THE GAME BIRDS OF INDIA, BURMA AND CEYLON. 807 



a place called Meja in the Allahabad District, about half way 

 between Allahabad and Mirzapur. This is considerably further 

 East than the limits laid down by Oates." 



In " Stray Feathers, " Vol. IV., Mr. F. Wilson records the fact 

 that a few Great Bustard are always to be foiind in Mazuffernugger 

 during the cold weather, he, himself, having on one occasion seen a 

 flock of sixteen. Mr. F. W. Butler in the same volume confirms 

 this and says that a few are to be found in the district throughout 

 the year. He also states that " between line of railway and the 

 Ganges Canal, from near Roorkee to, I believe, Ghaziabad there 

 runs a broken range of sandhills. Along the tract right and left 

 of the range the land is high and sandy and here Bustards are to 

 be found. I cannot positively assert that they extend into the 

 Meerut District ; but I believe such is the case ; and certainly a 

 bird is occasionally to be seen during the rains in the Saharanpur 

 District. East of Deoband.*' 



" In 1871 I was in the Mirzapur District. I was told by natives, 

 and also. I think, by Mr, Pollock, O.S., that both Bustard and 

 Florican were to be found some miles from the station, along the 

 Great Deccan Road." 



I have several letters informing me that this fine Bustard is 

 common in parts of Eastern Sind, and by no means rare in one or 

 two favoured localities in Western Sind. In respect to Kathiawar 

 Gol. L. L. Fenton writes " It is found throughout the Province of 

 Kathiawar in suitable localities, which means everywhere except 

 the Gir Forest and the Barda Hills " and he adds, " Malia on the. 

 Gulf of Cutch as well as Chotila on the old Rajkot-Wadhwan road 

 are also good localities for them in the cold weather." 



Very numerous letters from observers and sportsmen who have 

 been good enough to report to me the result of their experiences, 

 in some instances dating from the publication of Hume and Mar- 

 shall's " Game Birds," add nothing further to the area as given by 

 Oates and Blanford. At the same time these letters are of 

 extreme interest as showing that the Great Indian Bustard is in 

 many parts of India most irregular in its movements and that in 

 other parts it is merely a seasonal visitor, either for the purpose of 

 breeding or during the non-breeding season. 



