298 



VERTEBRATA. 



uacqiteen's bustabd. 



affu-c-.'tr 



THE LITTLE ErROPEAN BUSTARD. 



inhabits the dry Scandy plains 

 of Afghanistan, where it is 

 sometimes seen in flocks of five 

 or six. It flies heavily and for 

 short distances, soon alighting 

 and running. Its flesh is ex- 

 ceedingly tender, and so cover- 

 ed with fat, that the skins are 

 dried and preserved with great 

 difficulty. It appears to stray 

 widely from its home, as two 

 specimens have been killed in 

 England, and one or more in 

 Denmark. Tu the crop of one 

 of them were found caterpil- 

 lars, snails, and beetles. This 

 bird has a crest, and on the sides 

 of the lower part of the neck, 

 a series of long plumes ; upper 

 • surface sandy-bufF; beneath 

 light gTay. 



The Black-billed Bust- 

 ard, 0. nigriceps, is four and a 

 half feet long ; pale gray above 

 and white beneath. It is found 

 in various parts of India, and 

 is very abundant in the Deccan 

 — one Englishman having shot 

 nearly a thousand there. It 

 lives in large flocks, and is 

 esteemed one of the greatest 

 delicacies of tbe table. 



The Blue Bustard, 0. ca- 

 rulesccns, is a small African 

 species, twenty inches long. 

 Denham's Bustard, 0. Den- 

 Iiami, is another African spe- 

 cies, three feet nine inches long; 

 found in Central Africa, and 

 habitually associating with the 



■ gazelles. Burciiell's Bust- 

 ' ard, 0. Kori, called the Wilde 



■ Paainv by the colonists, is 

 found on the Orange River ; 

 stands five feet high. The flesh 

 resembles that of the turkey. 



: The Trotting Bustard, 0. 

 hotihara, is a native of North 

 Africa and Arabia. 



The Little European 

 Bustard, 0. tetrax, is seven- 

 teen inches long ; pale chest- 

 nut, streaked with black above ; 



