far south as Nubia, the majority wintering in the southern and
summering in the northern portions of their range, though some
breed as far south as Spain. In Palestine, Asia Minor, the
countries about the Caspian, Persia, Afghanistan, and Bcluchistan,
Eastern Turkestan, Siberia, Kashgar, and China, this
species is found, as in Europe, wintering for the most part in
the more southern countries it visits.
Whether Japan should really be included in the range of this
species I do not know ; the Japanese form has been separated
as longirostris, and is said to differ in the greater amount of
white about the face and in having a bill six inches in length at
front (from margin of feathers) against 4'6, which is a maximum
for the bill similarly measured in our Indian birds.
Blyth, it may be remembered, at one time announced that
our Indian bird was longirostris; but Mr. Gurney has kindly
measured for me the bills of eight specimens of the European
bird (two of them killed in England), and has found those of
adults (measured as above) to vary only from 4'05 to 4 7 , which
dimensions cover those of every Indian specimen that I have
examined, and I have no doubt, therefore, that I have correctly
referred our bird to communis.
I HAVE never myself observed this species in Upper India before
the 3RD of October, and, as a rule, the majority do not seem to
arrive during the latter half of that month. From Central India
and the Deccan, the majority disappear by the middle of March,
in the Doab they remain a fortnight later, and further north
and west they are still in great force in some years in the middle
of April. But though the majority thus leave, a certain
proportion, almost invariably, I believe, young birds that will not
breed that year, remain behind from a fortnight to three weeks
later than the rest of their comrades, so that I have shot them
in Etawah as late as the 20TH of April, and at Jhilum, as the
3RD of May.
In Sind they seem to arrive earlier. Doig says: " Large
flocks of this Crane begin to come in, in the month of August ;
they are generally seen flying very high, and are apparently
going far south, probably towards Cutch. By the month of
November the rice fields are swarming with them. The latest
date on which I have seen this Crane, in the Nara Districts, was
the 4TH May, on which date I shot two out of a small flock of
five. They feed on the rice fields usually in the early morning,
retiring to lonely plains or swamps during the day time."
The Common Crane, like most waders, passes much of its time
by the water side, often standing asleep in the noonday sun, in
the water itself. Where large rivers are near, at least if their
banks are sandy and shelving, it certainly resorts to them in
preference to tanks, and may be found in or near the water at
almost any hour of the day and night, except, perhaps, between
sun-rise and 9 A.M., when it is usually feeding inland. Where no
large river invites them, they may be met with in large tanks
and jhfls, but this is, I think, the exception in their case and
that of the Demoiselle Crane. Per contra, the White Crane, as
far as I have observed, frequents jhils alone, and the Sarus prefers
these to rivers.
They feed regularly in the early mornings, chiefly in grain
fields, in this country—wheat, gram, pulse, and rice being those
most resorted to ; but they may often be seen feeding at the
waters' edge during the day, and both during the day and night
they not unfrcqucntly pay one or two other short visits to the
fields.
They sleep on one leg,* with the neck and head nestled into
the feathers of the back, are pretty quiet during the heat of the
day, when most of them are asleep, and very noisy during the
night, and at other times also when flying.
Often, especially in the afternoon, they collect together in
great numbers on one of those vast, white, sandy flats which
abound in the beds of the Jumna, Ganges, and other large
rivers in Northern India, and there stalk about majestically,
apparently taking an airing. They certainly are not feeding,
though now and then to aid digestion they pick up small
pebbles, and beyond some crusty individual, dealing an ill-natured
poke with his strong bill at some passer-by who incontinently
trots off, with comical haste, with wings half extended,
trumpeting his disgust at such bad manners, there is certainly
little play. Every now and then a small party, who perhaps have
been lately picking up minute shells or insects on the sand,
march down to the water side to drink, lifting their heads very
high after two or three gulps, much like Geese.
Further south more than twenty are, I believe, rarely seen
together ; but in the Upper Provinces, flocks of from one to three
* The story of Frederic the Great's cook really deserves to be remembered. This
cook rejoiced in a most exigeant mistress, who would never be satisfied unless she had
some portion of every dish sent up to the king. One day the piece de resistance
happened to be a Crane, and the cook abstracting one leg dished up the remainder.
By chance the king noticed the mutilation. Sending for the cook he said. " Rascal,
is it not sufficient that you devour everything that leaves my table? nay—forsooth,
you must make a meal off the dishes before they leave the kitchen. What has
become of the other leg of that Crane?" "Other leg," replied the cook; "why,
everyone knows that Cranes never have more than one leg." " Do you dare to trifle
with me?" said the king ; "here bring him along," and Frederic stalked out of the
window to the adjoining aviary in which several tame Cranes were confined. Now
it chanced that this was but little after midday, the Cranes had been fully fed, and
they stood asleep in a row, each showing only a single leg. "Thanks be to
the saints," exclaimed the cook unctuously, "who thus vindicate the right and
protect the poor and slandered ; Your Majesty can now see for yourself that it is
even as I said." The king gave an angry stamp, the Cranes awoke with a start,
and down came the second leg of each. " How now thou thief about Cranes having
only one leg?" roared the king. "Sire," said the cook, "you are all powerful ;
doubtless had you stamped like that, when the roast Crane came on table, even
that dead bird would have put out a second leg to gratify Your Majesty." N. B —
This story has been told in a variety of ways, about a number of different persons,
but the above version is quite as authentic as any other !