CLASSIFIED NOTES 527 



throat and cheeks slaty blue ; a white ring encircles the upper neck, passing down the fore-neck 

 in an ever decreasing line till it meets in ;i point on the lower neck, which is deep black, 

 succeeded by a broad semicircular white band, followed by an equally wide semicircular band 

 of black ; chest, belly, and under parts white. The female slightly more mottled above, and 

 lacking the coloured pattern on the neck ; chin whitish ; fore-neck and chest rufous buff, the 

 former with black margins to the feathers, and the latter with three bands of black ; rest of 

 the under parts white ; middle tail feathers coloured like the back, with three distinct black 

 bars ; outer tail feathers white, with two black bars, the interspaces marked with black spots 

 and blotches: iris reddish brown ; bill horn-coloured, black at the tip; legs ochreous yellow. 

 [w. p. 1-. and 'I 1 , w.j 



2. Distribution. Breeds chiefly in the Mediterranean region and Western Asia. It nests 

 in North- West Africa, from Marocco to Tunisia; the Iberian Peninsula, Sardinia, Sicily, 

 S. Italy, the Balkan Peninsula, Southern and Central France, Central Germany sparingly, 

 Austria and possibly also Hungary, the lower Danube valley, and Russia in the Podolsk, 

 Kief, Poltara, and perhaps the Tambof, Saratov, Samara, and Oldenburg governments, north to 

 49" 1 on the Emba and 54 in the Akmolinsk government. In Asia it breeds in Transcaspia, the 

 Tomsk government, and east to Zaissan-Nor, Central Asia, and probably also Cyprus. It 

 wanders occasionally to Scandinavia, Denmark, the Baltic Provinces, Finland, and Ingermann- 

 land in Russia, and northern birds are migratory, and appear in winter in North-West India, 

 Mesopotamia, etc. Has occurred fairly frequently in the British Isles, chiefly on the east and 

 southern counties of England. [F. c. R. J.] 



MACQUEEN'S BUSTARD [Houbdra unduldta 1 macqueenii (Gray and Hardwicke); Otis 

 Gray. Asiatic ruffed-bustard or houbara. German, asiatische Kragen- 

 Italian, oubara asiatica]. 



1. Description. May be recognised at a glance by the long crest, and the black and white 

 ruff. Length 26 in. [660 mm.]. Adult male general colour above reddish buff, very finely 

 vermiculated with black, each feather having one or two bars of black mixed with buff, giving 

 the upper parts a speckled and barred appearance ; head, with a sparse crest about 2 inches 

 long, of black and white feathers ; each side of the neck ornamented with a frill of long feathers 

 (about 4i inches long), white on the basal half, black on the terminal; chin, throat, belly, 

 under wing-coverts, and axillaries pure white ; lower neck minutely freckled with black and 

 rufous buff; chest covered with a long and dense ruffle of slate-grey feathers; under tail- 

 coverts white, with three bars of black; tail coloured above like the back, with three or four bars 

 of silver-grey, the interspaces marbled and freckled with black ; iris pale greenish yellow ; legs 

 yellowish grey, with a dull greenish tinge. The adult female is similar, but is rather smaller, 

 and with the crest and ruff less developed, [w. p. p. and T. w.] 



2. Distribution. In Europe this species is only known to breed in S.E. Transcaucasia, 

 and possibly also in the Kirghis steppes. In Asia its breeding range extends from the deserts 

 of Syria, Arabia, Mesopotamia, Transcaspia, and Turkestan north to lat. 51 N., and east to 

 /aissan-Nor, the Tomsk government, and the foot of the Altai range, and through Persia to 

 North-west India, Afghanistan, and Sind. As a straggler it has occurred in many parts of 

 Europe, West Russia (Finland, Livonia, and Poland), Germany, Sweden, Oland, Bohemia, 

 Holland, Belgium, France, Italy, and four times in Great Britain (Lincoln, Yorks (two), and 

 Aberdeen). In winter it ranges into S. Persia and India. [F. c. R. J.] 



1 As only one race of this species has occurred in the British Isles, the trinorainal should not be used, but in this 

 case is adopted to avoid confusion with the N. African race, II. undulata undulata. 



