342 



REPTILES AND BIRDS. 



attention of the spectator ; hence, in French, the name of demoiselle 

 has been given to it. It is found in Turkey and Southern Russia, in 

 Northern Africa, and in some parts of Asia adjacent to the latter 

 region. 



The Crested Crane (Balearica pavonina, Fig. 135) has the top of 

 its head adorned with a tuft of feathers, which it has the power of 



spreading out like a fan, so as 

 to form a handsome adorn- 

 ment. Although about the 

 height of the two sister-birds, 

 it is more slender. Its voice 

 is very loud. Readily be- 

 coming familiar with man, it 

 seeks his acquaintance. Its 

 chief habitats are the eastern 

 and northern coasts of Africa 

 and some of the isles in the 

 Mediterranean : according to 

 the ancients, it was formerly 

 common in the Balearic Is- 

 lands, 



The Hooping Crane {Pso- 

 phia crepitans, Latham) has a 

 strong and tapering bill, shorter 

 than the head ; long tarsi and 

 medium-sized toes, the back 

 toe touching the ground at the 

 extremity only. Its wings are 

 short, and, in consequence, it 

 flies with difficulty ; but, to 

 make up for this deficiency, it 

 xan run very swiftly. This bird is but little larger than a domestic 

 fowl. It is in the habit of uttering at intervals a piercing call, which 

 seems as if it did not proceed from the bird itself; this cry has 

 procured for it the name it possesses. It makes its nest on the 

 ground, in a hole scratched out at the root of a tree, and feeds on 

 grasses, seeds, and small insects. Shyness is not one of its qualities, 

 and it will submit to captivity without repugnance ; it forms an attach- 

 ment to its master, and solicits his caresses like a pet dog. The 

 latter comparison is all the more just, as the bird renders very much 

 the same service to man as that quadruped. This bird is entrusted 

 with the care of the flocks when at pasture, and in the evening brings 



Fig. 134. — Demoiselle Crane. 



