cms. 573 



Head and upper neck all round are light greyish-blue ; on the upper part 

 of the head is a longitudinal brown band ; the elongated moustachial feathers 

 white ; the lower part of the neck interiorly is pale yellowish red ; the forepart 

 of the breast pale greyish blue, fading into white, of which colour are the other 

 lower parts, excepting the sides of the lower neck and body, which are light 

 yellowish red, barred with black, each feather having two subterminal unequal 

 bars, and generally several spots ; the tail feathers are similar, but tipped with 

 white, and having the base of that colour ; the outer wing coverts, secondary 

 coverts, and inner secondary quills are white, the former tinged with grey ; 

 the primary quills brownish black, with the shafts white 



Male. Bill pale yellowish brown, darker on the ridge ; iris hazel ; feet 

 light brown, as are the claws. 



Length. To end of tail from 40 to 48 inches. 



Female. The female is much inferior in size to the male, generally weighing 

 only ten or twelve pounds ; : there are no elongated feathers on the sides of the 

 head ; the bare parts are coloured as in. the male ; the upper part of the head is 

 yellowish red, barred with black ;. the foreneck greyish blue, without any red 

 at its lower parts ; the colouring of the other parts as in the male ; but the 

 black markings on the back and tail more numerous. 



Length. To end of tail about 35 inches. {MacGillivray>. vol. iv., p. 31.) 



Hal. According to Hume, has only once occurred within our limits in 

 1870, north of the Kabul river in Hastnagar, within a few miles of the most 

 north-westerly point of British India proper in Lat. 34 Q N. and Long. 71-45 E. 



1245. Otis tetrax, Lin., Syst. Nat. in. p. 279; MacGillivray, B. 

 Eur. iv. p. 31. ; Hume, Str. F. ii. p. 423; id. and Marsh. , Game B. p. 4, 

 pi. The LESSER BUSTARD. 



Male in Summer. Upper part of the head and the nape are pale reddish 

 yellow, thickly variegated with longitudinal and transverse brownish black 

 markings ; sides of the head and throat to the length of two inches greyish- 

 blue, with an inferior black margin, succeeded by a narrow ring of white, 

 extending more than an inch downwards in front in a pointed form ; middle 

 of the neck, all round, for the length of two inches and a half, deep black, 

 succeeded below by a half collar of white and another of black ; all the lower 

 parts white, excepting some feathers on the fore and lateral parts of the breast, 

 which are similar to those of the back. Upper parts, including the back, 

 scapulars, many of the small wing coverts, with the inner secondaries and their 

 coverts, light reddish yellow, beautifully undulated transversely with brownish 

 black ; the upper tail coverts with white in place of yellow ; wing with a broad 

 band of white, commencing at the carpal joint, including the alula; eight of 

 the outer secondary quills and their coverts are white at the base, chocolate 

 brown and mixed with grey towards the end, with the tip white, which 



