2i6 THE NESTS AND EGGS OF 



Family OTIDID.^. Genus Otis. 



GREAT BUSTARD. 



Otis tarda, Linnceus. 



(British : Formerly bred ; irregular nomadic spring, autumn, 

 and winter migrant.) 



Single Brooded. Laying season, May. 



Breeding area : Southern Palaearctic region. The 

 Great Bustard breeds locally in Northern Prussia, Pomer- 

 ania, Poland, Denmark, Spain, Italy, the steppes of the 

 Danube and Turkey, and in Russia south of lat 55 . 

 Eastwards in Asia it breeds in Palestine, Turkestan, 

 Siberia as far north as Omsk, the Baikal area, and the 

 valley of the Amoor, southwards into Manchooria. It 

 is not known with certainty whether this species still 

 continues to breed in North-west Africa. 



Breedinc; HABITS: The migrations of the Great 

 Bustard are limited to the northern portions of its 

 breeding area. It is an early migrant, too, as is usual 

 in this class of travellers, and appears in its summer 

 haunts in the north as early as March or April. The 

 favourite haunts of this Bustard are vast plains and 

 steppes devoid for the most part of trees, and extensive 

 grain lands. At all seasons this species is a social one, 

 for during the breeding season several pairs of birds will 

 meet and feed in company ; in winter the flocks become 

 larger. Some observers have asserted that the Great 

 Bustard is polygamous, but the evidence is by no means 

 conclusive ; on the other hand, Naumann, who had 

 abundant means of verifying his opinion, states that it 

 pairs early in spring. In confirmation of this, it may 

 be remarked that the sexes are said to keep in separate 

 flocks during winter. The nest is always placed upon 



