THE LITTLE BUSTARD. 
77 
accompanies them throughout the period of their migration. 
This bird is described to be reddish-brown on the back^ cream- 
coloured elsewhere/^ and is probably the Squacco heron {Ardea 
comata). They never remain longer than one day. Mr. Wilkin- 
son has been told by friends resident at Alexandria^ that the 
earliest arrival of the quail there is about the 20th of September. 
THE LITTLE BUSTAED. 
Otis tetraxj Linn. 
Has at least once visited this island. 
In the ^Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London for 
1835'’ (p. 79)^ I noticed, on the authority of Mr. W. S. Wall, 
(an intelligent bird-preserver, well acquainted with Bewick's faith- 
ful portraits of British birds), that a little bustard, sent to him by 
Mr. Beside to be stuffed, had been shot by that gentleman in the 
county of Wicklow on the 23rd of August, 1833 : — another was 
seen at the same time. I subsequently learned from Air. Haffield 
of Dublin, who was present on the occasion, that they were asso- 
ciated with golden plover, in the bog of Killough, adjoining 
Powerscourt demesne, and about five miles from the sea. They 
proved to be less wary than the plover. The survivor remained 
for some time about the locality after its companion had been 
killed. The singularity of its cry was particularly remarked by 
my informant. 
This species is but an occasional visitant to England, and has 
occurred only once in Scotland.* 
The Great Bustard, Otis tarda, Linn., was enumerated by 
Smith (1749) as one of the birds of the county of Cork. It is 
long since extinct. One is said to have been shot in Scotland in 
1803 ; in England the species probably still exists. Mr. YarrelFs 
work contains full particulars respecting it. 
* Jardine. 
