4 66 BUSTARDS, THICKNEES, AND CRANES. 



pair that on two occasions Mr. Hume has known the survivor pine away and die 

 on the death of its mate ; and he, therefore, recommends the sportsman, if he must 

 kill one of these beautiful birds, always to shoot the pair. 



Far more beautiful than either of the foregoing is the lovely 



white crane (G. leucogeranus), inhabiting a vast area in Central and 

 Northern Asia, and migrating in winter to India, and probably other Oriental 

 countries. It is characterised by having the head and neck only partially bare, 

 and the whole plumage, with the exception of the black quills, white ; the legs and 

 naked skin of the face being red. North America also possesses a white repre- 

 sentative of the genus in the whooping crane (G. americaria). Mr. Hume observes 

 that the Asiatic species " is the lily of birds ; and stand in what position it may, 

 the entire outline of its form presents a series of the most graceful and harmonious 

 curves. 3 ' This crane is found only where there are large sheets of shallow water, 

 in which grow abundance of the rushes and other aquatic plants forming its chief 

 nutriment. To show how deceptive is the appearance of cranes when seen from a 

 distance, Dr. Coues relates that once, while prongbuck-shooting on the prairie, his 

 companion and himself saw what they " took to be an antelope standing quietly 

 feeding, with his broad, white stern towards us, and only about five hundred yards 

 off. We attempted for at least fifteen minutes to ' flag ' the creature up to us, 

 waving a handkerchief on a ramrod in the most approved style. This proving 

 unavailing, my friend proceeded to stalk the game, and crawled on his belly for 

 about half the distance before the 'antelope' unfolded his broad, black-tipped 

 wings and flapped off, revealed at length a whooping crane." 



Among the numerous other members of the genus, space admits 



of reference to a few only. Of these the great wattled crane 

 ( G. carunculata), of South Africa, takes its name from the presence of two feathered 

 flaps of skin depending from the chin; the general colour of the upper plumage 

 being slaty grey, with the neck white and the remainder black. This crane goes 

 about in pairs, which haunt one locality for years. The pretty little demoiselle 

 crane (G. virgo), which breeds in North Africa, Spain, Southern Russia, and a large 

 area of Central and Eastern Asia, while in winter it visits Central Africa and India, 

 is distinguished from all the foregoing by its shorter beak, longer legs, and shorter 

 neck, as well as by its inferior size, and the long lanceolate feathers of the neck 

 and breast. In length this bird is only about 30 inches ; and in colour the head, 

 neck, and long breast-plumes are black ; a tuft of loose white feathers extends 

 outwards and backwards from the eye, while the general hue is purplish grey, with 

 the quills black. In India, where it arrives late in October, this crane associates 

 in flocks comprising from fifty to one hundred individuals, and frequents rivers 

 rather than marshes. Being mainly a vegetable-feeder, it is very destructive to 

 grain. The eggs are olive-green speckled with rufous ; and, while the female is 

 sitting, the male keeps constant guard. Although somewhat apt to wound its 

 assailant with its sharp inner claw, this crane affords good sport with a falcon. 

 Allied to this species is the much larger Stanley crane (G. paradisea) often 

 referred to the distinct genus Tetrapteryx of South Africa ; in which the whole 

 plumage is leaden-blue, with the exception of the white crown of the head and the 

 black extremities of the drooping secondaries. This species, although widely 



