THE BUSTARD 



(Otis tarda) 



BY the extermination of the bustard, or great bustard, as it is sometimes 

 called in order to distinguish it from its smaller relatives, the British 



Islands have lost one of the finest members of their bird fauna; and, 

 unfortunately, all attempts to rehabilitate this magnificent species have resulted 

 in failure. It is to be feared, moreover, that any such attempts have but little 

 chance of success in the future, for the bustard is a native of open downs and 

 fallows, where it must live an undisturbed and untrammelled existence, and in 

 England at the present day this is almost an impossibility in country of that 

 description. In this respect the bustard stands at a great disadvantage in 

 comparison with the capercaillie, whose reintroduction into the forests of 

 Scotland was a relatively easy matter. 



Like those of most polygamous birds, the cocks of the bustard are much 

 larger than the hens, rivalling full-grown turkeys in the matter of size ; they 

 are also much more attractively coloured, and are furnished with a quantity of 

 white fluffy plumes, which are only fully displayed when the birds perform their 

 curious nuptial parade to attract the hens, although some of them may be seen 

 when two cocks are fighting, as depicted in the plate. Another peculiarity of the 

 cock is the possession of a great pouch, communicating with the windpipe, on 

 the throat, which can be inflated under the influence of excitement. 



When the wings are closed and the bird is engaged in feeding or other 

 normal occupation, the colouring of the body-feathers of the cock bustard is admirably 

 adapted to harmonise with the generally sandy or earthy hue of the surroundings. 

 In the case of the hen the whole plumage is protectively covered. The one feature 

 of the body-plumage in both sexes which produces such a wonderful harmony 

 between the colouring and that of the surroundings is the presence of a vast 

 number of narrow black bars on a rufous buff ground, this type of colouring not 

 only matching sandy or loamy soil, but likewise aiding to break up the outline 

 of the bird. 



When bustards lived in England their favourite resorts were the dry, 

 heathy uplands of Norfolk and Suffolk, and the downland of Cambridgeshire, and 

 the neighbourhood of Royston. At the present day these splendid birds are 

 still common in many parts of the Continent, their range including the greater 

 portion of central and southern Europe and a large extent of central Asia, 

 while in winter it likewise embraces northern Africa. The steppes of Russia, the 

 plains of the Danube in its course through Hungary, and the open tracts of 



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