THE BIRDS OF PORTUGAL. 2C7 



de grdce had been given by cutting its throat witli a knife, 

 as is the approved metliod of Portuguese sportsmen ; it luid 

 also been a p;ood deal torn by dogs; but thougli thus ill- 

 used, blood-stained, and damaged, it has been admirably 

 cleaned and mounted by Mr. Baker, tlu; well-known taxi- 

 dermist of Cambridge, and, thanks to his diligence and care, 

 now stands in my collection a noble specimen of the Portu- 

 guese OlJNIS. 



With the assistance of Dr. Suche, whose anatomical skill 

 was of the greatest service to me, I spent several hours in 

 examining the soft wattle-like protuberance which hung 

 below the chin and throat, and gave the whole neck a thick 

 puffy appearance ; the result was, that I entertain no doubt 

 whatever, and (what is of fiir more value) Dr. Suche was 

 equally positive, that this male Great Bustard possessed 

 a pouch of considerable capacity, or rather (as it seemed to 

 me) a number of membrane-divided sacs, which appeared 

 capable of extending to almost any dimensions, and the 

 larger of which would apparently contain many quarts. I 

 am quite aware that my own attempts at dissection were 

 very poor, and I should not venture to speak thus positively 

 on so disputed a point but for the able assistance in the 

 work, and the positive conclusions deduced therefrom, by 

 Dr. Suche. To this I may add, that on mentioning our 

 work and our unanimous conclusions to Professor du Bocage, 

 he not only cordially concurred with us, but declared that 

 it was impossible for anyone to examine the throat and neck 

 of an adult male Otis tarda Avithout being convinced by his 

 own senses that such a pouch did exist. Even previously 

 to removing the skin of my bird, the position and size of the 

 large goitre-like excrescence standing out from the neck, 

 though concealed by feathers, could be plainly discerned, 

 and when handled at once betrayed the soft, yielding nature 

 of its substimce. 



In regard to phmiage, the most remarkable character- 

 istic of this, as well as of the only other specimen of the 

 Great Bustard Avhich I could find in Portugal, a splendid 

 adult male in the Lisbon Museimi, consists in the extremely 

 ruddy or dai'k chestnut hue which pervades the feathers of 



