442 STRTJTHIONIDJl. 



judged to be a male, was found in a wheat-field on Market 

 Lavington Down. It contained two eggs ; they sometimes 

 lay three, though very seldom ; they are about the size of 

 those of a goose, of a pale olive-brown, with small spots 

 of a darker hue. The nest was made upon the ground, by 

 scratching a hole in the earth, and lined with a little grass. 

 The eggs were rotten, and had probably undergone a period 

 of incubation. 



" An instance of a Bustard attacking a human being, or 

 even a brute animal, of any considerable size, was, I be- 

 lieve, never before heard of; and that two instances of this 

 kind should occur so nearly together may be considered 

 very remarkable. About a fortnight subsequent to the 

 taking of this bird, Mr. Grant, a respectable farmer of 

 Tilshead, was returning from Warminster Market, and 

 near Tilshead Lodge, which is something more than half 

 a mile from the village, was attacked in a similar manner, 

 by, as it is thought, the mate of the same bird. Mr. 

 Grant's horse being rather high-mettled, took fright, be- 

 came unmanageable and ran off, and consequently Mr. 

 Grant was compelled to abandon his design of endeavour- 

 ing to capture the bird."* 



From J. H. Gurney, Esq., of Norwich, I received a 

 communication to the following effect : 



" As far as I can learn, the last Bustard killed in Nor- 

 folk was a female, which was shot at Lexham, near 

 S waff ham, towards the end of the year 1838. The 

 small flock, of which this bird was one, had for some 

 years previously consisted of females only, the eggs of 

 which were frequently picked up, having been dropped 

 about at random in consequence of the absence of male 

 birds, the latter having become extinct at an earlier date. 



* JElian, Athenaeus, Plutarch, and Oppian, mention the affection of the 

 Bustard for the Horse. 



