390 Manual of the Game Birds of India, 



complete spring moult, and in this case 

 their summer plumage is different to that 

 of the winter. No two species of Bustards 

 agree in general structure or in the char- 

 acter of their ornamental tufts and plumes, 

 and Dr. Bowdler Sharpe in his catalogue 

 of these birds has very rightly placed 

 each of the Indian Bustards in a separate 

 genus. 



The males of two species of Bustards 

 have a large gular pouch, the use of which 

 is not known, but it appears to be a 

 sexual ornament, and to be inflated at 

 will at the breeding season, and possibly 

 at other times. The male of the Great 

 Bustard, when courting, not only inflates 

 this pouch, but deflects the feathers of the 

 wings and tail in such a wonderful manner 

 that it must be seen to be realised. A 

 case of Bustards in the British Museum 

 shows this wonderful performance to 

 perfection. 



As the Bustards differ so much from 

 each other in general structure and orna- 

 mentation, I shall now give briefly the 

 characters of each Indian species, first 

 premising that the Bustards and the 

 Floricans differ in the length of their legs. 

 In the Bustards, the tarsus is shorter, 

 being less than one- third the length of 



