OTIS.] AVES RASORES. 175 



O. Tarda, Temm. Man. d'Orn. torn. n. p. 506. Great Bustard, 

 Mont. Orn. Diet, and Supp. Selb. lllust. vol. i. p. 442. pis. 64, 

 & 64*. Bew. Brit. Birds, vol. i. p. 355. 



DIMENS. Entire length nearly four feet : breadth nine feet. PENN. 



DESCRIPT. (Male.) Head and neck cinereous; a longitudinal black 

 streak on the crown reaching to the occiput ; feathers on the chin loose, 

 and somewhat elongated, with the barbs disunited; a long moustache 

 of similar feathers on each side of the lower mandible : * back, scapulars, 

 lesser wing-coverts, rump, and tail-coverts, yellowish or reddish orange, 

 barred and variegated with black ; greater wing-coverts, and some of the 

 secondaries, pale cinereous ; primaries black, slightly tipped with white : 

 upper part of the breast reddish orange ; rest of the under parts white : 

 tail brownish orange, some of the lateral feathers with the basal half and 

 tip white; the whole crossed by two or three black bars near the ex- 

 tremity : bill dusky, the under mandible somewhat paler than the upper : 

 irides light hazel : feet dusky brown. (Female.) Much smaller, and 

 without the tuft of long feathers on each side of the lower mandible ; 

 the longitudinal streak on the crown not so obvious; fore part of the 

 neck of a deeper gray : in other respects similar to the male. (Egg.) 

 Olive-brown, sparingly and indistinctly blotched with greenish brocoli- 

 brown : long. diam. two inches eleven lines ; trans, diam. two inches two 

 lines. 



Formerly met with in great plenty on the plains of Wiltshire and 

 Dorsetshire, the Wolds of Yorkshire, as well as in many other parts of 

 England, and also in Scotland. Is now become extremely rare, and 

 almost confined to the open parts of Norfolk and Suffolk, where the 

 species still continues to breed in small quantities. Single individuals 

 are occasionally observed in Cambridgeshire, and a fine male specimen 

 was killed near Ickleton in that county in January 1831. Where plenti- 

 ful, usually found in flocks. Food green corn, seeds, insects, as well as 

 various other vegetable and animal substances. Lays two eggs early in 

 the Spring, which are deposited on the bare ground : rarely, however, 

 hatches more than one in this country. Period of incubation about four 

 weeks. The male of this species possesses a capacious pouch, situate 

 along the fore part of the neck, said to be capable of holding several 

 quarts of water. 



158. O. Tetrax, Linn. (Little Bustard.) Upper 

 part of the body yellowish orange, with fine zigzag dusky 

 lines ; neck black, encircled by a double collar of white, 



O. Tetrax, Temm. Man. d'Orn. torn. n. p. 507. Little Bustard, 

 Mont. Orn. Diet, and Supp. Selb. lllust. vol. i. p. 447. pi. 65. 

 Bew. Brit. Birds, vol. i. p. 359. 



DIMENS. Entire length seventeen inches and a half: breadth, wings 

 extended, two feet ten inches and a half. SELBY. 



DESCRIPT. (Adult male.) Crown and occiput yellowish orange, with 

 brown spots : sides of the head and throat deep cinereous, bounded by a 

 white collar encircling the upper part of the neck ; lower part of the neck 

 black ; on the breast another, and somewhat broader, white collar, below 

 which is a narrow one of black : upper parts yellowish orange, crossed by 

 numerous fine zigzag dusky lines, and mottled with large spots more 



* Bewick's figure represents this species with a longitudinal black streak or band on the sides 

 of the neck. It is possible that such a character may exist during the short period of the breeding 

 season only, but it is not usually present. 



