BRITISH BIRDS 



congregate in large flocks, and, except during the hot days of August and September, 

 are then usually very shy and wary. In autumn the male Little Bustard loses the 

 distinctive black and white gorget on the throat, when his colour in general 

 resembles that of the female, except that the black vermiculations are finer and 

 less blotched. 



MACQUEEN'S BUSTARD. 

 Otis macqueeni, J. E. Gray. 

 Plate 6i. 



This rare visitant has only been obtained four times in the British Islands, the 

 first having been shot near Kirton-in-Lindsey, Lincolnshire, in October 1847, tne 

 next in 1892 in Yorkshire, another in the same county in 1896, whilst the last was 

 obtained as far north as Aberdeenshire in 1898. All these birds occurred during 

 the month of October. Macqueen's Bustard inhabits the western part of Siberia, 

 Turkestan, Persia, Afghanistan, Baluchistan, and North-western India. In the last 

 mentioned country, where it occurs as a winter visitor, it is known as " Houbara," 

 which name is also applied to a closely allied species, Otis undulata, inhabiting 

 Africa. 



The nest consists of a slight hollow scratched in the sand, in which the female 

 lays her eggs ; these are olive-brown in colour, blotched with shades of darker 

 brown. According to Blandford {The Fauna of British India, vol. iv. pp. 197- 

 198), "This Bustard is generally found solitary or in small parties on open sandy 

 semi-desert plains, very often in the neighbourhood of mustard-fields. It feeds on 

 seeds, small fruits, shoots of plants, and insects. It runs quickly and is difficult 

 to approach on foot, but it is generally shot from a camel. I have repeatedly shot 

 Houbara (from horseback) by circling round, never going directly towards the bird 

 until it squats down. When thus lying down, even in bare ground, only a trained 

 eye can detect it; this resemblance to a stone or a small heap of sand is remarkable, 

 and the transformation that takes place when a Houbara, or, as sometimes happens, 

 two, three, or more, spring into flight from the apparently lifeless waste, is not 

 easily forgotten by anyone who has witnessed it. Houbara are excellent eating as 

 a rule, but they contract a strong and unpleasant flavour at times from feeding on 

 shoots of mustard and other allied plants grown as oil-seeds." 



The female is hardly so large as the male, and although the colour in general is 

 similar in both sexes, her crest and neck plumes are less developed than those of 

 her mate. 



