NON-INDIGENOUS BRITISH BIRDS. 219 



the female slipping off at the approach of danger, usually 

 being warned by the male, who keeps a close and 

 constant watch in the neighbourhood. When flushed, 

 the bird flies straight away without demonstration of 

 anxiety or any alluring action. 



Range of egg colouration and measurement : 

 The eggs of the Little Bustard are from three to five in 

 number, four being the average clutch. They vary in 

 ground colour from olive-brown to olive-green, and are 

 indistinctly mottled with pale reddish-brown. The shell is 

 polished and smooth, the pores being only slightly defined. 

 As a rule, the larger end of the ^gg shows the most colour- 

 ing, sometimes the smaller end. Average measurement, 

 2*o inches in length, by r5 inch in breadth. Incubation 

 is performed apparently entirely by the female, but the 

 duration of the period is undetermined. 



Diagnostic characters : The eggs of the Little 

 Bustard cannot readily be confused with those of any 

 other western Pal^earctic species, and are easily dis- 

 tinguished by their colour and size. 



Family OTIDID.^. Genus Oris. 



MACOUEEN'S BUSTARD. 



Otis macqueeni, Gray. 



(British : \"ery rare abnormal autumn migrant.) 



Number of Broods unknown. Laying season, apparently 

 unknown. 



Breeding area : South-central Palasarctic region. 

 Macqueen's Bustard breeds in extreme south-western 

 Siberia, as far east as Lake Saisan, in Turkestan and 

 Persia, and southwards into Afghanistan, and possibly 

 Arabia. 



