flapping pinions until it has reached a certain height, when it darts away with such rapidity as almost baffles the eye and gun of the sportsman. Whilst in flight the neck and legs are stretched forwards, and the hinder part of the body kept low, thus imparting an indescribable peculiarity to the bird when seen in the air. The voice of the Great Bustard is so low as to be scarcely audible except at a short distance. According to Naumann, during the breeding season it utters a deep dull sound, resembling the syllables "hah, hah, hah." In their habits these birds are strictly terrestrial; the whole day is passed upon the ground; the early morning hours being occupied in fighting, screaming, and feeding; at noon they repose for a time and dust themselves preparatory to going again in search of food before evening closes in. The pairing season is in April, and at that time desperate battles take place among the males. During these engagements the tails of the combatants are raised and spread out in the manner of a fan, the wings hang down to the ground, and they charge each other like Turkey-cocks. The strongest collects about him the largest harem, and pairing takes place in the same amusing way as among the Turkeys. The female lays two or three olive-grey eggs, marked with red and liver-brown spots, in a hole which she scratches in the ground. The period of incubation is said to be twenty-eight days, and as soon as the young are hatched, they are capable of following their mother in search of food. The methods adopted for capturing the Bustard are various. From its extremely shy nature, and from its habit of keeping to the open country, it is not easy of approach. Of wayfaring people, however, it seems to have little apprehension; the usual plan, therefore, is for the sportsman either to clothe himself like a peasant, or to put on female apparel, and to make up to it with a basket on his back, and holding the gun closely by his side. Sometimes, also, these birds are chased with greyhounds, which are conveyed towards them in covered carts, until such time as they evince symptoms of alarm and begin to move off, when the dogs are slipped from their couplings. [Illustration: BUSTARDS (_Otis tarda_).]