6 WILD-FOIVL AND SEA-FOWL OF GREAT BRITAIN 



and its flight quicker. When the cock plays up in 

 pairing time it is much like the play of the turkey- 

 cock ; all his throat and breast feathers are bluffed 

 out, showing the light and dark bands to perfection. 



THE GREAT BUSTARD. 

 {Otis tarda.) 



Male. — The bill is light brownish-yellow ; iris 

 hazel. The head and upper neck all round are a 

 light ■ greyish-blue ; on the upper part of the head 

 is a brown band. The long rnoustache feathers are 

 white ; fore-part of breast greyish-blue fading into 

 white. The principal quills are brownish-black with 

 white shafts ; the outer and secondary coverts, and 

 some of the secondary quills, are white. The back 

 and sides reddish-yellow, spotted and barred with 

 black ; tail white for a part of its length, then 

 yellowish-red with two black bands ; legs and feet 

 are light brown. The bird's length from bill to 

 end of tail is from forty, forty-three, to forty-eight 

 inches. 



The female has the band on the head lighter, 

 the grey of the head and neck darker ; the 

 moustache feathers are wanting ; in other respects 

 her plumage is like that of the male. Her length 

 from bill to end of tail is from thirty-two to thirty- 

 four and thirty-five inches. 



The nest is only a slight hollow scraped or 

 trampled by the female ; sometimes it is in open 



