[32 My Little Bustard. 



" Unlike tlie Great Btistard {O . tanici) the Little T■.nst;^rd was never 



" more than a wanderer to the British Isles It is a winter 



" visitor to (icrmany, France, Spain and Norlliern Ital), and a resident 



" species in Southern Italy, Sardinia plentiful along the 



•• Danube valley, Balkan Peninsula, Turkey, Greece and Southern Russia. 

 " Eastward it extends to Turkestan, and on migration it is known to cross 

 ' the lofty Pamir plateau on the way to its winter quarters in N.W. India. 

 •' In Africa, north of the Sahara, it is abundant, being well known in 

 " Algeria and Tunis by the name of ' Poule de Carthage;' it is. however, 

 " rare in Egypt." 



" The male assumes his breeding plum.ige in April, at which time 

 " he selects a spot about three feet in diameter, on which he passes several 

 " hours each dav, with head and neck thrown iiack, wings somewh;it 

 ■• extended, and tail erect, pouring forth its jieculiar cry of prut, prut 

 '■ (whence the French name of Canepetiere), jumping up at the conclusion 

 " of each call, and striking the ground in a peculiar manner on his descent. 

 " At this season Mr. Abel Chapman found that the throat became much 

 " dilated. Conflicts take place for the fem.ales, but instead of unitnig in 

 " flocks while the latter are incubating, each male is to lie found in the 

 " vicinity of a hen. The nest, .slightly made of dry grass, is placed on the 

 "ground, among herbage sufficiently high to conceal the bird; the eggs, 

 " ,V4 in luunber, are of a verv glossy olive-brown or pale green, clouded 

 " with darker patches, and often beautifully zoned with rufous; mea.sure- 

 " mcnts 1.95 bv 1.5 in. The first clutch is laid about the end of May, a 

 " second being frecjuently jiroduced in the latter part of July. The food 

 " consists of herbs, grain, insects, slugs, small snails, frogs, field mice. etc. 

 " The male rises with a loud clatter of his wings, but the female sits 

 " remarkably close. In autumn the birds form large packs, which afterwards 

 " break up into small parties." 



My .specimen, though a hen, ha.s shown many of the above 

 attril)iites; she sits close on a squat she has chosen amid coarse 

 Srass, and her call is hoarse and bark-like, and can be interpreted 

 as an indistinct prut. Her contour is ele.c^ant and she appears 

 at her best when somethings unusual has arrested her attention — 

 she then pulls herself very erect, stretchini^ her neck to the 

 utmost (at this time it is less than an inch in diameter, and one 

 wonders how she manag:es to swallow an ail-but full g'rown 

 mouse), stands almost without movement, save that the head 

 almost imperceptibly is quietly turned, so that her clear piercing- 

 eyes can have free range. She is then really stately in her 

 appearance, and the beauty of her finely lined and blotched 

 plumage is most strikingly evident. The only time she has 

 ever shown alarm with me has been when it has been necessary 

 tn pick her up. but once in your hands she ceases to struggle 



