726 TETRAX HOUBARA 



wary and difficult of approach, but it is said to squat down 

 to escape observation. It feeds on vegetable substances and 

 insects. During the pairing season the male utters a harsh cry, 

 tree, tree, which may be heard at a considerable distance. Its 

 nest is a mere depression in the soil, and the number of eggs, 

 so far as my experience goes, is 3 to 4, but Mr. Aksakoff states 

 that as many as 8 to 12 are deposited. These are usually laid in 

 May, and vary from light greenish olive with indistinct brown 

 blotches, to rich dark uniform olive brown, and are glossy in 

 texture of shell ; in size they average about T95 by 1'45. 



Eupodotis arabs (Linn.), which inhabits Northern Africa, is 

 said to occasionally occur just within the limits of the Palsearctic 

 area but cannot well be included as a true Palsearctic species. 



HOUBARA, Bp., 1831. 



1013. HOUBARA BUSTARD. 



HOUBARA UNDULATA. 



Honiara undulata (Jacq.), Beitr. Gesch. Vb'g. p. 24, pi. 9 (1784) ; 

 (Dresser), vii. p. 391, pi. 510 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus. xxiii. p. 320 ; 

 Otis houbara, Desf. Mem. Acad. Koy. Sc. p. 496, pi. x. (1787) ; Gould, 

 B. of E. iv. p. 268. 



Houbara, Raad, Arabic ; Begunez, Russ. 



$ ad. (N.Africa). Crown reddish ochreous marked with black ; a full 

 crest of long white feathers ; chin white ; sides of head and neck, fore neck 

 and hind neck white vermiculated with blackish and tinged with pale 

 ochreous brown ; elongated ruff black on the sides, white in front of neck ; 

 upper parts rufescent ochreous boldly barred with black ; the wing-coverts 

 paler ; primaries white at the base, otherwise black ; tail rufescent 

 ochreous with five bars of dove-blue, the terminal bars marked with black 

 and tipped with white ; under parts white ; bill greyish brown, darker at 

 the point, yellowish towards the base ; legs greenish yellowish grey ; iris 

 greenish yellow. Culmen 1-8, wing 14'3, tail 8'5, tarsus 3'6 inch. The 

 female is similar but with the crest and ruff less developed. 



Hob. North Africa ; Canaries ; a rare straggler to Spain, 

 Southern France, Italy, and Greece ; Palestine ; Armenia. 



Inhabits open flat country, both the true desert and culti- 

 vated localities, and like its allies is extremely shy and wary. 

 It feeds on vegetable matter, insects, caterpillars, &c., and even 

 small reptiles. In North Africa it is highly esteemed as a 

 quarry by falconers. Its nest is a mere depression in the soil, 

 and the eggs, 4 to 5 in number, are deposited in May, and are 

 olivaceous brown blurred with dashes of dark brown and here 



