no THE BOOK OF BIRDS 



not because they are sociable, but because the places where 

 food is abundant are then so few and so small. 



These hardy steppe-dwellers are exposed to danger in a 

 very unusual form. Their wing-feathers are liable to freeze. 

 When the cold is very intense in these lands, the hoar- 

 frost during the night is enough to cake on the wings and 

 "glue" the feathers together, while they are crouching in 

 the brushwood. 



Sometimes the bird can preen them clear with his beak, 

 but often he finds himself a captive fast bound. Layer 

 after layer of frost forms on the feathers, and the prowling 

 wolf and the cunning fox, finding him thus helpless, 

 despatch him without trouble. 



Man, also, has. come to be aware of the trap that Jack 

 Frost sets for the poor Bustard. He takes advantage of 

 it, and preparations are made for a great Bustard-hunt. 

 Here is an account that I came upon, years ago, in the 

 St. James's Gazette : — 



" Horses are carefully rough-shod ; for the sport is 

 pursued on horseback, and the ground is as smooth and 

 slippery as a sheet of ice. Then in the morning, not too 

 early, the party — four, five, or six strong — set forth. Each 

 one goes armed with a whip having a stout handle, and a 

 couple of lassoes ; firearms are not needed. 



'' The most promising feeding-grounds in the neighbour- 

 hood are of course known to the sportsmen, and they make 

 for the cover nearest to these places. Now they beat the 

 underwood and brush, hallooing and cracking their whips. 

 The frightened birds rush out and try to make for the open. 

 But the weight of their frozen wings presses them down ; 

 the feathers are covered with ice ; they can neither rise 

 nor run. They just waddle here and there in a helpless 

 ungainly fashion. 



