A specimen in my own collection, taken at Cairns, Northern 

 Queensland, in November, is of a beautiful pale green, and 

 measures 5'4S inches in length by 3 -68 inches in breadth. 



Hah., Cape York, % R-ockiiTgham Bay. (^Ramsay.) 



Family OTIDIDiE. 



•Genus CHOKIOTIS, Bonaparte 



CHORTOTIS AUSTRALIS, Gray. 

 Australian Bustard. 

 Gould, Uaiidhk. Birds AusL, Vol. ii., sp. 495, p. 208. 



" The Australian Bustard breeds during September, October, 

 and November, and lays but two eggs, on the gf ound without any 

 ijest — a small bare spot being selected among Ishe trees on the 

 hillside ; a few small sticks and blades of grass are sometimes 

 found gathered round the eggs. The eggs vary both in shape and 

 size, some are thickest at an equal distance from each end ; others 

 are more elongated, and widest an inch from the thicker end. In 

 length they are from 3 to 3'3 inches, and from 2-1 to 2 3 inches 

 in breadth. The ground colour varies from light olive-gr'een to 

 olive-brown, having longitudinal smears, spots, and dashes of 

 olive-brown, equally dispersed over the surface. In a valuable 

 collection, for which I am indebted to my brother, Mr. J. Ramsay 

 of Nanama, there are seven Bustard's eggs ; one particularly fine 

 one measures 3-3 x 2-1 inches ; it is of alight olive-green sparingly 

 marked with reddish olive-brown. The smallest Bustard's egg in 

 our collection measures 23 x 1'6 inches, and is of an olive-brown, 

 thickly spotted and dashed with dark olive-brown. I have seen 

 small eggs of the same colour with very few faint and longitudinal 

 markings extending nearly the whole length of the egg : these I 

 take to be the eggs of the younger birds. So far as I am aware 

 the Australian Bustard has but one brood in the season.'' (Rarmay, 

 Ibis, 1867, Vol. iii., New Series, p. 117, pl.ix., fig. 1.) 



