THE RUFFED BUSTARDS. I25 



the Caspian Sen. It has been killed in many parts of Cen- 

 tral Europe, but rarely reaches the countries of Northern 

 Europe. Its ally, the Arabian Ruffed Bustard {Houbara undu- 

 lata), occurs in the countries of the Mediterranean, eastwards to 

 Armenia and westwards to the Canaries, the Bustards of Fuer- 

 teventura having been lately considered to be a distinct species, 

 which has been described as O. fuerieve?iturce by the Hon. 

 Walter Rothschild and Mr. E. Hartert. 



H. imduhita has a white crest, and the fore-neck and chest 

 are white like the rest of the under surface of the body. 



HaMts. — The best account of the habits of the present species 

 is that published by Mr. A. O. Hume in the '' Game Birds of 

 India," from which I make the following extracts : — " I have 

 never heard this bird utter any sound, either when feeding un- 

 disturbed, or when suddenly flushed, or when wounded and 

 seized, or about to be seized, by man or dog. Possibly during 

 the breeding-season the males have some call. 



" By preference, the Houbara affects the nearly level, though 

 slightly undulating, sandy semi-desert plains, which constitute 

 so important a feature in the physical geography of Western 

 India. Plains, semi-desert indeed, but yet affording in places 

 thin patches, in places a continuous area, of low scrubby cover, 

 in which the dwarf Zizyphus (the Ber), the Lana (^Anabasis 

 fmiltiflo7'a), the Booee {/Erna booii), various Salsolas, stunted 

 acacia-bushes, and odorous tufts of lemon-grass are conspicuous. 



" Here the Houbara trots about early and late, squatting 

 under the shade of some bush, during the sunniest hours of 

 the day, feeding very largely on the small fruit of the Ber, or 

 the berries of the Grezvia, or the young shoots of the lemon- 

 grass, and other herbs ; now picking up an ant or two, now a 

 grasshopper or beetle, and now a tiny land-shell or stone, but 

 living chiefly as a vegetarian, and never with us, to judge from 

 the hundreds I have examined, feeding on lizards, snakes, and 

 the like, as the Great Bustard certainly does, and the African 

 Houbara is said to do. 



"The Houbara greatly prefers running to flying, and when 

 the weather is not too hot, will make its way through the laby- 

 rinth of little bushes which constitute its home at a really sur- 

 prising pace. So long as the cover is .low, its neck and body 

 are held as low as possible, but as soon as it gets where it 



