172 GAME-BIRDS OF INDIA 



The majority were taken in August and September, but many were 

 taken in October and one in November. On the other hand, I have 

 three Deccan eggs taken in June and an egg from Cutch taken in 

 January. Then I have records of eggs from Poona in April ; 

 Sholapur, April and May ; and Guzerat, June and November. I 

 have, therefore, eggs actually in my collection, or authentic records 

 of eggs, taken in every month of the year except December, February, 

 and March. I think we may say that, very roughly speaking, the 

 Great Indian Bustard breeds principally from August to November, 

 but that many birds breed earlier and later than this, and that the 

 breeding-season varies very much in different localities, these not 

 necessarily very far apart. 



As to the number of eggs laid there is little to add to what Hume 

 has noted. Undoubtedly the number normally laid is only one, and 

 the exception to this rule is of the rarest. I have, however, in my 

 collection one pair of eggs which are said to be from the same bird, 

 but even here I must record the fact that they were found about a 

 foot apart, in the same small beaten-down patch in a field of lemon- 

 grass. The two eggs are of the rich-brown variety, and are so 

 exactly like one another in every detail that it seems probable that 

 they are a pair. 



My eggs, a much smaller series than Hume's, have a rather 

 smaller range of variation in colour ; although Mr. Harrington 

 Bulkley's series represents the variations picked out of a very much 

 greater number which passed through his hands. Hume calls his 

 eggs in ground-colour typically a Ava.h ; I should call mine typically 

 dull pale reddish-brown ; certainly in five out of six brown is the 

 dominant colour of the egg. I have one egg which is a uni-coloured 

 sienna-brown, and it is only when held up to the light that the very 

 faint markings can be seen. Many eggs are a stone-grey or drab in 

 general appearance, others are a yellowish stone-colour or olive- 

 yellow, a few dingy olive-green, and one a beautiful pale sea-green. 

 The markings are similar to those in the Hume series, but I have 

 none which could be said to be boldly marked. 



The majority are very highly glossed, and very few have no gloss 

 at all. My longest egg is 3"71 inches (= 94'2 mm.), and my broadest 

 2'35 (= 59'7 nim.\ whilst the shortest and most narrow are 



