OTIS TARDA. 149 
go out dressed in green^ like Free Foresters at the Crystal 
Palace: and a suitable dress it is; for the colour being that of 
the corn or grass in which the tirador lies hid, the Bustards are 
not nearly so likely to notice the ambuscade. The day these 
verdant gentlemen choose for their '^ funcion " of Bustards 
is invariably Sunday ; and sometimes they succeed in killing 
a dozen birds in the day, usually about the vicinity of Las 
A.lcantarillas. In August, near Casa Vieja, and, I am informed, 
also in other places, the Spaniards ride down Bustards with 
dogs, continually flushing them till they are exhausted ; but 
probably young birds only are thus caught. They are also said 
to tire out the Red-legged Partridge in the same way. This 
is very likely, as I have seen these Partridges in Norfolk, after 
being flushed two or three times, allow themselves to be caught 
when quite uninjured. 
The Great Bustard is easily noticed when on the ground 
where the cover is not too high to hide them ; and at times 
their size appears gigantic as they fly with a slow, measured, 
laborious-looking flight; but their pace is much faster than it 
appears to be ; and when put up they often fly a distance of 
at least two miles. They have great power of concealment ; 
and I remember an instance of one which was unable to fly, 
from some injury he had received in one of his wings. We saw 
this bird in a corn-field of some forty acres, and forming line we 
tried to catch him ; but he suddenly disappeared in the corn, 
which was not more than two feet high, and in many places 
not a foot high. We spent an hour in vain hunting for him 
with a dog ; so, after beating the whole field over more than 
once, we sat down in view of the ground to eat luncheon. In 
about a quarter of an hour the Bustard appeared some three 
hundred yards off" in the middle of the corn ; so I went straight 
at him, running as hard as I could. He again disappeared; but 
going on I suddenly spied something white running, as it were, 
close to the ground. I rushed after it, when up jumped the 
Bustard, running along and flapping his wings. As I could 
not catch him (for he ran as fast as I could), I was com- 
pelled to shoot him, a magnificent Barbon of about thirty 
pounds weight, I could not have believed so large a bird 
