446 STRUTHIONID^l. 



1811, and from thence copied by Bewick and myself, but 

 it was not till lately that an opportunity offered. About 

 the year 1849 the Zoological Society obtained by purchase 

 six or seven young Bustards from Germany. One of these 

 birds, a male, died within a year : the body was examined 

 by Mr. Mitchell and myself, but no gular pouch was found. 

 This we then attributed to the youth of the bird. During 

 the summer of 1852 one of the males of these birds was 

 frequently observed courting a female. His appearance at 

 such a time was singular : the wings were lowered to the 

 ground, and while covering the sides, the most anterior 

 parts of both wings were brought round in front, so that 

 the bird appeared to be surrounded by a circle of his largest 

 wing-feathers : the head and neck were passed backward, and 

 so depressed that the occipital portion of the head touched 

 his back, and in this attitude he strutted round his favourite. 

 No inflation of the neck was observed. The females were 

 timid and rather shy. Constant exposure to numerous 

 visitors at the Gardens, with the want of sufficient space 

 for seclusion, probably interfered, as no eggs were pro- 

 duced. 



In the month of December, 1852, this male Bustard, be- 

 lieved to be four years old, unfortunately died, and Mr. 

 Mitchell very kindly allowed me to examine this adult 

 bird. 



To give an indication of what I expected to find, I may 

 first quote the words in Edwards's Gleanings : 



"A remarkable anatomical peculiarity in the male of 

 the Great Bustard, first discovered by Dr. James 'Douglas, 

 of the College of Physicians in London. 



" It is a pouch or bag to hold fresh water, which sup- 

 plies the bird in dry places when distant from waters : the 

 entrance into it is between the under side of the tongue and 

 the lower mandible of the bill. I poured into this bag, 



