OTIS TETRAX 283 



band, followed by another black pectoral band ; sides of the upper breast 

 sandy brown pencilled with dark brown ; rest of underparts pure white. 



Iris hazel ; bill brown, blackish at the tip ; feet yellowish. 



Total length 20 inches, wing 10, culmen 1, tarsus 2-40. 



Adult female, spring, from Central Tunisia. 



General colour of the upper plumage sandy-buff, mottled and barred with 

 black ; wings and tail more or less as in the male ; chin white ; throat 

 and neck buff, striped with black ; breast buff, barred with black ; rest of 

 the underparts white, the flanks and under tail-coverts with a few large 

 black spots. 



Soft parts the same as in the male ; measurements rather less. 



The Lesser Bustard, or " Poule de Carthage," as the bird is 

 commonly called in Tunis, is abundant north of the Atlas, particularly 

 during the spring migration, when large flocks of the birds may often 

 be seen. The species is resident in the Regency throughout the year, 

 but its numbers increase considerably during the periods of passage. 



In North Tunisia I have met with it near Mater and Bizerta, and 

 in Central Tunisia on the vast plains between Kasrin and El Oubira. 

 Further south I have only come across an occasional straggler on the 

 " Haifa " plains, but never met with the bird in the semi-desert 

 districts of South Tunisia. The species appears to be common in 

 Algeria and Marocco. Its range in Europe and Asia seems to be more 

 or less the same as that of the Great Bustard. It is, however, 

 resident in some parts of Southern Italy, Sicily and Sardinia. In 

 Sicily the species used to be more plentiful a few years ago than it is 

 now, and was far from uncommon in some of the less cultivated 

 districts on the south and south-west of the island. 



The Lesser Bustard frequents plains destitute of trees, cultivated 

 fields and undulating open country, and like the preceding species, is 

 extremely wary and shy. During the heat of the day it is, however, 

 less on the alert, and may then be more easily approached. 



In autumn, and on migration, the birds congregate in large packs, 

 but in the late spring and summer they are usually to be found in 

 pairs. Mr. Clive Phillipps-Wolley (" Sport in the Crimea and 

 Caucasus," p. 295) thus graphically describes a passage of this species, 

 which it was his good fortune to witness : — 



" These magnificent birds were in millions all over the steppe. 

 The ground was grey with them, the air full of their cries, the sky 

 alive with the movement of their wings. With them were a few 



