Birds of Luchwiu. 157 



No. 1 109. Grus antigone. Sarus Crane. 



Saras [H.]. 



A resident species, rarely found in any numbers. Four 

 or five are sometimes seen in company, but more often 

 two or tbree, of which the third is a young bird. On one 

 occasion, in April, I counted over forty in a flock on a sand- 

 bank in the Ganges, near Fatehgarh. It breeds from July 

 to October, making a nest of weeds in some shallow jhee 1 

 and laying two eggs, sometimes pure white, but more often 

 with a pinkish or bluish tinge, sparingly spotted and blotched 

 with reddish brown. Some of the shells are very smooth and 

 glossy, while others have a more or less chalky appearance. 

 As a rule, too, the latter appear to be the larger. On one 

 occasion I found a Sarus's nest with the bird sitting on two 

 eggs. It was floating in three or four feet of water, so that 

 I could tow it about. I have never known a Sarus attack 

 anyone who meddled with its eggs, but the old birds are 

 always much distressed. From the number of trios one meets 

 with in the cold weather, I fancy that it is a common thing 

 for only one chick to be hatched. Occasionally eggs have 

 been taken and brought to me in February and March. The 

 call of the Sarus is sonorous and trumpet-like, and can be 

 heard at a great distance. 



Average of 11 Lucknow and Hardoi eggs . . 4 - 03"x2'5-4" 



Measurement of largest egg 4 21" x2 - 51" | 



4-ll"x2-61"| 



No. 1411. Antiiropoides virgo. Demoiselle Crane. 



Karkarra [H.]. "Coolen" of European sportsmen. 



Not common around Lucknow itself. The jheels of late 

 years have not been such as to tempt these birds. Beyond 

 Rai Bareli, in January 1901, I saw immense numbers on 

 some shallow muddy jheels, and a few days after, while 

 buck-shooting about five miles from Lucknow, I heard and 

 saw a flock passing high overhead, evidently making in 

 the same direction. They are said to be more common on 

 the Chowka, Gogra, and Ganges. 



They are most difficult to approach, as they post sentries, 



