Ter 
CHAPTER Il, 
THE GREAT BUSTARD (Otis tarda), 
Seen to perfection on the Spanish vegas—Change of quarters, summer and 
winter—Question of migration—Local colonies or bandas—Remarkable white 
appearance when flying—Habits during courtship—And after 
Nesting- 
places—Leaving nest—Wholesale taking of eggs—Number of eggs laid by 
Great Bustard—A popular fallacy—Small size of eggs—Hatching out— 
Great Bustard in barracks—A ‘steady old soldier” in charge—Deplorable 
results !—Weight of Bustards—Abnormal weights in late spring—The gular 
pouch—Extraordinarily powerful flight—A very silent bird 
Great Bustard. 
Eagle and 
VEN the least imaginative of persons 
though neither sportsman _ nor 
naturalist must take an interest in the 
Great Bustard, the largest of Euro- 
pean game birds and one of the finest 
feathered of all the fowls of the air. 
A hundred years ago it was still to 
be found in small numbers in parts 
of England but it gradually died 
out between 1830 and 1840; since 
then it has only appeared as a rare 
visitor. It has also been driven 
from France by the constant en- 
croachments on the wide open spaces 
which are so necessary for its exist- 
ence. In some parts of Germany it is yet found, whilst in south- 
east Europe, especially in the valley of the Danube it is abundant. 
