35 2 On the Cranes.


Hab. : E. Siberia, N.E. Mongolia and Mantcburia, winter-

ing in Corea and parts of China.


Rare in captivity, but very desirable. A young one was

hatched in the Zoological Gardens of Amsterdam in 1872.


* # #


14. The Asiatic White Crane {Anthropoides leucogeranus).


A large showy bird. Colour : Purest white, with black

primaries. Red bare skin on the face, extending to just behind

the eyes. Eyes, bright yellow with a somewhat fierce expression.

Beak, yellowish-brown ; legs, pink.


Hab. : S.E. Europe and Asia Minor to N.E. China.

Wintering in N.W. India and China.


This Crane's cry is quite different to any of the others,


being weaker and more plaintive.


* # *-


15. The Crowned Crane {Balearica pavonina*).


{Avic Mag., New Series, Vol. I,, March and April, 1903).


The coloured illustrations in the magazine will show this

birds' appearance better than a verbal description. The

peculiarity of this Crane is the beautiful tuft of straw-like

bristles on the back of the head. When the wings are spread,

the bird looks much whiter, owing to the display of the wing-

coverts. There are two other kinds of Crowned Cranes, viz. :

Balearica regulorum. The Cape Crowned Crane ; which is lighter

in colour than B. pavonina, where it is grey, and usually has the

skin of the cheeks white, with bare red wattles at the throat:

and I believe that a third species was obtained on the White

Nile, near Khartoum. It is smaller and darker than B. pavonina,

and again differs in the shape of the red and white cheek patches.


Balearica pavonina inhabits W. Africa to Abyssinia and

the tributaries of the Nile.


B. regulorum inhabits S. Africa.


The cry of these Cranes very closely resembles the

trumpet of a motor-car, and people have often mistaken it for

that when hearing my birds call in the distance. They are very

beautiful birds, and when once acclimatized seem extremely

hardy. I have possessed three specimens of B. pavonina for five

years, which have been on open ground with no shelter even in

winter time except natural rushes and bushes.



