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the plains of the north of India ; but the only place where I have observed them, out of the 

 Himalayahs, is in a tract of country lying to the north of the Etawah and south of the Mynpoorie 

 districts, in the middle of the ' Duab,' or Mesopotamia, of the Ganges and Jumna, and, as I said 

 before, about halfway between Agra and Cawnpore. 



" That they themselves are rare, and that localities suited to their tastes are not numerous, 

 may be inferred from the fact that, apparently, Dr. Jerdon, when he published his work, had 

 never seen one ; while, as far as I know, until I last year sent a pair to Madras, there were no 

 specimens in any of our museums. The locality in which, during these last two winters, I have 

 seen and procured, comparatively, so many of these beautiful birds is somewhat peculiar. A 

 broad straggling belt of Dhak (Butea frondosa) -jungle, some ten miles in width — at one time 

 doubtless continuous, but now much encroached upon and intersected in many places by culti- 

 vated lands, runs down through nearly the whole of the ' Duab,' marking, I suspect, an ancient 

 river- course. Just where the northern and southern boundaries of the Etawah and Mynpoorie 

 districts lie within this belt, the latter encloses a number of large shallow ponds or lakes (' jheels,' 

 as we here term them), which, covering from two hundred acres to many square miles of country 

 each at the close of the rainy season, are many of them still somewhat imposing sheets of water 

 early in January, and some few of them of considerable extent even as late as the commencement 

 of March. Mohree Southenan, Mamun, Sirsau Nawur, Kurree, Beenan, Soj, Hurrera, Suman, 

 Kishnee, Phurenjhee are some of the largest of these rain-water lakes, many of which abound 

 with rushes and sedges, and, as the waters gradually dry up or are drawn off for irrigating- 

 purposes, become successively the favourite haunts of the White Crane. 



"There will always be at any particular time two or three 'jheels' that for the moment 

 they particularly affect; and these are as a rule just those that then happen to average about 

 eighteen inches to two feet in depth, and that have a good deal of rush {Scirpus carinatm 

 amongst others) somewhere in the shallower parts. 



" To this tract of country they make their way as early as the 25th of October (and possibly 

 sooner, though this is the earliest date on which I have observed them); and there they remain 

 at least as late as the end of March, or perhaps a week or two longer. During the whole of our 

 cold season they stay in this neighbourhood ; and though growing more and more wary (if possible) 

 each time they are fired at, and disappearing for a day or two from any ' jheel ' where an attempt 

 has been made to kill or capture them, they never seem to forsake the locality until the change 

 of temperature warns them to retreat to their cool northern homes. Week after week I have 

 noticed, and repeatedly fired at, sometimes even slightly wounded particular birds, which have 

 nevertheless remained about the place their full time ; nay, I have twice now killed the young 

 bird early in the season, and the parents, one by one, at intervals of nearly a couple of months. 



" The Buhelias, a native caste of fowlers (and, I fear I must add, thieves), of whom there are 

 many in the neighbourhood, and who are keen observers of all wild animals, assure me that, as 

 far back as any of them can remember (namely, for at least the last fifty years), parties of the 

 White Crane (or, as they call them, i Karekhurs ') have been in the habit of yearly spending their 

 winters in the same locality. 



"Though occasionally in larger flocks, it is usual to find either a pair of old ones accom- 

 panied by a single young one, or small parties of five or six, which then, as far as I can judge, 



