296 
OTIDID®. 
A specimen in my own collection, taken at Cairns, Northern 
Queensland, in November, is of a beautiful pale green, and 
measures 5*45 inches in length by 3-G8 inches in breadth. 
Hab. Cape York, 1 Rockingham Bay. (Ramsay.) 
Family OTIDIDiE. 
Genus CHOBIOTIS, Bonaparte. 
CHORIOTIS AUSTRALIS, Gray. 
Australian Bustard. 
Gould, Uandbk. Birds Ausl., Vol. ii., sp. 495, p. 208. 
« 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 among the trees on the 
hillside ; a few small sticks and blades of grass are sometimes 
found gathered round the eggs. The eggs vary both in shape and 
size, some are thickest at an equal distance from each end ; others 
are more elongated, and widest an inch from the thicker end. In 
length they are from 3 to 3-3 inches, - and from 2-1 to 2 3 inches 
in breadth. The ground colour varies from light olive-green to 
olive-brown, having longitudinal smears, spots, and dashes of 
olive-brown, equally dispersed over the surface. In a valuable 
collection, for which I am indebted to my brother, Mr. J. Ramsay 
of Nanama, there arc seven Bustard’s eggs ; one particularly line 
one measures 3-3 x 2T inches ; it is of a light olive-green sparingly 
marked with reddish olive-brown. The smallest Bustaids egg in 
our collection Measures 2 3 x l'G inches, and is of an olive-brown, 
thickly spotted and dashed with dark olive-brown. I have seen 
small eggs of the same colour with very few faint and longitudinal 
markings extending nearly the whole length of the egg : these I 
take to be the eggs of the younger birds. So far as I am aware 
the Australian Bustard has but one brood in the season.” (Ramsay, 
Ibis, 1867, Vol. iii., New Series, p. 417, pi. ix., fig. 1.) 
