144 GAME-BIRDS OF INDIA 



Bewick's Swans which have lately been seen on the Kabul rivev near 

 Risalpiir. In North China I once saw a large number of the 

 European and the Great Indian Bustards on the same ground. It 

 was interesting to note the difference between them ; the latter were 

 always scattered when feeding, and rose and flew independently like 

 houbara, the lesser bustard, but the former did not separate so much 

 when on the ground, and rose and flew together more like geese 

 although, of course, not in V formation. We do a great deal of 

 hawking round here, especially houbara, and it is the greatest 

 ambition to kill one of the great European Bustards with a saker 

 falcon, but up to now no flight has been obtained at this fine 

 species." 



To this record Colonel Fooks adds in epistold : 



" The Great European Bustards were first seen here about the 

 20th December, 1910, and migrated northwards again about the first 

 week in February. I went after them several times to try and get a 

 complete skin for the Bombay Natural History Museum, but was 

 usually unable to find them when I had a gun, although I saw them 

 several times when hawking houbara. We flew a goshawk at a 

 flock (I don't know the right term) of eleven of them which we saw 

 one day, but as the Great European Bustard keep together when on 

 the wing, and do not separate like the Great Indian Bustai-d or 

 houbara, I rather fancy the hawk was afraid to come to close 

 quarters, although we had a flight of about three miles and nearly 

 lost the hawk. A duffadar of this regiment shot two on the 

 6th January; they were both females and weighed 9i lbs. each. 

 It is interesting to note that these were killed in the same neighbour- 

 hood as the only previously reported one was, forty years ago. I 

 should think that probably about twenty-five of these birds were 

 seen in this district, all told. I was able to recognize them before 

 any were shot by their mode of flight, as they always keep more or 

 less together on the ground and rise and fly together." 



The fourth specimen shot within Indian limits was killed by 

 Captain H. M. Symonds at Jacobabad, Sind, on the 12th January, 

 1911. As already stated this bird was a female and apparently 

 not full-grown. It is said to have weighed 5 lbs. when cleaned, 

 which would have given a weight of about 8 lbs. for the 

 whole bird. 



A skin of another young female was secured by Captain Lyall, 

 Chitral, and sent to the Bombay Society's Museum. This bird was 

 shot by Lieut. Stirling on the 30th March, 1911, and Captain Lyall 

 in forwarding the specimen says in epistold : 



