lighter till, in about 

 six months, the wool is covered by the plumage, which is at first dull and brownish 

 grey. It is only in quite old specimens that the grey hue is clear and unstained. 



This noble bird, though agreeing exactly with the common crane in outward details, 

 is so dissimilar in habits that by some authors it is placed in a genus of its own 

 Antigone (Reichenbach). It is found in most parts of India, except the extreme north 

 and south. In the Punjab it is said to be exceeding rare. Adams (an old writer) denies 

 its existence in that quarter. lb is not by any means common in the valley of the 

 Ganges, but pi-efers the uplands, ofl" the alluvium, and in the neighbourhood of forest. 

 In the Tenasserim provinces, and in Arraoan, it is well known ; and in Chota Nagpoor, 

 Western Bengal, and Singbhoom, exceedingly common. I do not remember having 

 met with it anywhere on the left bank of the Ganges (Chappra, Tirhoot, or Poornia). 



It prefers meadows, either marshy or upland— not too marshy, for it eschews water 

 and will not wade — and is fond of gi-aziug near the skirts of jungle, especially in the 

 stubble of the paddy fields, which the Koles, Sontals, Bhoomije-^, and such wild people 

 in Bengal cultivate in the forests. In such spots this bird is often seen early in the 

 morning, or near sunset, generally in pairs, or attended by a solitary young one ; and 

 the loud trumpet-like call of the male often directs the passenger's attention over the 

 far plain to where he stands like a beacon, watching, or hailing some other distant pair, 

 while his mate and long-legged chick are grazing close by. The sarrus, never being 

 molested by the natives, is generally pretty tame, and allows sufiiciently near approach 

 to watch its graceful and dignified movements. Should the spectator draw too near, 

 the birds walk off, with long strides and erect necks, turning their heads from side to 

 side to stare at the intruder. If still pursued, they break into a short, awkward run, 

 lean forward, and, spreading their broad sail-like wings, betake themselves to flight, 

 proceeding with heavy, flagging strokes very near the ground, and calling to each other 

 in loud clarion notes, which resound afar. Their flight rarely exceeds half or three- 

 quarters of a mile in length, or about twenty feet from the ground in height. They 

 cannot run, but walk for a .short distance fast enough to keep a human being on a jog 



