144 BIRDS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. 



at Newmarket, Salisbury, and similar localities, but as 

 cultivation has advanced it has been driven away, and is 

 now extinct, its last authentic occurrence dating as far back 

 as 1856, when one was "shot" in Wiltshire. 



It feeds mainly on vegetable matters, and it is conceiv- 

 able that a few head of such large birds would do a con- 

 siderable amount of harm in a field of corn ; so perhaps, at 

 least from an agricultural point of view, their disappear- 

 ance from among the British avifauna is not so much to 

 be deplored. 



The female lays two eggs only, on the bare ground ; they 

 are olive brown in colour, blotted with red and grc}' spots. 



The young run about directly they are hatched, and are 

 said to feed chiefly upon insects. 



The bustard, though naturally shy, is susceptible to a 

 certain extent of domestication ; but as in spite of its size 

 and weight, it flies strongly and well, it can only be kept in 

 a covered-in place. 



THE STONE CURLEW. 



Why this bird, otherwise known as the Thick- Knee, 

 should have been separated from its fellows and con- 

 stituted a one species, one genus family, is a mystery, 

 the solution of which does not appear upon the surface; 

 but there it is. 



Fam i ly — Qidicnein idcc. 



Genus — Qidicneinus. CE. scolopax. 



General colour brown, varied as follows : Over the eye a 

 yellow arched line, under it a longer one, blue towards bill, 

 grey at the other end ; chin blue ; throat grey ; middle 

 wing coverts yellowish grey ; flights blackish grey ; tail, 



