210 GLAEEOLID^ 



The bird bears some resemblance to the Bustards : it is 

 strongly built, and is less graceful and active in its move- 

 ments than the typical wading-birds. 



Flight. The flight is strong and swift. 



Food. Insects and small shell-fish form the main diet. 



Voice. The note of the female is syllabled rererer 

 (Favier). 



Nest. This bird lays on desert sands and on stony 

 wastes. The eggs, 1 two in number, are light buff, spotted 

 and marbled with shades of brown and deep grey. 



Incubation probably commences in March. 



Geographical distribution. The Cream-coloured Courser 

 breeds in Northern Africa, and is abundant on some of the 

 Canary Islands. Eastward it can be traced across the Ked 

 Sea through Arabia to North India. Its visits to Southern 

 Europe are irregular, and to latitudes north of France it is 

 only a straggler. 



DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 



PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial. Top of head, buffish- 

 grey, shading to slate-colour ; feathers of the back of the 

 neck, margined with black ; a narrow white stripe extends 

 from the eye to the neck, below which is a black stripe ; 

 back, wings, rump, and tail, sandy-buff; primaries, axillaries, 

 and under wing-coverts, black ; breast and abdomen, pale 

 greyish-buff, shading to white ; under tail-coverts, white. 



Adult female nuptial. Similar to the male plumage. 



Adult winter, male and female. Similar to the nuptial 

 plumage. 



Immature, male and female. More rufous than the 

 adult ; no grey or black on the back of the neck ; eye- 

 stripe, yellowish ; feathers of the throat and back, edged 

 with dark crescentic markings. 



BEAK. Dark brown. 



FEET. Greyish. 



IRIDES. Hazel. 



AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 



TOTAL LENGTH 10 in. 



WING ... 6-3 



BEAK 1 



TARSO-METATARSUS 2'25 



EGG ... 1'35 X I'l in. 



1 The first eggs on record were obtained by the late Canon Tristram 

 < Ibis,' 1859). 



