560 THE GREAT BUSTARD. 



upon the face of the earth. And the people stood up all that 

 day and all that night and all the next day, and they gathered 

 the quails ; he that gathered least gathered ten homers ; and 

 they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the 

 camp. And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it 

 was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the 

 people ; and the Lord smote the people with a very great 

 plague." (See Numbers xi. 31, 32, and 33.) Now, when we 

 consider a man will walk thirty miles a day at least, and that 

 two cubits is a yard, just fancy sixty miles of quails lying three 

 feet deep around their camp in the wilderness ! We need not 

 speak of migration in flocks after this. The next family is — 



Family IV. 



Struthionidai. ( Vig.) 



The typical groups of this family are birds of great size — far 

 surpassing the rest of the feathered race. It includes the 

 ostrich, cassowary, the American i-hea, and the emus of 

 Australia. The ostrich stands from six to eight feet high, and 

 weighs from 200 to 300 lbs. But we have — or rather had — 

 only two species allied to them in genus Otis, the bustards. 

 They all run with great speed, but few of them can fly. So I 

 need not describe birds which cannot find their way to Britain 

 unless in ships, or to St Andrews unless in caravans or shows. 



Genus — OTIS . ( Linn. ) 



The generic features are — bill, of medium size ; legs, long 

 and bare ; three toes, all forward, short, and united at the base ; 

 wings of mean length — the third quill longest. The heavy 

 form of the bustards and shape of the bill approximate them to 

 the gallinaceous birds — the scrapers — while their long naked 

 legs ally them to the grallatores or waders. They inhabit 

 open countries and swampy ground, living amongst the grass. 

 Their food is herbage, grain, reptiles, and insects. They run 

 swiftly, and fly seldom. 



