THE DEMOISELLE CRANE. 



535 



The forehead, top of the head, and neck are rather dark slaty-ash, and a patch of grayish- 

 white extends from behind the eyes, partially down the neck on each side. The general sur 

 face of the body is soft ashen-gray, and the primaries are black. The long plumy tertials form 

 two crest-like ornaments, which can be raised or depressed at will. The eyes are red, and the 

 beak is yellow, with a green tinge. The total length of the adult Crane is about four feet, but 

 it is rather variable in point of size, and the males are rather larger than the females. 



The two following birds are remarkable, not only for their beauty of form and plumage, 

 but for the extraordinary antics in which they occasionally indulge. 



The Demoiselle, or Nttmidian Crane, is common in many parts of Africa, and has been 

 seen in some portions of Asia, and occasionally in Eastern Europe. The movements of this 



DEMOISELLE CRANE.— Antliropok/es ririjo. 



CROWNED CRANE.— Balearica pavonina. 



beautiful bird are generally slow and graceful, with a certain air of delicate daintiness about 

 them which has earned for it the title of Demoiselle. But on occasions it is seized with a tit 

 of eccentricity, and nuts itself through a series of most absurd gambols, dancing about on the 

 tips of its toes, napping its wings, and bowing its head in the most grotesque fashion. It may 

 sometimes be seen performing these antics in the Zoological Gardens, but it is very capricious in 

 its habits, and, like the parrot, will seldom perform its tricks when it is most desired to do so. 

 It is a very pretty bird, the soft texture of the flowing plumage, and the delicate grays of 

 the feathers, harmonizing with each other in a very agreeable manner. The general tint of the 

 plumage is blue-gray, taking- a more leaden tone on the head and neck, and offering a beauti- 

 ful contrast to the snowy-white ear-tufts, issuing from velvety-black, which decorate the head. 

 There is also a tuft of long flowing plumes of a deep black gray-, hanging from the breast. Its 



