THE LITTLE BUSTARD. 51 



the air with a power of flight that is remarkable, when their size and weight is 

 considered. Col. Irby, in his admirably written and beautifully illustrated work 

 on "The Ornithology of the Straits of Gibraltar," says: 



" They were often to be seen flying somewhat like Golden Plover, twirling 

 and twisting about at a great elevation ; and sometimes I watched them rise and 

 go to such a height that it would have been difficult to tell what birds they were 

 unless I had seen them fly up from the ground." The same writer says that the 

 male, during the breeding season, has a most peculiar call, which can be imitated 

 by pouting out the lips, pressing them tightly together and blowing through them. 

 The birds thus calling seem to be close to you, when they are often in reality 

 half a mile off. Lord Lilford says that this exactly accords with his experience, 

 and he adds that this noise is produced during the breeding season, when the 

 male is frequently seen springing two or three feet from the ground, with dilated 

 throat and extended wings, going through the sort of "show" which is common 

 to the birds of the order. 



The flight of the Little Bustard is rapid and easy, the wings producing a 

 loud whistling, which is the origin of the Spanish name " Sison." The nests are 

 formed of dry grass stems in the growing corn or thick covert of high grass. 

 In captivity, Lord Lilford describes the bird as becoming very tame, although 

 susceptible of damp in cold weather. Colonel Irby says that they nest in the 

 beginning of May, laying three shiny, smooth, olive-green eggs, more or less 

 blotched with dark brown. The colour of the male during the breeding season 

 may be described as sandy-brown, vermiculated with black ; the throat and cheeks 

 being bluish-black, with two white marks across. The under surface of the body 

 and wings is entirely white. In winter the feathers of the neck and breast are 

 sandy-brown, streaked with black, as in the female. The length of the bird is 

 about seventeen inches. The habits of the bird in the Dobrudscha are very 

 similar to those that have been observed in Spain, and the mode of obtaining it 

 in this region is admirably given by Mr. Simpson, in an early number of the 

 "Ibis," (1861). 



"The Little Bustards arrive from the south, rather before the middle of April, 

 in flocks of considerable size, many staying to breed here, whilst others are moving 

 further north. The male birds are. particularly demonstrative at this time of the 

 year, and being often occupied in parading their attractions, in groups of ten or a 

 dozen, to the females, which are crouching somewhere in the grass ; they are not 

 so wide awake as at other seasons, and thus afford a better chance to the gun. 

 On foot, even with a rifle, it is not easy to reach them; but with an araba, 

 judiciously managed, very fair sport may be had. After a few months' experience 



