124 Practical Bird-Keeping. 



bottom in all cases is most important ; concrete being much too 

 hard as the birds spend a good deal of time wading about, and at 

 night roost knee deep in water, no matter how cold and wet the 

 weather may be. 



With regard to housing iu winter, one must be guided ])y 

 local climatic conditions. Those that require protection in this 

 localit}', particularly at night, it may be as well to mention, viz , 

 Cape Crowned Crane, West African Crowned Crane, Stanley 

 Crane, Demoiselle Crane, Wattled Crane, and Sarus Crane ; these 

 are driven in pairs into houses at night after the ist of November 

 each year, and are only allowed to remain out when the winter is 

 well over. During the day we keep them in as little as possible, 

 although the houses are good in every way. By careful housing 

 during the winter you can keep the birds in good health and, as 

 the nesting season comes along, you stand a much better chance 

 of having nests with fertile eggs, a most necessary point to 

 mention. Under no consideration, while the birds are indoors, 

 place water or food on the ground, but put it into pans in a 

 convenient light corner, where the birds can see them well, and 

 raise them at least twelve inches from the ground, as by so doing 

 the birds cannot foul them. Bed down with peat moss, and do 

 not forget to have plenty of overhead ventilation, as well as 

 that from the windows, and when hard frost and perhaps deep 

 snow is on the ground admit as much sunshine as you can, 

 and all will go well. Should it so happen that the snow lies 

 more tlian two days, we sweep a good piece, sa)^ twelve yards 

 by four yards or thereabouts in a sheltered corner, and this the 

 birds make good use of if let out. 



The period of incubation of Cranes varies. The species 

 which have bred here are: Canadian, White-necked and Mau- 

 churian, and incubation takes 30 days ; Wattled 36 days. A pair 

 of Stanley Cranes at present have a nest here with the usual 

 complement of two eggs ; they have been sitting 32 days, and 

 as we have no idea of the time these birds take to incubate, you 

 can imagine our hopes and fears. Both male and female sit well 

 and take turn on the eggs. All the Cranes' eggs that I have seen 

 bear a strong famil}' likeness and are small for the great size of 

 the birds ; the colour of the eggs varies slightly, and they are 



