THE! WORLD'S BIRDS. 9 



DISPOSITION AND HABITS. Nervous, but at times 

 aggressive in the case of large males. They do 

 not bathe, but dust themselves. They are very 

 wary. 



NOTE. A croak, cackle, or boom. 



ECONOMIC QUALITIES. Some occasionally injure crops, 

 but as a rule they are beneficial, and are most 

 excellent sporting birds, being hard to bag and good 

 eating. 



CAPTIVITY. They are not often kept, and their ner- 

 vousness gives trouble. They have not bred. 

 The European Great Bustard (Otis tarda) has done 

 best in captivity, and has laid. 



DISTRIBUTION AND IMPORTANT SPECIES. The Bustards 

 number about thirty species, inhabiting tem- 

 perate and warm parts of the Old World, usually 

 in dry open country. Most of the species are 

 African, and there are none between India and 

 Australia yet the Great Indian Bustard (Eupo- 

 dotis edwardsi] and the one Australian species 

 (E. australis) are almost identical ; the latter bird 

 is known in its own country as the " Plains Tur- 

 key." The Paauw (Eupodotis kori), the largest 

 flying bird, is also a South African Bustard of 

 this group. The Florican (Houbaropsis bengalensis) 

 is a well-known species, in which the male is black 

 on the head, neck and lower parts ; and the Knor- 

 haan (Compsotis afra), in which the male is also 

 largely black, is a well-known African species. 



