lours to those of the back. Tail blackish-brown; with the shafts, tips, and bars, cream-yellow. Legs and The female differs in not having any black or brown on the neck and throat. Her breast is spotted with blackish-brown; and the general tints of her plumage are paler. FAMILY IV. STRUTHIONIDE, VIG. THE passage from the preceding to the Struthionidæ, the fourth family of the order, is (as I have before observed, when speaking of the present Order,) effected by certain species of the Tetraonidae, where the bill acquires the depressed form and shape of that of the American Rhea and the Emeus of Australia, and where the feet, if not tridactyle, exhibit at least great weakness and deficiency in the structure of the hind toe. In the present family, the typical groups attain a height and bulk far surpassing the rest of the feathered race; but having wings so short and imperfectly developed as to be totally unfit for the purposes of flight. Their anatomy also exhibits a corresponding variation, the os furcatorius being wanting, and the sternum itself destitute of the keel, and presenting the appearance of a flat plate, or buckler. Nearly allied to them, but possessing the power of flight, ranks the genus Otis, by certain species of which the immediate passage to the order Grallatores is effected. The birds of this family are inhabitants of the plains, and frequently of sandy deserts, feeding upon herbs, grain, and insects. They all run with great swiftness and for a long continuance, and which appears to be their usual mode of progress. Such of the family as are capable of flight, when in this action, stretch out their legs behind them. In disposition they are shy, savage, and stupid. They are polygamous. In Britain we only possess two species, both belonging to the genus Otis. GENUS OTIS, LINN. BUSTARD. GENERIC CHARACTERS. BILL of mean length, nearly straight, compressed, or depressed at the base, and having the point of the upper mandible curved. Nostrils removed from the base; lateral, oval, and open. Legs long, naked above the knee. Tarsus reticulated. Toes three, all forward, short, united at the base, and bordered with membranes. Wings of mean length; the third quill-feather the longest in each wing. The heavy form of the Bustards, and the shape of the bill, approximate them to the true Gallinaceous birds; but their long and naked legs, and the appearance and flavour of their flesh, also bring them near to the order Grallatores. They inhabit open countries, living amongst the grass, corn, or low brushwood. Their food is herbage, grain, and insects. They run swiftly, and fly but seldom. They are polygamous; and the females, after fecundation, separate from the males. Their moult is double, and the males of this genus are distinguished from the other sex by a brighter and more varied plumage, or by the accession of extraordinary ornaments. GREAT BUSTARD. OTIS TARDA, Linn. PLATE LXIV. Otis Tarda, Linn. Syst. 1. p. 264. 1.-Gmel. Syst. 1. p. 722. sp. 1.—Lath. Ind. Ornith. v. 2. p. 658. sp. 1.-Raii Syn. p. 58. A. 1.—Will. p. 129. t. 32-Briss. 5. p. 18. 1. L'Outarde, Buff. Õis. v. 2. p. 1. t. 1.—Id. Pl. Enl. 245. male. Outarde barbue, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. v. 2. p. 506. Der Grosse Trappe, Bechst. Naturg. Deut. v. 3. p. 1432.-Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. v. 1. p. 308.—Frisch, Vög. t. 106. female, and No. 106. Sup. the male. Great Bustard, Br. Zool. 1. No. 98. t. 44. male, bad figure.—Arct. Zool. 2. No. 186.—Id. Sup. p. 63.—Will. (Ang.) p. 178. t. 32.—Lath. Syn. 4. p. 796.-Albin, 3. t. 28, 39.-Edw. t. 79, 80.-Lewin's Br. Birds, 4. t. 139. -Mont. Ornith. Dict.-Id. Sup.-Walc. Syn. 2. t. 173.-Pult. Cat. Dorset. p. 6.-Bewick's Br. Birds, 1. p. t. 314. correct figure of male. THIS fine species, the largest of the British land birds, (having been met with weighing from 28 to 30 lb.) was formerly common in many parts of England; and its range extended at one period even to Scotland, as we learn from HECTOR BOETIUS and Sir ROBERT SIBBALD. Within the last thirty or forty years, however, the increased population of the country, and the consequent extension of agriculture, aided by the growth of luxury (the desire of gratifying which increases as the object becomes difficult of attainment), have so reduced the breed, that it is extinct in many places where it was tolerably plentiful before the above-mentioned period. Its appearance is now, I believe, exclusively confined to some parts of the county of Norfolk, particularly where the enclosures are extensive, and the soil of a dry sandy character. It is to be hoped that protection will there be given to the few that survive, and that no endeavours will be spared to prevent the total extinction of so noble a native bird; although probably, in consequence of the present scarcity of males, and the destruction of the eggs, arising from the improved practice of hand-hoeing the corn, all endeavours may prove ineffectual. Upon Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire (where it used formerly to abound), we are told by MONTAGU, that, from the great price obtained for the eggs and young, to hatch and rear in confinement, it had become very rare; and, in the Supplement to his work, published in 1813, he says that not a single Bustard had been seen for two or three years previous to that date, even in their most favourite haunts. As, from the answers to all inquiries on this subject, I am not able to state their reappearance, it must be concluded that the breed is now extinct upon those extensive downs, of which it once formed the appropriate ornament. The Bustard resides in its native haunts through the whole year, frequenting the corn-fields in summer, and being found amongst turnips in the winter season; and, in very severe storms of snow, when the ground may be deeply covered, it is sometimes compelled (in small flocks) to seek for more sheltered situations, or to visit the maritime parts of the country. But these migrations too often prove fatal, so large an object soon attracting attention; and it rarely escapes from the number of its pur suers. The female deposits two eggs upon the bare ground (oc- Eggs. casionally amongst clover, but more frequently in corn-fields) early in spring; which rather exceed those of a turkey in size, and their colour is a yellowish-brown,' inclining to oilgreen, with slight darker variations. Incubation lasts four weeks, and the young, as soon as excluded, follow their parent, but are incapable of flight for a long time.-The Bustard lives chiefly upon the various grasses, trefoils, &c.; it Food. will also feed on seeds and grain, and is particularly fond of green corn and the tops of turnips, which last constitute its chief winter's supply. It also eats worms, and has been known to devour mice and young birds, which are swallowed whole. The stomach is membranaceous, and able to contain a great quantity of food. The adult male of this species differs in its anatomical structure from the other sex, in possessing a pouch, situated down the fore part of the neck, capable of holding a considerable supply of water,* and having its entrance under the tongue. This is considered as destined to the provident purpose of securing the bird from the effects of thirst in the exposed and dry situations it inhabits, or for the benefit of the female and young during the breeding season, which takes place at a time when little water is to be found upon their usual places of resort; but this latter supposition does not carry with it much probability, as the male is never seen in close company with the female bird, except previous to incubation. It is also supposed to make use of this reservoir as a defence against birds or animals of prey, by ejecting the water, by muscular compression, in the face of the enemy, and thus baffling pursuit. Although in a state of confinement, the Bustard becomes tolerably tame to those who are in the habit of attending it; yet it displays at all times considerable ferocity towards strangers, and all attempts to continue the breed in that state have been without success. With respect to its habits in the wild state, it is so shy as seldom to be approached within gun-shot; invariably selecting the centre of the largest inclosure, where it walks slowly about, or stands with the head reposing backwards upon the bare part of its neck, and frequently with one leg drawn up.-Upon being disturbed, so far from running in preference to flight (as has been often described), it rises upon wing with great facility, and flies with much strength and swiftness, usually to another haunt, which will sometimes be at the distance even of six or seven miles. It has also been said, that, in former days, when the species was of common occurrence, it was a practice to run down the young birds (before they were able to fly) with greyhounds, as affording excellent diversion. So *MONTAGU mentions three or four quarts, which probably may be the utmost allowance; although other writers say as many as seven. |