186 A MANUAL OF THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



the base of the culmen. The culmen is less than one-third the length of the tail. 

 The crown of the head bears a crest, but this is not extended on to the hind -neck. 

 The feathers of the throat and fore-neck are also elongated. The wing is long 

 and rounded, the fifth primary longest ; the wing length is more than twice that 

 of the tail. 



The tail, composed of twenty feathers, is long and rounded and is more than 

 three times the length of the culmen and less than half that of the wing. 



The legs are strong and long ; the metatarsal covering is composed throughout 

 of hexagonal scales ; the metatarsus is less than one-third the length of the wing. 

 The toes are strong and comparatively long ; no hind -toe. 



129. Austrotis australis. BUSTARD. 



Gould, Vol. VI.. pi. 4 (pt. vm.), Sept. 1st, 1842. Mathews, Vol. III., pt. 4, pi. 175, Dec. 

 31st, 1913. 



Otis australis "Gray," Griffith and Pidgeon, Anim. Kingd., Cuvier, Vol. VIII., p. 305, " 1829" 

 ? 1830 : New South Wales. 



Otis australasianus Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. (Lond.), 1840, p. 176, July 1841 : interior of 

 New South Wales. 



Otis novcehollandice Leichhardt, Journ. Overl. Exped. Austr., p. 260, 1847. Error for pre- 

 ceding. Nomen nudum. 



Choriotis australis derbyi Mathews, Nov. Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 226, Jan. 31st, 1912 : Derby, 

 North-west Australia. 



Austrotis australis melvillensis Mathews, Austral Av. Rec., Vol. III., pt. 2, p. 51, Nov. 19th, 

 1915 : Melville Island, Northern Territory. 



DISTRIBUTION. Australia generally. Not Tasmania. 



Adult male. Entire back, wings, and tail dark brown, everywhere finely vermi- 

 culated with sandy-buff ; median and greater wing-coverts white with pale brown 

 vermiculations on their basal portions, subterminally black, and tipped with white ; 

 bastard-wing and primary-coverts lead-grey edged with white at the tips ; primary- 

 quills pale brown, more or less vermiculated with white towards the base ; secondary- 

 quills greyish-brown, finely vermiculated with sandy-buff and tipped with white, 

 the long innermost secondaries like the back ; middle tail-feathers also like the 

 back, the outer feathers subterminally black, tipped with white, and some dark 

 bars more or less indicated ; crown of head and an elongated nuchal crest black ; 

 lores, eyebrows, and ear-coverts buffy -white ; throat, sides of face, neck all round, 

 and breast white, finely barred with dark brown and tinged with buff ; an irregular 

 black band across the breast, the feathers of which are black, white, and buff ; 

 abdomen, sides of body, and axillaries buffy -white ; lesser under wing-coverts white ; 

 the small marginal coverts black, edged with white, the larger series grey, vermicu- 

 lated with white ; a patch of black feathers on the lower flanks venniculated with 

 white and buff ; the short under tail-coverts black tipped with white, the long ones 

 buffy-white irregularly marked with brown, the thighs also buffy-white more or 

 less vermiculated with brown. Total length 1,155 mm. ; culmen (exp.) 72, wing 

 610, tail 245, tarsus 180. 



Adult female. Similar to the adult male but smaller and differs in having 

 the tail regularly barred with dark brown, the outer marginal upper wing- 

 coverts coarser, and the sides of the face and neck all round darker. Total length 

 830 mm. ; culmen (exp.) 51, wing 563, tail 210, tarsus 149. 



Nestling (losing down but retaining egg-tooth). Fore-head and top of head 

 downy, down continuing on back of neck and throat, but patch of feathers showing 

 at back of head ; another patch of down still retained on rump, flanks and thighs. 

 Down on fore-head pale fawn ; top of head mottled black and fawn, surrounded by 

 a fawn line, above the eyes, but a narrow loral streak runs just over the eyes to the 

 back of the neck, where it becomes indistinct ; the back of the neck is fawn as below 



