THE SARUS 39 



always let others try this on for the first time with a 

 strange crane, because some birds resent this head- 

 tickling and, to again quote from the worthy Babu 

 above mentioned, " appear to exist only as it were for 

 pecking at everything, bird, beast, and man : children 

 being the special object of their wrath." 



There are two cranes in the " Zoo " at Lahore ; they 

 are a most mischievous couple. They used to be kept 

 with the ducks and geese, and amused themselves by 

 rooting up all freshly planted rushes. At feeding time 

 it was their habit to hop from one dish of food to 

 another with outstretched wings and thus frighten off 

 the ducks and secure the lion's share for themselves. 

 They were then removed to the enclosure where the 

 adjutants are. They started playing tricks on these, 

 but the adjutant has a powerful beak which he is quite 

 ready to use when necessity arises. The result is that 

 the saruses are not on speaking terms with the 

 adjutants. 



Unlike the adjutant, whose nest is a huge platform 

 of sticks placed on the top of a very lofty tree, the sarus 

 builds its nursery on the ground. This takes the form 

 of a large cone, several feet in diameter at the base and 

 two or three feet high. It is composed of reeds, rushes, 

 and straw, and placed by preference in shallow water. 

 Great care is taken to keep the eggs above water level. 

 If, as is apt to happen in India, heavy rain comes on 

 after the completion of the nest, the parents speedily set 

 to work to raise the eggs by adding more material to 

 that upon which they rest. 



