140 WILD LIFE I\ CHINA. 



and there is a streak of greyish white from the eye baclavard 

 down the side of the neck. The iris is red, as also is a bald 

 patch on the crown. .Most of the cranes seen in this 

 neighbourhood belong to this species. They are, perhaps, 

 most common in the more newly reclaimed portions of the 

 delta. I have seen them at times in the neighbourhood 

 • of the sea-wall, and once put up a party of five or 

 six from a half dried creek within the city of Changsha. 

 Flushing cranes inside a city will sound somewhat curious 

 to readers acquainted only with cities of the west. But 

 sportsmen in this part of the world know well enough that 

 a Chinese "city" frequentl}' means nothing more than a 

 space of land surrounded bj- a brick wall backed with an 

 earthen embankment. The amount of house-covered space 

 within varies very largely indeed. In some "cities" there 

 are square miles of open country and only a score or two of 

 houses: in most, there are still plenty of.open fields. It not 

 infrequently happens that some of the very best pheasant 

 shooting is to be found within the city wall, especially since 

 the Taipings left so much of the enclosed area covered with 

 ruins. I have not infrequently put up teal and wild duck, 

 also, within a circumvallated area, so that there is nothing 

 specially strange in seeing cranes there. The common crane 

 in South Kiangsu is sometimes disposed to be trustful where 

 man is concerned. I once succeeded in getting within about 

 sixty >ards of a pair down by the sea-wall, though we were 

 all in the open and within full sight of each other. Unfor- 

 "tunately I had no glasses with me. or I might have sat down 

 and taken observations at will. I had a gun with Xo. 4 

 cartridges, and it was, perhaps, the sight of that which 

 caused the birds to think that closer acquaintance was 

 undesirable, though I had no desire to shoot them. So with 

 a hop or two, and a flap of the broad wings they took 

 to flight exactliJ^ as one sees them on a Japanese screen, all 

 legs, wings, and neck. Usually, however, cranes are too wai-\- 

 to allow of close approach, and their height enables them to 

 see a long way round. So it comes to pass that few are shot, 

 which is just as well, perhaps. 



