on the Great Bustard.



189



after the bird became scarce, but before it became quite extinct

as a British resident, it was not uncommon for eggs to be brought

in from the fields, and set under hens, and apparently sometimes

the young were successfully reared. I have somewhere, at this

moment mislaid, an extract from a book in the library of the

Linnsean Society, which states that two young Great Bustards

were reared in Bavaria, the produce of a pair of tame birds.

But one statement therein made seems to me difficult to under¬

stand—that the parents were birds in their second year. My

experience is that the young male does not get his spring plumage,

pectoral bands, and whiskers, till his third summer; and till

that time does not expand his pouch.


However that may be, a young Bustard was hatched here

in the summer of 1901, as I will now describe. At the time I had

two females, one four years old, the other about six ; and two

males four and twelve years respectively. Both females laid

eggs, one 011 May 14th, the other five days later. One egg only

was laid in each case. The younger bird never attempted to

incubate ; the other commenced to sit at once, and was never

seen off, except when she came to feed.


Later on, I put the neglected egg into an incubator, but

it did not hatch. When I left for Norway on June nth the

older Bustard was sitting steadily. Neither of the males was

allowed near the nest. The sitting hen used to make gruff

“ barks ” at them, if they came too near, as she sat hidden in the

thick grass : sometimes rushing out aud hustling them off. We

noticed that though the two males were tolerably good friends,

the young bird did not venture to display this year, the old

fellow driving him off if he began to set up his feathers. I can

not do better than quote from a letter sent out to Norway by my

falconer, Arthur Moody, who was left in charge of the birds.


“June 16th, 1901: The sitting lien Great Bustard has

hatched off, but I am sorry to say that the young one is dead.

She was due to hatch to-day, but I thought I had better keep an

eye on her a day or two before, so on Thursday and Friday

(13th and 14th), I just went near enough to the nest to see her

sitting; and of course thought she was going on well, as I could



