LESSER FLORIKIN. 135 



The female lays her eggs in some thick patch of grass, four or five 

 in number, (one writer says seven,) of a dark olive colour, with or 

 without a few darker blotches, of a very thick stunted, ovoid 

 form, very obtuse at the larger end. During this season the 

 females are very shy and wary, seldom rising, though often run- 

 ning great distances ; and when closely approached and unable to 

 run further, perhaps, without being seen, squatting so close as to 

 allow a man or dog almost to tread on them before they take flight. 



I have never put up or taken a young Florikin. Soon after in- 

 cubation has fairly commenced, the cock-birds appear to leave the 

 breeding district, and gradually migrate southwards. At Trichino- 

 poly, about the end of September and beginning of October, the 

 birds first met with are all cock-birds, generally in pretty fair 

 plumage, but very rapidly assuming their more sober winter garb ; 

 and females are very rare till much later in the season. 



The Lesser Florikin is occasionally snared and brought in alive 

 by some bird-catchers, but the gun is had resort to in general to 

 procure it. It is invariably called Charraz by all Mussulmans in 

 Southern India, although Mr. Hogdson asserts that I had no right 

 to apply that name to it, and I have not yet learnt in what parti- 

 cular districts it is called Likh ; most probably in the N. W. 

 Provinces. I have not been able to trace the origin of the Anglo- 

 Indian word ' Florikin, ' but was once informed that the little 

 Bustard of Europe was sometimes called Flanderkin. Latham 

 gives the word ''Flercher'' as an English name, and this, apparently, 

 has the same origin as Florikin. 



The small Bustard of Europe, Otis tetrox, L., now classed as Tetrax 

 campestris, is stated to have occurred in the Peshawur valley ; 

 but as I have not seen a specimen from that locality, nor heard 

 of one having been examined, I shall only give a brief description 

 of the species here, without enumerating it as one of the ' Birds of 

 India.' The bill and legs are short, the male has the usual mottled 

 brown plumage above, the wing-coverts and the base of the 

 primaries white, the rest of the primaries greyish-black, and the 

 secondaries patched black and white ; the tail with two dark cross- 

 bars, and the tip and base white ; cheeks, ear-coverts, and neck 

 bluish-grey, edged with black, and below this a white ring in the 



