286 LETTER XLIV. 



and in Spain. It also abounds in some parts of 

 France. In England their principal places of rendez- 

 vous are Salisbury plain, the heaths of Sussex and 

 Cambridgeshire, and the Dorsetshire uplands. In 

 those extensive plains, where there are neither woods 

 nor hedges to screen the sportsman, the bustards en- 

 joy security, and are often seen in flocks of fifty or 

 more together. It is in vain that the fowler creeps 

 along to surprise them, they have always centinels 

 stationed in proper places to warn them of the first 

 appearance of danger. But although they can sel- 

 dom be shot, they are sometimes hunted and taken 

 by dogs, when they are grown so fat as to be unable 

 to fly without great preparation. This bird was once 

 far more plentiful than at present. The increased 

 cultivation of the country, and the deliciousness of its 

 flesh have greatly contributed to thin the species; 

 and it would, perhaps have been long since extir- 

 pated, had it not derived so great a degree of secu- 

 rity from inhabiting only the most extensive plains, 

 where its food is abundant, and where every enemy 

 may be discovered at a distance. 



The bustard appears much larger than a turkey ; 

 but its wings are not adapted to a perfect flight, their 

 expansion not reaching above four feet; and though 

 it can elevate itself in the air, it flies with some difli- 

 culty. Its head and neck are ash-coloured ; the back 

 is tranversely barred with black feruginous stripes ; 

 the belly is white, and the tail marked with broad 

 bars of red and black. The female is not more than 

 half as large as the male. The top ef her head is of 

 a deep orange colour, crossed with black lines. 



THE GROUSE 



comprehends about seventeen species, of all w r hich 

 the characteristic mark that distinguishes them from 

 the rest of the poultry kind, is a scarlet skin above 

 the eye. The firry forests and the barren heath are 

 their favorite retreats; and since cultivation is so 

 much improved and extended in these countries, they 

 are only to be found on the moors of Yorkshire and 



