THE GAME BIRDS 01 INDIA, BURMA AND CEYLON. 37 



1907, in one beanfield, I came across no fewer than four nests 

 containing respectively four, three, three, and two eggs. The set 

 of four were somewhat incubated, as were one of the sets of three, 

 the remainder being quite fresh." 



" My conclusion, based on many years' experience, is that Great 

 Bustards commonly lay three or four eggs, but in some instances 

 the}^ only lay two, though in others even five eggs." 



Normally the eggs of the Great Eiiropean Bustard are broad 

 eclipses in shape, rarely oval, and still more rarely with both ends 

 somewhat pointed. Dresser, in "European Birds", gives the 

 greatest and least dimensions of ten as 3-47" by 2-18" and 3-075" 

 by 2-075" respectively. In his " Paige ar tic Birds" he gives the 

 average as 3-22" x 2-12". 



The 26 eggs in the British Museum collection vary between 

 2-7" and 3-35" in length and between 2-0" and 2-4" in breadth. 

 I have no eggs as large as the largest of Dresser's in my collection, 

 but I have a pair from South Russia which measure only 2-65" x 

 1-98" and 2-63" x 1-99," These are unusually small, almost 

 abnormal, though both were, I believe, fertile eggs. 



The ground colour varies very much, it may be a dark-stone 

 colour,' grey stone, dull olive-grey, or olive-brown, olive-buff or 

 even olive-brown with a tinge of yellow ; nine eggs out of ten, 

 however, will be found to be olive, either olive-brown or olive-grey, 

 more often the former, though even this will vary considerabl}^ in 

 depth and richness of tone. Dresser says that sometimes the 

 ground colour may be an almost uniform dull bluish, but in the 

 very large series I have examined lately I have seen none such. 

 The marks consist of blotches, smudges and clouds of dull-brown 

 of various shades and density, sometimes reddish and occasionallj- 

 purplish. These are seldom very numerous and sometimes verj' 

 scant}^ and are distributed fairly evenly over the whole surface of 

 the egg, being but rarely any more thicklj^ scattered over the 

 larger end than elsewhere. 



The secondary or underlying spots are of paler brown and gro}*, 

 as a rule the latter colour predominating. These markings are 

 often tinted with purple or pink and are generally less well defined 

 than the superior markings. I have seen a few eggs which have, 



