OTIDIDJE, 117 



Fam. OtididzE. 



Bill rather short, stout, broad at the base, somewhat compressed 

 towards the tip ; upper inaudible convex and slightly curved ; 

 nostrils in a large membranous groove ; legs long, rather stout ; 

 tarsi reticulated ; three short toes united at the base by a small 

 membrane ; hind toe always absent ; claws short and blunt ; 

 wings ample, more or less pointed ; plumage mottled and game- 

 like. 



Bustards have the heavy aspect and form of Gallinaceous birds, 



which they also approximate somewhat in the form of their bill, 

 and the short membrane at the base of their toes ; but their more 

 nude tibia, and their general anatomy ally them closely with the 

 Plovers. They differ, however, from these last by their less muscu- 

 lar stomach, and partially polygamous habits ; and they approach 

 the Cranes and Cassowaries, and perhaps are distantly related to 

 some of the Thinocoridce, and also to the Tinamida. Their 

 plumage is beautifully mottled, light olive brown or fulvous and 

 black, and at the spring moult many of them assume various orna- 

 mental tufts and plumes, and more or less of a black colour, like 

 several Plovers. Their food is chiefly insects, occasionally in 

 dearth of this aliment, shoots of plants, grain, and vegetable matter. 

 They lay two to five eggs, (or more it is said,) of a dark olive brown 

 colour ; and, though not strictly migratory, they wander about a 

 good deal in search of food and shelter. Their wings are strong and 

 very ample, and, contrary to received notions, they use them very 

 freely, and are capable of a tolerably strong and protracted flight. 

 They are found throughout the Old World, extending to Australia. 

 The sternum has one deep fissure in some, two however in others ; 

 the stomach is capacious, with rather thin coats ; the intestines are 

 short ; and the rectum large, making the nearest approach to the 

 Ostriches. In some there is a gular membranous pouch (communi- 

 cating with the mouth by a small aperture beneath the tongue), 

 supposed by some to supply water to the female, but, as it only 

 exists in the male bird, and as the Bustards do not appear to 

 drink, it is more probably a sexual appendage, perhaps merely used 

 in dilating the throat. Bustards can raise the feathers round the 

 ears to catch any distant sound. 



