Eupodotis edwardsi, J. E. Gray. 



VsmaCUlair ITaiHSS. — [Toogder, Punjab; Sohun chirya, Gugumbher, Hookna, 

 Gwalior, Jhansi, &c. ; Gurayin, Haridna, Punjab ; Hoom, (Marathi, ) 

 Khandesh, Ndsik, Betul, Central Provinces, &=c. ; Kara-dhouk, Maldhouk, 

 Deccan ; Gurahira, Sind, Thar and Pdrkar ; Butt-meka, Bat-myaka, (Telugu), 

 Heri-hukki, Arl-koojina-hukki, (Canarese), Mysore.] 



HOUGH certainly by no means furnishing a delicate 

 dish for the table, our Great Indian Bustard, partly 

 on account of its general wariness and the difficulty 

 one has in most parts of the country in approaching 

 it, and partly on account of its beautifully vermicel- 

 lated and gamey plumage, has always been reckoned 

 a prize worthy of a sportsman's pursuit. 

 How far south this Bustard extends, I cannot certainly say. It 

 does not occur in Ceylon, nor have I any record of its occurrence 

 (though this is quite possible) in Tinnevelly, Madura, or anywhere 

 southwards of the Nilgiris. In Mysore, it is not rare, and north- 

 wards of Mysore it is found in suitable localities throughout 

 the Bombay Presidency (including Kathiawar and Cutch, in 

 the former of which it is very abundant, and Sind where, 

 save in the Thar and Parkar, it is very rare), except in the 

 strip of country below the Ghats on the Western Coast. It 

 occurs equally in the Nizam's Territory, Berar, the Central 

 Provinces, as far east as Sambalpur, the Central India Agency, 

 Rajputana, including Ajmere, and the Punjab, including Bahawal- 

 pur. It nowhere, that I know of, crosses the Jumna north- 

 wards or eastwards into the North-Western Provinces, though it 

 approaches this river closely everywhere. I have seen it near 

 Karnal, Delhi, Gurgaon, Dholpur, in the north of Gwalior, and 

 in the Banda district, and I have heard of its occurring quite 

 close to Allahabad across the Jumna. 



In Oudh, it used, I am told, to be not uncommon, though it is 

 now, I fear, almost, if not quite, extinct there. I do not know that 

 it has ever occurred in the North-Western Provinces, north and 

 east of the Jumna, or below Allahabad north of the Ganges, or 

 in Behar, or any part of Bengal, Orissa, or Chota Nagpore, but it 

 may occur in Sasseram and Gya, as I have been informed (though 

 this requires confirmation) that it has been shot in Mirzapur 

 and Rewah. 



