birds
because it seems to reflect both a good (courage) and a bad (obtrusiveness) character trait. According to van Maerlant, the ‘leader of the flock stands guard and ‘screams loudly when people are approaching.’ ‘During migration’, he continues ‘it is only relieved by another bird when it gets hoarse from continuous screaming.’ Van Maerlant also states that the call of the Crane ‘awakes everybody’. Jacob van Maerlant’s encyclopaedia should not be taken too literally (take for example the delightful statements that Cormorants are so hot that they have to fan themselves with their wings, Great Bustards kill cattle and devour them on the spot and that Great Bitterns retract their necks like dirty old thieves, but smell good when they are roasted). Nevertheless, the statement that Cranes awake people seems to hold some truth. Sixteenth century accounts claim that Cranes were kept in Hungarian strongholds to raise the alarm in the event of attack. These writings mention that Cranes were kept on the outer walls, and would raise the alarm even at night, thus waking everybody in the settlements. They functioned as watchdogs as do the farmyard geese today. The captive Cranes were taken as chicks, indicating that Cranes formerly bred in Hungary. Some local names in the Hortobágy region also refer to Crane breeding sites. With the increase of summering Cranes, hopes are high that the Crane will return to the puszta as a breeding bird.
flora and fauna
99
Roosting Cranes on the fishponds.