370 



Adult Female (Smyrna, December). In general coloration very similar to the male; but the upper parts are 

 much closer-barred with black ; entire head, neck, and upper part of the breast pale French-grey ; chin 

 pure white ; the bristles on the sides of the throat are wanting, as is also the rufous pectoral band ; but 

 the sides of the breast are marked with rufous. In size it is much smaller than the male, measuring — 

 culmen 2 - 2, wing 19"3, tail 8*1, tarsus 4 - 6. 



Young in down (Saratoff, S.-E. Russia, 1871). Upper parts light sandy yellow or pale buff; on the head, 

 back, rump, and base of the wing-joints closely blotched with large black spots ; neck and terminal 

 parts of the wing-joints much less blotched than the rest of the upper parts; underparts sandy yellow; 

 neck and sides of the head sparingly blotched with black ; thighs blotched on the upper side only ; rest 

 of the underparts unspotted. 



The Great Bustard is found throughout Central and Southern Europe, eastward into Asia, where 

 it ranges as far as Dauria. In Great Britain it used formerly to be tolerably common, but now 

 it may be looked on as almost extinct, the present overcrowded state of the country and the mode 

 of farming rendering our island unsuitable to this species. Mr. A. G. More writes that it was 

 formerly " well known as inhabiting the downs of the south of England, the heaths in a few of 

 the eastern counties, and the wolds of Yorkshire. 



"Its breeding-range included the counties of Wilts, Dorset (Rev. J. H. Austen), Hants, 

 Sussex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge, Lincoln, and Yorkshire. Montagu tells us that ' these 

 birds were formerly found even as far north as Scotland,' where, however, they were probably 

 only accidental visitors. 



"Even at the date of Montagu's 'Supplement' (1813) the Bustard had nearly disappeared 

 from the downs of Wiltshire. It seems to have lingered to a considerably later date in Suffolk 

 and Norfolk, where some nests were found in 1832 and 1833 (Loudon's Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. vi. 

 p. 150, vol. vii. p. 4.58, and vol. ix. p. 528). In Yorkshire the last egg was taken in 1816, and 

 is now preserved in the Museum at Scarborough." Mr. Stevenson, in his excellent article on this 

 species in the ' Birds of Norfolk,' says that, " besides the barren brecks of Norfolk and Suffolk, the 

 Great Bustard, on good authority, appears in former times to have been extremely common on 

 all the open parts of this island which were suited to its habits — the elevated moors of Hadding- 

 tonshire and Berwickshire, the desolate wolds of York and Lincoln, Newmarket and Royston 

 heaths on the borders of Cambridge, together with the downs of Berks, Wilts, Dorset, South- 

 ampton, and Sussex, being all more or less frequented by it ; but in every one of these localities 

 it had ceased to exist before the last of the race of British Bustards fell victims to the advancement 

 of agricultural enterprise in this and the adjoining county. 



" Of our local records the earliest in point of date are contained in the published extracts 

 from the household books of the L'Estranges of Hunstanton, where, in the ' Privy Purse Accounts ' 

 for the year 1527, we find the following entry : — 



" ' The xljst weke. 



" ' Wedynsday. Itm. viij malards, a bustard, & j hernsewe kylled wt ye crosbowe.' 



"And, again in the year 1530, among the list of gratuities : — 



" ' Itm. in reward the xxvth day of July to Baxter's svnt of Stannavgh (Stanhoe) for bryngyng 

 of ij yong busterds, ijd.' 



