.387 



occasionally met with ; and, in short, writes our friend above referred to, it is a rare bird every- 

 where in the Austrian dominions, though to be met with singly in almost every portion. 



Dresser found it in almost all suitable localities on the lower Danube ; and we give below 

 some excellent notes respecting this species in the Dobrudscha, from the pen of Mr. W. H. 

 Hudleston. Messrs. Elwes and Buckley, who visited the Dobrudscha ten years later than 

 Mr. Hudleston, still found it numerous, though rapidly decreasing under the influence of 

 cultivation. In April their numbers are largely increased by flocks arriving from the south; 

 but, unless driven away by the snow, a few always remain to winter in the district. On the 

 plains of Southern Russia it is common, and especially so between the Pruth and the Caspian ; 

 Menetries likewise found it numerous in the Caucasus. Messrs. Dickson and Ross met with it 

 commonly near Erzeroum, frequenting ploughed fields and on the skirts of the marsh. It arrives 

 there early in September, and leaves about the middle of November. We have before us 

 specimens obtained in the neighbourhood of Smyrna ; and Canon Tristram writes that it is known 

 to be a vernal visitant to the maritime plains of Palestine, though he himself, not being there in 

 the proper season, did not meet with it. According to Von Heuglin it is found singly in the 

 north-eastern portion of Lower Egypt. Canon Tristram and Major Loche met with it in Algeria; 

 and the former writes that it is " found only in the plains on the north of the Sahara, and seldom 

 beyond the limits of barley cultivation. On its migration it occurs in the southern oases for a 

 few days together." Loche speaks of it as common in Algeria. He found it on the plain of 

 Chelif, and less frequently on the plain of Mitidja, in the early part of June. Mr. Tyrwhitt 

 Drake met with it commonly in Tangier; and Major Irby informs us that it is equally numerous 

 in Marocco, where they are generally seen on the level ground in spring, breeding there 

 abundantly. 



To the eastward the range of the Lesser Bustard extends into India, where it has been 

 recorded by Jerdon and Blyth as occurring in the Peshawur valley ; and the latter states that it is 

 known to be common in Mesopotamia. Mi - . O. Hume writes to us as follows : — " This pretty 

 little Bustard, known to Punjaubee sportsmen as the Butterfly Houbara, is not uncommon in 

 suitable localities during the cold season in that small strip of Indian territory that lies west of 

 the Indus as far south as Dera Ghazee Khau. Northwards I have it from Abstabad and 

 Huzara. It breeds in May, as I learnt this year, in the Belooch plains ; and I hope before long to 

 have its eggs." 



The Little Bustard is strictly an inhabitant of the plains, and is only found where there are 

 large level tracts of country. In Algeria, according to Loche, it approaches the coast during the 

 breeding-season, and returns to the extensive southern plains in the commencement of the 

 autumn. As soon as they arrive at their breeding-station the sexes join, and the males fight for 

 the possession of the females ; the conqueror struts round the female, his wings half open, tail 

 depressed and spread, head drawn back, and his whole body trembling. The females only remain 

 with the males until it is necessary to prepare their nests, which they do alone, and attend, 

 unassisted, to the incubation of the eggs and the bringing up of their young. When the latter 

 are hatched they are attended to with the greatest care by the mother. The nest is placed on 

 the ground, and is scarcely more than a slight depression in the soil; and the number of eggs 

 deposited is usually from three to four. 



