1 
THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
“ Occasionally the paroxysm is less marked, and he sits or stands 
blowing out in a playful manner the subglobular dilatation under the maxillse, 
but not throwing down the pouch or erecting the tail. 
“ This periodical excitement, although lasting altogether about a couple 
of months, does not continue with vigour the whole of that time . . . 
“ The accession of this most remarkable display occurs chiefly early in 
the morning or at sundown during the period of excitement and it is only 
near the climax that it happens during the middle of the day. At such times 
the fits succeed each other frequently, as often as every hour.”* 
“ During August and the three following months the Bustards betake 
themselves in pairs to the thinly-wooded districts for the purpose of breeding, 
returning to the plains and more open land in December, when they associate 
in small flocks of from five to ten in number. On very hot days they may 
with more certainty be found in the edges of the plains, in the shade of the 
trees, returning again in the evenings to their favourite feeding-grounds on 
the slopes and hill-sides. 
“ During the winter, they are found more often on the slopes amongst the 
trees, sheltered from the wind and snow. 
“ On the 8th of March, 1866, while at Lake George, three young Bustards, 
about the size of a large domestic fowl, were seen together. Although on the 
same flat there were several old birds, they never accompanied them ; and I 
have been informed by several residents in that district that the young 
always leave their parents when a few months old. 
“ The Australian Bustard breeds during September, October, and 
November, and lays but two eggs on the ground, without any nest — a small 
bare spot being selected amongst the trees on the hill-side : a few sticks and 
blades of grass are sometimes found together round the eggs ... So far 
as I am aware the Australian Bustard has but one brood in the season. ’’f 
This bird early claimed the attention of explorers, one reason being its 
fine size combined with its edible characters. 
Thus, in Hawkesworth’s Voyages^ Vol. III., p. 521, 1783, we read, 
concerning Captain Cook’s Voyage up the east coast of Australia: “ Upon the 
shore we saw a species of the bustard, one of which we shot, it was as large 
as a turkey and weighed seventeen pounds and a half. We aU agreed that 
this was the best bird we had eaten since we left England and in honour of 
it we called this inlet Bustard Bay.” 
In the reprint of Cook’s Journal, edited by Wharton, in 1893, the entry 
regarding this appears on p. 260 : “May 23, 1770 [Cook had entered “a Large 
* Proc. Zool. Soc. (Lond.) 1868, p. 474. 
f Ramsay, Ibis 1867, p. 418. 
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