Io8 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



tail, and with throat distended, utters a repeated call, which 

 Lilford writes prrnt After calling, he frequently leaps from 

 the ground. The females are competed for with pugnacity, but 

 the fights are seldom serious. The food is largely grain and 

 insects. 



The distinctive summer dress of the male is attained in April. 

 The chin and upper throat are then lavender, the lower throat 

 and neck almost black, crossed obliquely by two white bands 

 on either side ; the upper bands meet in a peak in front. The 

 sandy head is striated, the back and upper parts finely marked 

 with wavy black and brown lines. The outer wing- coverts and 

 under parts are white. In autumn the neck ornamentation is 

 lost, and in distribution of colour the male agrees with the 

 female, though her back is at all times more boldly blotched, 

 and her neck and breast are barred and speckled. She has no 

 dark throat ; neither is this present in the immature bird, which 

 is like her, but has more barring on breast and upper tail- 

 coverts. The bill is horn, dark at the tip, the legs are yellow, 

 and the irides brown. There is little difference in the size of 

 the sexes. Length, 17 ins. Wing, 9*5 ins. Tarsus, 2*5 ins. 



Macqueen's Bustard. Chlamydetis U7idulata jnacqueeni 

 (Gray). 



Macqueen's, often called the Houbara Bustard, though this 

 name is also given to the African form, C. u. undulata (Jacq.), 

 in which the crest and breast frill are white, is a native of 

 western Asia, and in winter is known in India. On many 

 occasions it has wandered into Europe, and three examples 

 are recorded from England and one from Scotland. The black 

 and white crest and the drooping frill or ruff, partly black, 

 partly grey, are sufficient to distinguish it from other bustards. 

 It is about the size of the female Great Bustard, to which in 

 general colour it is similar. Length, 28 ins. Wing, 15-5 ins. 

 Tarsus, 4*9 ins. 



