92 THE GAME BIRDS AND WILD FOWL 



pea-like flowers of an arborescent pulse {Cajaiius indicus), and that 

 it is addicted to water-melons, boring into these fruits not only 

 to obtain the pulp and seeds but also to quench its thirst. When 

 feeding, Cranes are very wary birds, and usually post sentinels to 

 give timely warning of the approach of danger. In India, where 

 this bird is very common during the cold season, and swarms in 

 the rice fields, Hume states that they feed principally in the 

 early morning, but often pay other yet shorter visits to the 

 grounds during the day and night. On returning from their 

 meal they fly round and round above their usual resting-place as 

 if surveying the ground before alighting, all the time calling 

 loudly, and then generally descend in graceful sweeps, with their 

 long legs hanging down some httle time before they reach the 

 earth. The Crane sleeps standing on one leg, with the head and 

 neck buried amongst the dorsal plumes. Here, towards the after- 

 noon, they often congregate in vast flocks. They usually spend 

 the night on a sandbank surrounded by water where they are 

 comparatively safe from harm. The note of the Crane is a loud 

 trumpet-like cry, which may be heard for an immense distance 

 under favourable conditions. This note is variously modulated 

 during the breeding season. The flesh of the Crane is by no 

 means unpalatable, when the bird is killed under favourable 

 conditions for the table. 



Nidification. — The Crane begins to breed rather early in the 

 year, although the actual time varies a good deal with the 

 latitude of the nesting grounds. Thus in Central Europe its 

 eggs are laid about the end of April or the beginning of May, 

 but in Lapland they are about a month later. The nest is 

 usually built in the fastnesses of a swamp, and is a huge bulky 

 structure often upwards of two feet across. It is most probable 

 that the Crane pairs for life; indeed, there is direct evidence 

 that the same nest is used annually in many cases. It is made 

 of sedges, rushes, branches of heath and twigs, and lined with 

 grass. The eggs are generally two in number, but instances are 

 on record where three have been found. They vary from 

 brownish buff to greenish buff" in ground colour, blotched and 

 spotted with rich reddish brown, pale brown, and violet-gray. 

 The shell is rather rough and pitted. They measure on an 



