580 BRITISH BIRDS. 
Genus OTIS. 
The genus Otis was included by Linnzeus, in 1766, in the twelfth edition 
of his ‘ Systema Nature’ (i. p. 264), and the Great Bustard (the Ofis otis 
of Brisson) is universally admitted to be the type. 
The Bustards very closely resemble the Stone-Curlews; but have a 
slightly shorter bill, with the chin-angle less conspicuous; the wings are 
somewhat less pointed, and the style of coloration is more vermiculated, 
resembling that of the Grouse. The tarsus is reticulated before and 
behind. 
The genus Ofis contains about twenty-six species, which are found 
throughout the temperate and tropical portions of the Old World with the 
exception of Madagascar and the islands of the Malay Archipelago. They 
are most numerous in the Ethiopian Region. Two species are resident 
on the continent of Europe, both of which are accidental visitors to the 
British Islands, and two others are accidental stragglers, one of which 
occasionally visits us. 
The Bustards are steppe-birds, only frequenting large tracts of open 
country. They are ground-birds, running and walking with ease; but fly 
well and rapidly. Their food is principally composed of the leaves and 
-buds of plants, grain, and insects. Their nests are very slight, being little 
more than depressions in the ground; and the eggs are olive-brown or 
green, spotted and blotched with dark brown. 
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