Cranes in Captivity.



55



with bonnes touches in the shape of nice fat, luscious insects. Now

this, well meaning as it is, is just exactly what the birds do not

want; what they do want is to be left severely alone. Directly it

is observed that the Cranes are getting shy and retiring themselves

from close observation, especially if they are noticed to be picking

up bits of sticks, they should be left undisturbed as much as possible 9

and all dogs and strangers kept away from their enclosure ; an arm¬

ful of twigs may be thrown in to them, or an old birch-broom untied

and given to them. If it is really a desire to set up housekeeping

that has rendered the birds shun observation they will make use of

the twigs by commencing on their nest at once. Cranes in selecting

a site for their nest are rather erratic in their tastes ; sometimes, and

very often they are the shyest birds that do so, they will make their

nest in a quite open and unsheltered situation, whilst another pair of

Cranes will select a nesting site which is screened from observation

by a protecting bush. Two eggs are generally laid, but if they have

nested previously with unfertile ones, sometimes only one is laid

and the hen starts sitting right away. When two eggs are laid the

second is deposited two days after the first and the hen begins to

incubate at once ; the period of incubation lasts four weeks and both

parents take turns in the work, often relieving each other five or six

times during the day. Like many other birds at this time they are

very cautious in their behaviour, and if their enclosure is entered,

even by their owner, the sitting bird will slip off the nest at once,

often pretend to feed and nearly always walk in a different direction

from its companion, in an attempt to draw the intruder’s attention

away from the nest and eggs : if this be unsuccessful and the person

approaches too near the nest for the bird’s peace of mind, the Cranes

will adopt the same artifice as that displayed by the Lapwing, the

hen tumbling along the surface of the ground as though she had a

broken wing or was injured in some manner, while the male will

puff up his neck and head feathers in an effort to make a show of

ferocity towards the intruder.


The eggs will hatch out, if fertile, about the twenty-eighth

day ; the young birds are dark biscuit colour, shading off to a cream

tint, with chocolate marking's and, like all nestlings, are dear little

things. The parents start feeding the young at once, each parent



