CHAPTER XVI. 



THE BUSTARD. 



PERHAPS the finest of all game birds are the bustards, several very 

 large species of which occur in different parts of the world. The 

 larger kinds may well be classed as big game, for apart from their 

 magnificent appearance, they offer splendid sport, especially in a flat 

 country where they are plentiful. Birds of a fine species inhabit, 

 during the winter months, many a broad valley and plain, 

 such as those on which the capitals of Shansi and Shensi lie. Here 

 they feed in large flocks, often numbering twenty or thirty head. A 

 particularly fine stretch of country for them lies to the north west of 

 the chain of high mountains that runs from Ning-wu Fu in Shansi 

 down the western part of that province past Tai-yuan Fu and Fen- 

 chow Fu. Here the country is undulating, and consists of low grassy 

 hills and cultivated fields, and in a day's ride one may see ten or a 

 dozen flocks without straying far from the road. 



The open nature of the country on which it is found, together with 

 the keen sight of the bustard make it a very difficult bird to approach. 

 Its great height enables it to overlook many of the small banks and ridges 

 of earth that mark the boundaries of the fields, and even if the sports- 

 man succeeds in approaching his quarry under cover of some water- 

 course or sunken road, the moment he shows himself to take aim, the 

 watchful birds spy him, and take to their wings. 



To attempt hunting bustards on foot is almost useless, besides 

 being exceedingly tiring; for unless one is in country where they are 

 particularly plentiful one often has to cover a large tract before even 

 seeing the game. Another thing is that they suspect any person on foot 

 of mischievous intent far more readily than they do a man on horse back. 



For bustard hunting 1 would advise the use of a rifle in preference 

 to a shot gun, as one seldom gets near enough to make the latter weapon 

 effective. However, with a little luck one can sometimes bring down 



14 



