( 74 ) 
The Hen Bustard. 
T his Bird was fo different from the Cock in Magnitude, that I fliould have fLifpefted rt 
to be a young one, not fully grown, had I not bought it at London in the Beginning of 
the Month of May^ at which Time I fuppofe thefe Birds are either little Chickens, or have attain¬ 
ed their full Growth, as all the Birds I know of in England \\2iVCy long before they are a Year 
old. This Hen Bird meafured from Tip to Tip of the Wings extended only 66 Inches, where¬ 
as the Cock meafured 88 *, and the Meafures were lefs in all its other Parts in about the fame Pro¬ 
portion. Now if one computes the Difference between two folid Square Quantities, where any 
fuperficial Part is as 66 to 88, after each Number is doubly multiplied by itfelf, the Difference 
of Quantity between the Cock and Hen will be as 678172, to 287496, which fliews the Hen to 
fall fhort of half the Quantity of the Cock, and is a greater Difproportion than I have yet ob- 
ferved between the Males and Females of any other Kind, In Birds of Prey the Females gene¬ 
rally exceed the Males in Bulk. 
The Bill of this Bird is of the fame Colour and Shape with that of the Cock; the Tongue is 
fharp pointed and jagg’d on the Sides; the Infide of the Mouth is of a pale Flelh Colour; it 
wholly wants the Water-pouch, there being no Pallage under the Tongue as in the Cock -, the 
Eyes are of an Orange or Golden Colour; the Head is of a dirty Brown, inclining to Alh-co- 
lour, except the Crown, which is bright Orange, with tranfverfe Lines of Black: The fore 
Part of the Neck is of a blueifli Afh-colour; the hind Part of the Neck, Back, Wings, and 
Tail, are like thofe of the Cock, but not quite fo bright coloured; the Wing difers from the 
Cock’s, in that the Edge or Ridge which falls on- the Bread: and Belly is covered with black 
Feathersand the White which runs the Length of the Wing when clofed is not fo broad as in 
the Cock : The Side Feathers of the Tail are White at both Extremes, with a Dafh of Reddifh 
in their Middles, and tranfverfe broken Bars of Black near their Tips: The Quills are Black fo 
far as they appear uncovered, their Bottoms being White; the Infide of the Wings, and whole 
under Side, is White, as in the Cock; the Legs, Feet, and Claws, for Shape and Colour,, a- 
gree both in Cock and Hen : A few of the prime Quills have white Shafts. 
This Bird has been already briefly defcribed by Wilioughl^, where there is a grofs Miftake in 
ike Meafure of its Length from Bill to Tail End, which he makes 60 Inches. Albin has tranP 
cribed him, and propagated this Error, which fliews he never examined, or perhaps faw the Bird, 
for his Figures both of the Male and Female are taken from the Print in the Memoirs of the 
Paris Academy: He has given his Female the long Feathers or Whiskers, which appear only 
in the Male; and has not given one Word of Defcription to his Female, becaufe he could find 
none fn any Author to tranfcribe: So *tis certain his Figure of the Hen is meer Fiftion. As 
thefe Birds are fo Capital in their Nature, and we have no perfed: Hiftory of them, and the 
full Difcovery of the Water-pouch in the Cock being entirely new, I hope the Curious will not 
think my publifliing thefe Figures and Defcriptions loft Labour. Mr. Willoughby fays, “ they 
“ feed on Corn, Seeds of Herbs, Coleworr, Dandelion Leaves, ^c. They are found in open plain 
Countries in many Parts of England^ efpecially on Salisbury Plain, for which Reafon I have deco¬ 
rated this Figure with a diftant View of the Antiquity of Stonehenge. I dined upon the Hen 
Bird here defcribed with the late Dr. James Douglas.^ for whom 1 procured it, and found it, the 
Breaft in Particular, to be fliort and very tender Meat, of an agreeable high Relifli. The Au¬ 
thors who have treated of this Bird are, Pierre Belton de la Nature des Oyfeaux, Pa. *236. Wil~ 
loiighhfi, Ornithology, Pa. 178. Pah. 32. The Natural Hiftory of Animals tranflated from the 
Royal Academy of Sciences of Paris., Anno 1702, by A. P. Secretary of the Royal Society, 
Pa. 1.96, Albin on Birds need not be examined, feeing his Figures are copied from the Paris 
Academy, and his Defcription from Willoughby. He had been told by Dr. Douglas of the 
Water-pouch in the Cock, which he has barely mentioned, but not having feen it, knew no¬ 
thing of its Situation, or the Qiiantity it would contain, the Doftor not having then made a 
jLrnonftraiion of the Truth of the Fad. . Dr. Phomas Moffet^ in a Treatife of the Nature of 
Foods and their Preparations,, calls the BuJiarAe both x dainty and wholfome Meat., 
