406 Manual of the Game Birds of India* 



In summer this bird is found as far 

 west as Mesopotamia, and it has an 

 apparently wide range in Central Asia^ 

 It is occasionally met with in Europe* 



The India Houbara frequents the level 

 or undulating semi-desert plains which 

 abound in the west of India. " Here," 

 writes Mr. Hume, " the Houbara trots 

 about early and late, squatting under the 

 shade of some bush during the sunniest 

 hours of the day, feeding very largely on 

 the small fruit of the Ber, or the berries 

 of the Grewia, or the young shoots of 

 the lemen grass and other herbs \ now 

 picking up an ant or two, now a grass- 

 hopper or beetle, and now a tiny land- 

 shell or stone, but living chiefly as a 

 vegetarian and never with us, to judge 

 from the hundreds I have examined, 

 feeding on lizards, snakes, and the like, 

 as the Great Bustard certainly does, and 

 the African Houbara is said to do." 



Although this Bustard has not yet 

 been known to breed in India, there is 

 good reason to believe that the nest may 

 yet be found in Sind. The late Lieut. 

 H. E. Barnes, a very shrewd observer, 

 wrote : " I feel sure that a few at least 

 remain to breed, both in Sind and 

 Cutch ; a friend of mine avers that he 



