BUSTARDS. 
455 
in many of their habits resembling the larger species, Mr. Hume states that their 
flight is very different, and that they often rise to a great height, and will flutter 
and twist about in the air. At other times, however, they fly rapidly and straight; 
and when on the wing always call continually. Wary in the cool of the morning 
and evening, during the heat of the day they lie close in the mustard-fields, which 
are their favourite haunts in the Punjab. “ They rise suddenly,” writes Mr. Hume, 
“ with a great pat-pat of the wings; and, though quite invisible till they rise, 
startle one with the great breadth of pure white they suddenly reveal, the whole 
of the secondaries and much of the primaries being white.” 
An extinct bustard belonging to this or one of the allied genera has been 
described by the writer from the middle Miocene rocks of Bavaria, and thus serves 
to indicate the comparative antiquity of the group. 
Long-Beaked Africa south of the Sahara is the home of a number of species of 
Bustards. bustards belonging to a genus ( Eupodotis ), distinguished from the 
preceding by the greater length of the beak and legs, and of which there is an out¬ 
lying representative in India (E. ediuardsi), and others in China and Australia 
{E. australis). The wings are large and long, and the plumage of the two sexes 
is nearly similar, although the females lack the short pouches found in the males of 
most of the species. As there are a great number of these bustards, and their 
general type of coloration conforms to that obtaining in the members of the 
preceding genus, it would be useless to attempt the description of any particular 
species, and our notice may therefore be confined to their habits. The great Indian 
bustard frequents open bare or grassy plains, and in the rainy season collects in 
small flocks, while in the cold weather it may be observed in wheat-fields, to which 
it resorts for the purpose of feeding on the grasshoppers which form its favourite 
food. Failing insect food, it will, however, take to fruit and seeds. When flushed, 
it generally flies for a long distance at a low elevation before settling again. This 
species differs from the common bustard in being polygamous; and during the 
breeding-season the males, like many other members of the family, are in the 
habit of making a display before the females, probably for the purpose of attraction. 
Describing this display, Mr. Hume remarks that, “ first the male begins to strut 
about, holding his head up as high as if he wanted to lift himself off his legs; then, 
after a few turns, he puffs out the upper part of the throat just under the jaws 
then draws it in again, then puffs it again, and so on, two, three, or four times, and 
then suddenly out goes the whole throat down to the breast, and that part of it 
next the latter swells more and more; his tail, already cocked, begins to turn right 
back, and the lower throat-bag gets bigger and bigger and longer and longer, till 
it looks to be within six inches of the ground. All the feathers of the throat stand 
out, and, looked at in front, he seems to have a huge bag covered with feathers 
hanging down between his legs, which wobbles about as he struts here and there, 
with wings partly unclosed, and occasional sharp snappings of his bill. From time 
to time he utters a sort of deep moan, and stands quite still, and then off he struts 
again close up to the female, and then away from her.” In addition to insects, 
these birds also consume numbers of rats, mice, and reptiles; and this coarse 
feeding renders their flesh unpalatable. Difficult to approach within gunshot 
range by stalking, bustards may frequently be bagged by driving. In length this 
