THE BIRDS OF INDIA. 22; 



the bill is greenish orange, deeper on the ridge ; the eyes 

 ^re blood red, and the legs green. The total length is 12f 

 inches, bill 1^, and tarsus 2h. 



It makes a nest of rushes by the waterside, and lays six 

 or eight large eggs of a browny cream colour, spotted with 

 brownish red. 



THE BUSTARDS. 



Family — O tides. 



Genus — SypJieotides. S. bengalensis. 



The Bengal Floriken inhabits Lower Bengal, and re- 

 sembles the turkey in the manner of its courtship. The 

 females lay from two to four eggs, each of a dull olive 

 colour, spotted with grey, and take great pains to conceal 

 them from observation. The food consists mainly of insects, 

 and the birds are, nevertheless, highly esteemed for the table. 



The male, in full dress, has the head, which is then fully 

 crested, the neck, breast, and lower parts, including the 

 thighs, of a deep glossy black, the long plumes of the 

 breast forming a tuft together with those of the neck. The 

 back, scapulars, and tertiaries, rump, and upper tail coverts 

 are rich olivaceous buff, closely and minutely mottled with 

 zigzag black marks, and a black line down the centre of 

 -each feather ; the shoulders, wing coverts, and quills have 

 white tips, and the shafts and outer edges of the three first 

 primaries are black ; the tail is black, minutely mottled 

 with buff, and has a broad white tip. The bill is dusky 

 above and yellow beneath ; the eyes are brown, legs dingy 

 yellow, knees and toes livid blue. 



The total length is 26 inches, 7 of which belong to the 

 tail. 



The female has only a moderately-sized crest, and her 



