ORDER QRALLATORES. OTID.E, OR BUSTARDS. 493 



the herbage ; and the young are usually able to run about as' 

 soon as they are hatched. Considerable varieties of structure 

 present themselves in this order ; some of the birds which it con- 

 tains having a strong resemblance to the Gallinaceous and Ostrich 

 tribes ; whilst others have a close relationship with the strictly 

 aquatic Birds of the next order. They may be arranged under 

 the following families : OTIDJE, or Bustards; CHARADRIAD^:, or 

 Plovers ; GRUID^E, or Cranes ; ARDEID^E, or Herons ; SCOLOPA- 

 CID^:, or Snipes ; and RALLIED, or Rails. Of these, the Bus- 

 tards and Cranes are the least aquatic in their habits ; and the 

 Rails the most so. 



444. The OTID.E, or Bustards, which are peculiar to the 

 Eastern Hemisphere and to Australia, have the stout body, 

 strong limbs, long neck and legs, and small feet, of the Ostrich ; 

 but the wings are longer. The beak is short, conical, and com- 

 pressed. They have three short toes united at the base, but no 

 hind toe. They frequent wide plains, extensive downs, and 

 open lands dotted with patches of shrubby vegetation ; and their 

 food consists of tender herbage, grain, and insects. They run 

 with extreme rapidity ; and, unless closely pursued, they seldom 

 take wing ; when obliged to rise, however, their flight is direct 

 and rapid. They are shy and watchful ; and not to be approached 

 without difficulty. Like the Gallinacese, they are polygamous 

 in their habits ; and the eggs are deposited on the ground, with- 

 out any proper nest. There is a remarkable difference in the 

 size of the male and female Bustards ; the latter being, in some 

 species, not above a third of the bulk of the former. The males 

 are further distinguished by a gayer plumage ; but this is lost 

 in winter. The Great Bustard is the largest of all the native 

 Birds, not only of Great Britain, but of Europe. The male, 

 when full grown, is four feet in length, and not less than nine in 

 the expanse of its wings ; its weight is from thirty to forty 

 pounds. This noble Bird was once common in our island ; but 

 it is now rarely to be seen, except in the western part of Norfolk. 

 It is still common, however, in Spain, and the plains of Greece, 

 in some parts of Russia, ancl on the wilds of Tartary. It was 

 formerly stated that the male Bustard had a membranous pouch 



