12 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



north-western parts of the colony, but of late years, owing to the 

 great havoc which has been made amongst them by professional 

 duck-shooters and others, it has become comparatively scarce in 

 most parts of Victoria, the gradually increasing settlement of the 

 land having no doubt been partly the cause of such large numbers 

 of these birds having been killed, but the main cause has been 

 the large demand for them as a " bird for the table," and it was 

 but a few weeks ago no uncommon sight to witness a dozen or 

 so of these useful and fast disappearing creatures hanging out- 

 side fishmongers' shops in Melbourne. 



In the early days of the colony, persons who for business or 

 pleasure (perhaps for both) had to cross the dreary plains of the 

 Wimmera country might have come across large droves of these 

 wild turkeys, and although a remarkably shy bird, and somewhat 

 difficult of approach by man if on foot, it might easily be 

 " stalked " by persons either on horseback or in a conveyance, 

 the latter being, as a rule, the method usually adopted for their 

 destruction. The aboriginals, however, stalk them with a screen 

 made of green branches. The flight of the Australian bustard 

 is sometimes heavy and laboured, and in the " locust season " the 

 bustards are so gorged with these destructive insects that flight is 

 rendered somewhat difficult and often impossible, and at this 

 time they fall an easy prey to the so-called, but sadly misnamed, 

 sportsman. 



On the vast plains of New South Wales, especially in the 

 country bordering on the Murrumbidgee river, these birds are 

 still to be found in great numbers, although quantities have been 

 destroyed by means of poison laid for rabbits, and in some parts 

 of Queensland, no doubt, they are fairly plentiful, but in Victoria 

 it must be a source of regret to all interested that the Bustard, if 

 not carefully watched and protected, will soon be well-nigh 

 extinct. Mr. Layard, in his excellent book on the birds of 

 South Africa, tell us of thirteen species of the genus Otis or 

 Bustards as inhabiting South Africa, the largest of which, O. kori^ 

 has turned the scale at from sixty to seventy lbs., and the stomach 

 found to be perfectly crammed with locusts. 



The celebrated ornithologist Gould, in his " Handbook to the 

 Birds of Australia," remarks that " a country better adapted than 

 Australia for the members of this family can scarcely be imagined ; 

 yet singularly enough only one species has as yet been found 

 there. Africa is the country where the species are most numerous ; 

 the Choriotis edwardii, of the plains of Upper India, and the C. 

 australis are beautiful representatives of each other in their 

 respective countries." 



The abovenamed and celebrated naturalist also gives it as 

 his opinion that the Wild Turkey is merely a summer visitant to 



