The Bustards. 
163 
This beautiful Crane, which is an inhabitant of Southern 
THE DEMOISELLE £ uro „ e an( j Central Asia, has once been shot in the Orkneys, 
CRANE. ... 
. .in September, 1871. It is easily recognised by its long orna- 
(Anthropoides Virgo.) ‘ ' j & j o 
mental plumes on the fore-neck, and the white whisker-like tufts 
of white feathers on the sides of the face. 
The Bustards, though possessing many of the osteological 
THE GREAI characters which distinguish the Cranes, are very different from 
BUSTARD. . 
(Otis tarda ) the latter birds in external appearance, having a mottled plumage, 
thickly waved with black cross-markings. The Great Bustard 
Macqueen’s Bustard. The Little Bustard. The Great Bustard. 
is the largest European species, and the male has a remarkable pouch in the throat, 
which is capable of being distended ; the sides of the throat are also furnished with 
some long bristly plumes like whiskers. Within the present century the Bustard 
has been extirpated in England as a breeding-bird, but occasional examples are 
obtained. It inhabits Central and Southern Europe, and is not rare in some 
countries, such as Poland, Hungary and Spain ; it extends into Central Asia. 
The food of the Great Bustard consists of small mammals and lizards, and it also 
eats grass, corn and peas. In the breeding season the display which the male bird 
11* 
