146 
FOREST AND STREAM 
Feb. 3, 1912 
Florida Sandhill Cranes. 
Kissimmee, Fla., Jan. 24 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: Come with me if you will, gracious 
reader, and enjoy a scene from the Southland. 
It is a bright and glorious morning; tall live 
oaks grace the well-kept lawn; from orange 
trees chirp the mockingbirds; red birds of bril¬ 
liant scarlet feed complacently along with the 
dove, and jays in numbers herald their pres¬ 
ence as they beg for their every morning break¬ 
fast of bread crumbs. 
By the playing fountain stand like sentinels 
two white-plumed egrets, their spotless figures 
adorned in their bridal veil of long silken 
plumes, making a picture that an artist might 
envy. Central in the Florida scene are two large 
sandhill cranes, one pluming itself after the 
morning bath, the other a rollicking youngster, 
dancing and bowing at an imaginary plaything 
she sees in the grass. 
It is chiefly of dear old Dick, familiar to 
Forest and Stream readers, we would write. 
A few years ago Dick made his debut into the 
world of type when his history appeared in the 
columns of Forest and Stream, and was so 
largely copied by the press all over the country. 
Dick is now seventeen years old and is still 
the bugler and picket guard of the yard. FI is 
head is stately and like that of an Indian; his 
eye keen and piercing; his head surmounted by 
a brilliant red crest. He is tru’y an imposing 
and picturesque feature of the lawn. 
He is a favorite with everybody, and accounts 
of his intelligence have been carried far by 
tourists and visitors to our town, while many 
a camera series is adorned with his figure. 
The intelligence of this bird is equal to that 
of a highbred dog. Fie courts companionship, 
following us about the yard; and where the 
negro is at work, there Dick appears, digging 
industriously wdth his long beak, like a sexton. 
Dick has always been inordinately fond of his 
master, whom he makes every effort to please, 
whether the command is to dance, or carol a 
greeting, or turn his back with wings outstretched 
to be carried. The last named is Dick’s latest 
acquirement and is performed after this man¬ 
ner. His master will say; “Dick, do you want 
to be carried ?’’ When Dick will at once turn 
his back, spread his wings, and after his master 
has grasped the wings close to the bird's body 
and has carried it a short distance or has jumped 
it up and down, Dick is told to say, “Thank 
you.” and immediately puts up his head and 
give.s a long, mellow trumpet call. 
The bird shows a sense of inte'ligence so keen 
that we look upon it with daily wonder. Whde 
dozens of automobiles pass by during the day, 
it is only the car of Dick’s owner whose rumb'e 
and konk-konk Dick notices. He recognizes its 
vibration long before the automobile is in sight, 
grows restless, and then with head erect com¬ 
mences a series of low gurgling notes, which 
cu’minate in a long clangorous, trumpeting ca 1 
of welcome as the car rolls into the garage. 
Three years ago Dick, then fourteen years 
old, surprised everyone by proving sex and lay¬ 
ing the first egg, and now while Dick's name 
cannot be changed, we must think and speak 
in ihe feminine gender. Proud the old bird was 
of her first egg, and two weeks later she laid 
a second. The eggs were taken away and soon 
forgotten. A year later Dick began to show 
signs of nest building again, so with the aid of 
her master and mistress, quite a bunch of dried 
grass was gotten into one place, Dick calling 
and assisting in placing the twigs. One egg, two 
eggs and still Dick watched the nest, when a 
third egg was laid. Natives as well as the 
Seminole Indians say they have never found 
more than two e,ggs in a crane’s nest. 
A year ago Dick at the budding age of sweet 
sixteen again got to the nest building stage and 
THE PET CRANES. 
laid two eggs. In the interim between the lay¬ 
ing of the first and second egg, a farmer brought 
to us a baby crane, a toddling, soft-eyed, yellow- 
legged creature. We placed the little crane in 
the yard, wondering how Dick would treat it, 
for Dick has always been the sovereign of the 
place—dogs, cats, chickens and the white herons 
have learned to bow to her superior will. To 
our surprise Dick tolerated the yofing bird, until 
the second egg was laid, when affection took the 
place of toleration and a mother instinct as¬ 
serted itself. In a few days Dick had assumed 
entire proprietorship and adopted the baby crane 
as her sole property. 
Dick being the pet of the yard for so many 
years had grown naturally selfish, much as a 
spoiled child, but now with the advent of the 
little stranger from the prairie she commenced 
to show a most self-sacrificing spirit with all 
the instinct of a foraging hen with her brood, 
denying herself all the tid-bits and feeding the 
new charge as, long as the little toddler could 
be induced to swallow, the youngster moving 
away from its over-indulgent foster mother, who 
kept following with a choice bit. Not until the 
young bird had refused to be coaxed into eat¬ 
ing more would dear old Dick eat. 
Dick grew more and more foolish over the 
adopted baby, reminding one of a doting grand¬ 
mother over a spoiled child, and soon began to 
resent any approach to the new treasure. She 
grew so cross—to all except her master—that 
Dick’s friends of years thought “discretion the 
better part of valor” and admired her from a 
distance. 
At the end of six months the young crane, 
whom we christened Peggy, had grown into a 
handsome bird with all the rollicking nature of 
a young puppy and kept her foster mother on 
the qui vive. 
Around and around the house Peggy runs, 
chasing the cat, running after the buzzards, 
going through a 1 sorts of gymnastics, bowing 
and dancing, picking up sticks, throwing them 
into the air and hopping up and down as if on 
a spiral wire. 
The two birds enjoy each other’s society 
through the winter, going about the yard neck 
and neck, digging the ground with heads to¬ 
gether and roosting side by side at night. 
Spring came and Dick commenced to show 
signs of peevishness at Peggy’s persistent com¬ 
panionship, and soon we decided that Dick had 
something unusual on her mind, and the old 
chirp, chirp that attends the nest building was 
heard, and Peggy was commanded in crane 
language to keep away. Peggy, who needed 
something to love, sought the company of the 
horse, and now the handsome young crane and 
the pony make a most picturesque feature of 
the lot—the bird keeping close by her side and 
taking a step as the horse takes one—picking at 
her tail, jumping up and down, and apparently 
as happy as when Dick was her over-indulgent 
parent. 
To complete the story a few more words about 
Dick must be added. She has certainly broken 
ad crane records in egg laying, for beginning 
with her peevish attitude toward Peggy, when 
she laid a large well-formed egg, she has con¬ 
tinued at intervals to make a nest under the 
shady corner of the bamboo until ten eggs are 
credited to her account. 
Minnie Moore 'Willson. 
Starlings. 
Goi.dsboro, Md., Jan. 20.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: Starlings have been quite plenty here 
this winter. I have noticed flocks of fifty or 
more, and during the recent cold weather they 
have been quite thick about the barnyards. I 
recognized the bird from the pictures of it in 
the encyclopedia and even Webster’s dictionary. 
I should like to know when they were im¬ 
ported and set free in this country? 
J. Spencer Lapham. 
[Starlings were brought to New York city 
about 1890. Their increase was rapid, for in 
1910 they were reported from many towns in 
this State, Connecticut and New Jersey, and even 
Philadelphia. Since then their spread in all di¬ 
rections has been more rapid. It would be in¬ 
teresting to hear from correspondents north and 
west, as, well as south, as to the extent of their 
present range. They seem to have passed through 
the inclement winter weather without leaving 
their accustomed haunts, but come readily to 
places where food is placed for them. Last 
week we picked up a starling that had died or 
been frozen. It seemed to be but two-thirds 
grown. No others were found in the vicinity, 
which is frequented daily by them. —Editor.] 
