THE GAME BIRDS OF INDIA, BURMA AND CEYLON. 35 



to leave the matter thus ; for there is no doubt that the female 

 will accept the attentions of any male who can succeed in con- 

 quering her husband for the time being and adopting his harem. 

 The males fight desparately during the breeding season, and are 

 said by some observers often to seriously injure one another. 

 This, however, hardly agrees with Col. Verner's amusing descrip- 

 tion of the fights. He writes (p. 137) " One of the most per- 

 plexing traits in the Bustard's character is that he by no means 

 confines the period of these antics to the season of courtship. 

 Long after the females have settled down to their eggs in the far 

 distant corn-lands the males, congregated in big flocks, will con- 

 tinue to indulge in their frenzied movements, which, so far as I 

 have ever been able to see, are purely games of -'bluff' and 

 " swagger " which never lead to more than a momentary 

 encounter — a sort of collision and "fend off" with another bird, 

 after which both turn about and continue their absurd movements 

 independently. When one watches such an encounter, one can 

 almost imagine one inverted old cock saying to another : ' You 

 be off! ' 'I won't' replies Number Two. ' What ! //ow tvon't?' 

 Thunders No. 1., rustling up to him with creaking primaries and 

 a generally appalling appearance. ' No ! ' says No. 2, equally 

 crackling all over and strutting around ferociously ' Then stay 

 tvhere you are ' remarks No. 1, wheeling about and adroitly 

 •evading the difficulties of the situation." 



The nest, if such it can be called, is merely a depression in the 

 soil either natural or scratched in loose sand or earth by the bird 

 itself. As a rule, the site selected is in some field of grain or 

 in scrub grass sufficiently high to conceal the sitting bird and its 

 ■eggs ; but sometimes it is in comparatively or quite open country, 

 only screened from sun and enemies by a stunted bush or two or a 

 small patch of withered grass. The hen is said to be a close sitter, 

 once the eggs are advanced in incubation, but when newly laid she 

 leaves them at the first signs of danger, and slinking through the 

 cover, if there is any, takes to wing far from their vicinity. 



As with other polygamous birds, the male takes no interest in 

 the hatching of the eggs or bringing up of the chicks, and these 

 duties are left entirely to the female. 



