372 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XVI. 



No. XIII.— NOTES ON THE " HOUBARA " 



{OTIS MACQUEENI). 

 The Houbara, "Tilur " of the Punjabi, has been extraordinarily plentiful this 

 cold season in the Sirsa District, as many as 12 having been shot in one day by 

 two guns and a total bag of 49 made by one gnn between the 20th of November 

 1904 and the 15th of January 1905. One of the largest birds I have handled 

 weighed 4 lbs. 2§- ounces uncleaned, and I took the following measurements with 



a steel tape: — 



Xjengun »•• ••• ••• ... ... ••• ... ••• -"' — 



Wing ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 16" 



_L arsus ... ... ... ... ..t ... ... ... o oo 



x ail ... ... ■-. ... ... ••• ... ... «? ■"£) 



Bill from gape ' 2'25" 



Length of foot 2'20" 



This Houbara (a fine male) was shot on the 11th of January 1905 and 



looked like a young Ostrich stalking along, except for his tell-tale ruff ! This 



ruff is an exceptionally fine one. The longest feather? measured 6'40 long. 



The feathers forming the crest on the top of the bead tape 3*10 and the 



whole plumage is in magnificent condition. I find that about this part of the 



Punjab the " Houbara " affects sanely hammocks intersected with crops cf 



" rye " or mustard, and should you find such a place, and the day be still and 



not too cold and windy, you may have the luck to see 8 to 11 birds stalking 



majestically along. I find also that generally after the third flight the birds 



will allow you (provided you are riding or stalking behind a camel) to get 



amongst them, as they then get accustomed to your camel and try to escape 



notice by " squatting. " This is the time to test the powers of your own 



eye-sight and the observing power of your camel-driver, for a " Houbara, " 



squatting on sand with his head laid out flat, is indistinguishable at a 



distance of 10 yards. It is then you will give vent to an " anathema " on 



all the " Otis " tribe (for should you turn away thinking that you must have 



been mistaken and no bird had alighted, marked you ever so carefully the 



spot as you thought) you may perchance get too near an old hen bird that has 



been there all the time and with a flap, up she will get and flap away, but 



covered by the body of your camel until too late to fire. The "Houbara" is 



not a swift flyer and is not a difficult bird to bit or bring down. The colouring of 



their wing covers and backs very closely resembles the sand on which they delight 



to live, and when " squatting," should the ground be absolutely level, the eye will 



pass over the bird in mistake for a clod of sand or some debris blown together. 



To get on anything like shooting terms with the " Houbara " it is advisable 



to circle round on your camel, when they will on a still day let you get quite 



close and you may shoot 5 or 6 as they get up one after the other. I. put 



forward the theory that on a windy day their feathers are liable to get 



blown up and so cause them to be detected, and this makes them impatient 



and impossible to approach. They feed generally in the morning and evening 



on seeds and insects, and there is a small weed that covers the open sandwastes 



