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CHAPTER III. 
THE LITTLE BUSTARD (Otis tetrax). 
Most difficult birds to get near—Impossibility of driving them—Beautiful 
plumage—Peculiar sound produced by wings—Inconspicuous when on 
ground—General wildness—Methods of approaching them—Nesting habits— 
Difficulty of finding nest—Cunning of old bird—Curious cry when alarmed. 
N its full nuptial plumage, the male 
of this species is to my mind the 
most beautiful of game-birds found 
in Europe. Itis extremely abundant 
on the low undulating hills and grass- 
grown plains of south-west Anda- 
lucia, but owing to its peculiar habits 
of flight is very rarely shot by the 
sportsman. For, when alarmed it 
almost invariably seeks safety by 
rising rapidly to a great height far out 
of shot before making off. For this 
reason save on rare occasions it is 
impossible to drive Little Bustard. 
It is a common sight to see flocks of these birds, varying from 
a few dozen to over a hundred, manceuvring high in the air, some- 
what after the manner of Golden Plover, often at such an altitude 
as hardly to be identified were it not that they had been watched 
previously. 
