212 HRITISH BIRDS. |vol. x. 



II. The Little Bustard. 



The Little Bustard — if only on account of the beautiful 

 tints of its coloration a most attractive bird, like every 

 other Bustard— became much more interesting when 

 studied more closely and more in detail. 



Although I do not see the necessity for placing the 

 Little Bustard in a separate genus, it differs in many 

 ways from the Great Bustard, especially in the structure 

 of the wing of the adult male. The wing of the female 

 shows nothing out of the common. The first primary is 

 much shorter than the second and in length between the 

 fifth and sixth, the second and third are about equal 

 and longest. The second to the sixth primaries have the 

 outer webs wider at base, the narrowing beginning sud- 

 denly in front of the primary-coverts. The wing of the 

 adult male is quite different. The first three primaries 

 are like those of the lemale, but the fourth is quite extra- 

 ordinary. It is about 2.5 cm. shorter than the third, 

 and about 2 cm. shorter than the fifth. The outer web 

 is, about the middle, so much narrowed that in one place 

 it is only 1-2 mm. wide ; the inner web is narrowed on 

 its basal half and becomes suddenly wider in the middle, 

 while about 18 mm. from the tip it is narrowed again. 

 (See Plate II., Nov. Zool., 1916.) Therefore, when the 

 wing is spread out in fiight, a small gap would almost 

 certainly appear on the basal part of the fourth primary, 

 and this would cause the piping sound which, according 

 to observers, is heard with every beat of the wings during 

 fiight. 



The seasonal changes are also much more striking than 

 in any other Paleearctic Bustard. 



The Houbara Bustards do not show any material 

 seasonal changes and have their extraordinarj? neck-frill 

 all the year round, though it is more fully developed in 

 the male, which is also a larger bird than the female. 

 The Great Bustard loses its moustache, the hairy feathers 

 on the pouch, and the chestnut feathers of the chest 

 after the breedmg season ; there are then blue-grey 



