Family OTIDID^. Genus Otis. 



GREAT BUSTARD. 



OTIS TKKDA—LtmicBUs. 



Geographical Distribution. — British: Was formerly a local 

 resident in Great Britain, confined to the steppe or down dis- 

 tricts : the Merse of Berwickshire, the wolds of Yorkshire and 

 Lincolnshire, the warrens and heaths of Norfolk, Suffolk, and 

 Cambridgeshire, and the downs of Dorset, Wilts, Hants, and 

 Sussex. For half a century or more it has ceased to breed in 

 this country, and can now only be classed as an irregular winter 

 visitor. Not known to have visited Ireland. Foreign : South Palse- 

 arctic region from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Breeds in suitable 

 districts in Denmark, Russia (south of lat. 55°), Germany, Italy, 

 Spain, the steppes of the Danube, and Turkey. Now very rare 

 in France, Greece, and North-west Africa, and completely ex- 

 terminated in Scandinavia. It is also known as an accidental 

 visitor to Asia Minor and North Persia, and as a straggler to North- 

 west India. Eastwards it is found in Palestine, Turkestan, Siberia 

 (south of Omsk and the Amoor), and Mantchooria, and is a 

 winter visitor to China as far south as lat. 30°, and to Japan. 



Allied Forms. — Otis dybowskH is the name given by some 

 naturalists to the Bustards of East Siberia, which are said to be 

 smaller, with a more slender bill, paler head, and gray lesser wing 

 coverts ; but these differences may probably be due to age. 



Time during which the Great Bustard may be 

 taken. — September ist to March ist (England and Wales); 

 August ist to March ist (Scotland); September ist to January 

 I oth (Ireland) ;* otherwise by authority of owner or occupier of land. 



Habits. — The haunts of the Great Bustard are the vast 

 plains and steppes which stretch across Europe and Asia; the 



* As this bird does not appear ever to have been an Irish species, it is 

 difficult to account for this special season, during which it may be taken. 



