File:An illustrated manual of British birds (1889) (14561963438).jpg

Identifier: illustratedmanua01saun (find matches)
Title: An illustrated manual of British birds
Year: 1889 (1880s)
Authors: Saunders, Howard, 1835-1907
Subjects: Birds
Publisher: London, Gurney and Jackson
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

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which lasts rather morethan three weeks, begins in April in Spain, though later in the north ;the young are soon able to run and hide themselves. Green corn,peas, clover &c., are the chief articles of diet, but worms, smallmammals and reptiles are also eaten. Old males sometimes weighupwards of 30 lbs., and their flesh is coarse, but the hens and youngare excellent for the table. The adult male has a tuft of long bristly white feathers at thebase of the bill on each side ; head bluish-grey ; upper surfacechiefly ochreous-yellow barred with black; wings white, except theprimaries, which are brownish ; breast banded with rich chestnutand grey; belly white. Length 45 in. ; wing 245 in. The femalehas no bristles or pectoral band, and is much smaller; wing 19*5in. The young resemble the hen. In the adult males of this andsome other Bustards there is a large sub-lingual air-pouch, whichis capable of great dilation during the love-season, though at othertimes almost invisible. orn:)in/E.
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THE LITTLE BUSTARD.Otis tetrax, Linnceus. The Little Bustard was never more than a straggler to theBritish Islands, and, since its presence was first noticed in 1751,most of the occurrences recorded have been during the colderhalf of the year. The majority of these have been in the southerncounties (notably Cornwall), or in the eastern half of England(especially in Suffolk, Norfolk, and Yorkshire) ; while as regardsScotland the four known instances have all been on the east side.In Ireland, two have been obtained in the south and one in co.Mayo, the last in December 1887. As a wanderer the Little Bustard has been noticed as far north asScandinavia, the German side of the Baltic, and the St. Petersburgdistrict. In May 1883 its nest was found near Fehrbellin (north ofBerlin); while it breeds freely on the undulating plains which stretch 512 LITTLE BUSTARD. across France from Marne to La Vendee, where it has greatly in-creased of late years, arriving about the end of March or early inApr

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