BUSTARDS. 



455 



in many of their habits resembling the larger species, Mr. Hume states that their 

 flight is very different, and that they often rise to a great height, and will nutter 

 and twist about in the air. At other times, however, they fly rapidly and straight ; 

 and when on the wing always call continually. Wary in the cool of the morning 

 and evening, during the heat of the day they lie close in the mustard-fields, which 

 are their favourite haunts in the Punjab. " They rise suddenly," writes Mr. Hume, 

 " with a great pat-pat of the wings ; and, though quite invisible till they rise, 

 startle one with the great breadth of pure white they suddenly reveal, the whole 

 of the secondaries and much of the primaries being white." 



An extinct bustard belonging to this or one of the allied genera has been 

 described by the writer from the middle Miocene rocks of Bavaria, and thus serves 

 to indicate the comparative antiquity of the group. 



Long-Beaked Africa south of the Sahara is the home of a number of species of 



Bustards. bustards belonging to a genus (Eupodotis), distinguished from the 

 preceding by the greater length of the beak and legs, and of which there is an out- 

 lying representative in India (E. edwardsi), and others in China and Australia 

 (E. australis). The wings are large and long, and the plumage of the two sexes 

 is nearly similar, although the females lack the short pouches found in the males of 

 most of the species. As there are a great number of these bustards, and their 

 general type of coloration conforms to that obtaining in the members of the 

 preceding genus, it would be useless to attempt the description of any particular 

 species, and our notice may therefore be confined to their habits. The great Indian 

 bustard frequents open bare or grassy plains, and in the rainy season collects in 

 small flocks, while in the cold weather it may be observed in wheat-fields, to which 

 it resorts for the purpose of feeding on the grasshoppers which form its favourite 

 food. Failing insect food, it will, however, take to fruit and seeds. When flushed, 

 it generally flies for a long distance at a low elevation before settling again. This 

 species differs from the common bustard in being polygamous; and during the 

 breeding-season the males, like many other members of the family, are in the 

 habit of making a display before the females, probably for the purpose of attraction. 

 Describing this display, Mr. Hume remarks that, " first the male begins to strut 

 about, holding his head up as high as if he wanted to lift himself off his legs ; then, 

 after a few turns, he puffs out the upper part of the throat just under the jaws 

 then draws it in again, then puffs it again, and so on, two, three, or four times, and 

 then suddenly out goes the whole throat down to the breast, and that part of it 

 next the latter swells more and more ; his tail, already cocked, begins to turn right 

 back, and the lower throat-bag gets bigger and bigger and longer and longer, till 

 it looks to be within six inches of the ground. All the feathers of the throat stand 

 out, and, looked at in front, he seems to have a huge bag covered with feathers 

 hanging down between his legs, which wobbles about as he struts here and there, 

 with wings partly unclosed, and occasional sharp snappings of his bill. From time 

 to time he utters a sort of deep moan, and stands quite still, and then off he struts 

 again close up to the female, and then away from her." In addition to insects, 

 these birds also consume numbers of rats, mice, and reptiles; and this coarse 

 feeding renders their flesh unpalatable. Difficult to approach within gunshot 

 range by stalking, bustards may frequently be bagged by driving. In length this 



