164 
British Birds. 
THE LITTLE 
BUSTARD. 
( Tetrax tctrax.) 
MACQUEEN’S 
BUSTARD. 
( Houbara 
macqueenii.) 
makes in showing off its plumage is most extraordinary. The nesting-place is 
a mere hollow scraped in the ground. The eggs are two or three in number and are 
olive-brown, with light olive or brown spots and underlying ones of purplish-grey ; 
they measure about two-and-three-quarter to three-and-a-quarter inches in length. 
The small size of the Little Bustard renders it easy of recog- 
nition, and the black on the throat, and black and white bands on 
the chest at once distinguish the male. Specimens have been 
recorded, mostly in autumn and winter, from England, Scotland 
and Ireland, so that it may be considered a rare and occasional visitor. It breeds in 
Central and Southern Europe, as far east as Central Asia, and is sometimes seen in 
large flocks of a hundred birds together. The food is the same as that of the Great 
Bustard, and the nest is a depression in the ground, lined with a little dry grass. 
The eggs are three or four in number, more uniform than those of the Great Bustard, 
being olive-brown or olive-green, with scarcely any appearance of rufous markings 
or grey underlying spots. The length is about two or two-and-a-quarter inches. 
This species of Ruffed Bustard is distinguished by the shield 
of soft feathery bluish-grey plumes on the crop, and by the 
crest of narrow erectile feathers. On each side of the neck is a 
ruff of stiffened plumes, white with black tips. Macqueen’s 
Bustard breeds in the neighbourhood of the Altai Mountains and 
Lake Baikal in Central Asia, and visits the plains of North-western India in the 
winter in large numbers. It has been captured on three occasions in England. 
It is an inhabitant of the desert plains, where the sandy colour of its plumage 
affords it protection. It feeds on young corn and seeds of plants. The nest is a 
depression in the ground, and the eggs, two or three in number, are clay-brown or 
olive-brown, with faint blotches of purplish-grey and spots of dark brown. The 
length is about two-and-a-quarter to two-and-a-half inches. 
This bird holds an intermediate position between the 
Bustards and the Plovers. Like the former birds it wants the 
hind-toe. The ‘ Thick-knee,’ as this bird is often called, is not 
likely to be confounded with an)' other Plover ; for its large size 
and great yellow eye and sandy coloration separate it from all other 
British species. It inhabits the open downs of the southern and eastern counties in 
summer, a few remaining during the winter months. It is a shy and timid bird, 
and when danger approaches it drops on the ground and lies perfectly still with its 
neck outstretched, and the nestlings share this same instinct of protection, for when 
thus lying flat on the ground, the birds are almost impossible to distinguish. There 
is no nest, and the two eggs are laid on the bare ground, from the stones of which 
they with difficulty can be detected. The eggs are of a dark or light stone-colour 
with brown spots and blotches all over the surface, varied with underlying 
mottlings of pale grey. 
THE 
STONE-PLOVER. 
( CEdicnemus 
cedicnemus.) 
