Demoiselle Crane 



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black. It appears to be rather generally distributed throughout its range, though 

 nowhere very abundant, frequenting mostly the open country in pairs and often 

 at a distance from water. It feeds in the wild state on small bulbs, seeds, rep- 

 tiles, insects, and small mammals, and is then very shy and difficult of approach, 

 but it is readily tamed and may be fed from the hands on a great variety of sub- 

 stances. Of its habits in the Transvaal Mr. Thomas Ayres writes: "These 

 Cranes are not at all uncommon in this country. In the summer months they 

 are generally seen in pairs, stalking about the open flats in search of insects; in 

 winter they congregate in certain localities and live sociably together. These 

 birds feed on seeds and roots as well as on insects, and their flesh is not at all 

 bad eating. Blue Cranes (as this species is locally called) sometimes rise to an 

 immense height in the air, uttering their peculiar loud guttural note. When on 

 the ground they frequently amuse themselves by dancing around each other, 

 with wings extended, bowing and scraping to each other in a most absurd manner, 

 not a little curious to see." 



Demoiselle Crane. The other species mentioned above as closely related 

 to the last is the Demoiselle Crane (Anthropoides virgo), which is widely dis- 

 persed from southern Europe to central Asia and northern China, migrating in 

 winter to Africa and India. It is the smallest of all the Cranes, being only about 

 thirty inches long. The general color is pearl-gray, but it may be further dis- 

 tinguished by its long and very copious white ear-tufts, while the neck and the 

 pendent breast-plumes are black. In winter they associate in often immense 

 flocks, feeding mainly in the grain fields, but retiring during the heat of the day 

 to the larger rivers, where they may often be seen standing in the shallow water. 

 Of their nesting habits, as observed in Bulgaria, Cullen says: "The nest of the 

 Demoiselle Crane is, without exception, made on the ground, usually amidst 

 some kind of young grain, but often amongst grass on fallow land. The nest 

 if indeed such it can be called is made by the birds pulling up or treading down 

 the grain, grass, or stubble for the space of about two feet and scratching the 

 shallowest possible hollow in the middle of the bare patch thus formed." The 

 eggs, always two in number, are placed side by side with the small ends invari- 

 ably pointing in the same direction. In color the eggs are usually a dirty pale 

 green, more or less thickly spotted with umber-brown. 



Wattled Crane. The final member of the present group is the Wattled 

 Crane (Bugeranus carunculatus] of. South Africa, which is distinguished by a 

 remarkable pendent lappet of skin on each side of the neck below the chin. It 

 is about fifty-five inches in length, and is slaty gray above and black below, with 

 the neck pure white. It is usually seen in pairs and is nowhere very abundant. 



Crowned Cranes. Differing considerably from those previously mentioned 

 are the Crowned Cranes (Balearica) of Africa, being so named from the presence 

 of a narrow, fan-shaped crest or " crown " of twisted wire-like bristles, each 

 three and one half inches long, radiating from the back of the head. Struc- 

 turally they are distinguished by the absence of convolutions in the trachea, 

 together with the possession of compact bodies, long necks, and rather short 

 conical bills, while the general color of the plumage is black or leaden gray, the 



