THE LITTLE BUSTARD. 



515 



tural laborers, plying their work, and gradually slipping towards the wary birds ; they walk 

 behind cows, and, in line, put into practice every device which their ingenuity, sharpened by 

 experience, can suggest. 



The Great Bustard is not fond of flying, its wings having but a slow and deliberate move- 

 ment; but on foot it is very swift, and tests the speed of dog and horse before it can be 

 captured. 



The nest if a hole in the ground may be called a nest of this bird is generally made 



, among corn, rye, etc., although it is sometimes situated in rather unexpected localities. The 



eggs are two or three in number, and of an olive-brown color, splashed with light brown, in 



which a green tinge is perceptible. The food of the bird is almost wholly of a veg^tabJy nature, 



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L 



LITTLE BUSTARD. Oils tetrax. 



though it is said to feed occasionally upon mice, lizards, and other small vertebrates. The 

 flesh of the Bustard is very excellent, but the extreme rarity of these birds prevents it from 

 being often seen upon the tables. When caught young, the Bustard can be readily tamed, 

 and soon becomes quite familiar with those who treat it kindly. 



The head and upper part of the neck are grayish-white, and upon the side of the neck 

 there is a small patch of slaty-blue bare skin, almost concealed by the curious feather tuft 

 which hangs over it. The upper part of the body is pale chestnut, barred with black, and 

 the tail is of similar tints with a white tip, and a very broad black band next to the white 

 extremity. The wing-coverts, together with the tertials, are white, and the primaries black. 

 The under surface of the body is white. The total length of an adult male is about forty-five 

 inches. 



THE LITTLE BTTSTARD is an occasional visitor to the northern parts of Europe, and when- 

 ever it does inake its appearance, it almost invariably chooses the winter time. 



