THE CRUDEST NEST FORMS 73 



shelter of a bush or amongst tall vegetation and 

 growing crops, and is generally well concealed. 

 One or two slight deviations from the almost uni- 

 versal rule deserve notice. In the case of two out of 

 the three known species of Spur Fowl (Galloperdix), 

 no nest w^hatever appears to be provided; whilst 

 the Little Bustard Quail {Turnix dussumieri) is said 

 occasionally to form a domed or covered-in nest, as 

 is also the case with the Indian Bustard Quail {T. 

 tanki). That the nests of the Game Birds, crude and 

 simple as they are, are in every way adapted to the 

 requirements of these species seems conclusively 

 proved by the exceptions to the almost universal 

 rule which are furnished by the domestic arrange- 

 ments of the Megapodes, the Curassows, and the 

 Hoatzin, of which more anon. 



The nests of the birds composing the order Chara- 

 driiformes are almost equally slight and crude. This 

 order includes the Bustards, Plovers, Sandpipers, 

 Jacanas, and such archaic forms as the Crab Plover, 

 the Sheathbills, and allied birds. Although it numbers 

 nearly three hundred species the uniformity of the 

 nesting arrangements is singularly remarkable. Re- 

 viewing briefly the architecture of the principal groups 

 into which the order has been sub-divided by syste- 

 matists we have the following facts. The Bustards 

 (Otididse) make a very slight nest, a mere hollow in 

 the ground, scantily lined with scraps of dry herbage. 

 As already pointed out the nearly allied Stone Curlews 



