GAME BIRDS. 91 



Its bill is strong, and rather convex ; its eyes red ; on each side of 

 the lower mandible of the male bird, there is a tuft of feathers, 

 about nine inches long ; its head and neck are ash-coloured ; the 

 back is barred transversely with black and bright rust colours, 

 on a pale, reddish ground ; the quills are black, the belly white ; 

 the tail consists of twenty feathers ; the middle ones are rust- 

 colour, barred with black; those on each side are white, with a 

 bar or two of black near the ends ; the legs are long, naked above 

 the knees, and dusky ; it has no hind toe ; its nails are short, 

 strong, and convex ; the bottom of the foot is furnished with a 

 callous prominence, which serves instead of a heel. The female 

 is not much more than half the size of the male. The top of her 

 head is of a deep orange j the rest of her head brown ; her colours 

 are not so bright as those of the male, and she has no tuft on each 

 side of the head. There is likewise another very essential diffe- 

 rence between the male and female; the former is furnished with 

 a sack or pouch, situated in the fore part of the neck, and capable 

 of containing about two quarts ; the entrance to it is immediately 

 under the tongue. It is supposed the bird fills this singular re- 

 servoir with water, which it conveys over those dreary plains, 

 where it is accustomed to wander, and uses it for the supply of 

 the hen while sitting, or the young birds before they can fly. It 

 likewise makes a further use of it, in defending itself against the 

 attacks of birds of prey. On such occasions it throws out the water 

 with such violence as not unfrequently to baffle the pursuit of its 

 enemy. 



This bird was once more numerous than at present, but the 

 increased cultivation of the country, and the extreme delicacy of 

 its flesh, have greatly thinned the species. Indeed, it would pro- 

 bably have been long since exterminated, but for its peculiar 

 manner of feeding. Had it been accustomed to seek shelter 

 among our woods, it must have been destroyed in proportion as 

 they were cut down ; if in the forest, the fowler might have 

 approached it unobserved, and the bird, from its magnitude, 

 would have afforded such an excellent mark, that it could not 

 easily have been missed. But the bustard now inhabits only the 

 open and extensive plains, where it is plentifully supplied with 

 food, and where every invader of its repose may be seen at a con- 

 siderable distance. The bustard is mentioned as affording what 

 is termed the " great flight," together with the crane, wild goose, 

 bittern, heron, &c. In winter, they associate in flocks, and visit 

 turnip fields, for the sake of the leaves, to which they are very 

 partial. The eggs are two in number; the female forms no 



