196 OTIDIDJE 



area of the skin might be tattooed with a dark indelible 

 pigment. This may be done very conveniently on one of 

 the bare areas of skin (apteria), i.e., between the tracts 

 along which the feathers grow (pterylce). I have success- 

 fully tattooed homing-pigeons, only very few feathers 

 being lost by this treatment. 



Though male Bustards, like Ruffs, fight savagely to 

 gain possession of the females, it still remains uncertain 

 whether they are truly polygamous. One thing is certain, 

 namely, that when their consorts are hatching they leave 

 them and assemble in small companies. 



The remarkable posture which the male assumes during 

 his ardent fits of courtship is best understood by a reference 

 to an excellent illustration by Wolf (' Zoological Sketches/ 

 pi. 45). Suffice it to mention that the erected tail, the 

 retracted head and neck, and much distended throat, are 

 almost hidden from view among the short and elevated 

 feathers of the drooping wings. 



Flight. Except in late spring (end of May and early 

 June), when the Bustard loses its flight-feathers and can- 

 not rise, it is strong and swift on the wing and readily 

 escapes danger by flying rather than running. 



Voice. The voice is soft and has been compared to 

 the cooing of a pigeon. 



Food. Grain forms the staple diet, but worms, field- 

 mice, and frogs, are not discarded. 



From the days of Xenophon the flesh of the Bustard 

 has been esteemed a delicacy (Anab. I., v.) (Newton). 



Nest. The nest is simply a hollow scraped in the soil ; 

 the eggs, two to three in number, are olive-green, blotched 

 with brown. Incubation begins in April or May. The 

 Great Bustard remained indigenous in England for a much 

 longer period than in Scotland. It bred in small numbers 

 on the Plains of Berwickshire and East Lothian until 1526, 

 while in England the last eggs were taken in Norfolk and 

 Suffolk about 1838. Formerly this fine bird bred in Berk- 

 shire, Hertfordshire, the Wolds of Lincolnshire and the 

 Downs of Sussex, Salisbury Plain, and the Eastern Wolds 

 of Yorkshire. 



Geographical distribution. Abroad, this species breeds 

 in Southern Europe, especially in the vicinity of the Danube 

 and Black Sea, in Spain, and in Germany; in countries 

 further north it is only a wanderer. It also breeds on the 

 Steppes of Asia and can be traced to Western China, but in 

 North Africa it is uncommon. 



