——

 

 

 

OTIS MACQUEENL Hardw. and Gray.

MacQueen’s Bustard.

Otis Macqueent, Hardw. and Gray’s Ill. Ind. Zool., vol. ii. pl. 47.—Gould in Proc. York Phi

Houbara Macqueenii, List of Birds in Brit. Mus. Coll., Part ILI. p. 57 one ae
p- 786.—Blyth, Cat. of Birds in Mus. Asiat. Soc. Oe re

Eupodotis Macqueeni, Gray and Mitch. Gen. of Birds, vol. iii. p- 533 a on

Oiis tetrax, Rob. in Zoologist, vol. vi. p. 1969. ree

— Houbara, Rob. in Ib., vol. vi. p. 2065.

Soc., vol. i. p. 94.
Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng., vol. xvi.

 

Every Eapiimologist is acquainted with the Otis Houbara, while few collections are adorned with examples
of the species forming the subject of the present memoir; the great strongholds of which are the western
parts of Asia, particularly the countries of Beloochistan and Cabul, whence its range extends northwards
over the Plains of Tartary and westwards over those of Persia and Arabia, in which latter country it
inosculates with the true Otis Houbara, both species being there found. The interest which attaches to
this bird is greatly enhanced, by its being now added both to the list of European species, and
to the Fauna of our own island; a fine specimen, in the Museum of the Philosophical Society at York,
having been shot by Mr. G. Hansley in a stubble-field on Kirton Cliff, Kirton Lindsey, Lincolnshire, on
the 7th of October 1847, and another example killed on the 13th of December 1845, on the plain between
Woluwe St. Etienne and Dieghem, a league from Brussels. This latter specimen, a fine adult male, is now
in the Museum of Natural History at Brussels. The Vicomte DuBus, who furnished me with this informa-
tion, also informed me that he ate part of the body, and that it equaled in every respect the character
given by Latham and others of the flesh of the Houbara, which they say is of the highest flavour.

Captain Hutton states that the Ovs Macqueent is common and remains all the year on the bare
stony plains of Afghanistaun, where it is sometimes to be seen in small packs of five or six together.
It flies heavily and for short distances, soon alighting and running. Mr. Blyth says, that accord-
ing to a writer in the Bengal Sporting Magazine, it frequents dry sandy plains where there is a little
grass, and is also found in grain and wheat fields. _ Its flesh, which is exceedingly tender, is so covered with
fat that the skins are with difficulty dried and preserved. Capt. Boys, during the many years he had
collected in the upper provinces, never obtained more than one specimen, which was procured at Hansi in
December ; but in Scinde it is tolerably numerous.

The specific distinctions of the Otis Macqueeni as compared with O. Houbara are slight, but the fine black-
tipped crest-feathers, grey neck, lighter colouring of the upper surface, which is also much less strongly
marked with brown, together with its smaller size, are characters by which it may at all times be distin-
guished from the latter species. The specimen killed in Lincolnshire appears to be a female in the post-
nuptial dress ; its craw was filled with caterpillars of the Common Yellow Underwing Moth, small shelled
snails, beetles, &c. .

Forehead, sides of the head, upper part of the back of the neck, buff penciled with black ; crest-feathers
white at the base and black for the remainder of their length ; nape and base of the neck whitish ; on the
sides of the neck a series of plumes gradually increasing in length, the upper two-thirds of which are black ;
of the remainder some are white, others black, and others white at the base, and black for their apical half;
upper surface isabella-brown or sandy buff, minutely penciled wi
breadth and intensity here and there so as to form irregular bars across the feathets; these darker markings
becoming larger and more conspicuous as they proceed posteriorly ; rump Cae these Gees nee
upper tail-coverts and tail similarly marked and crossed by bands as grey, which increase in size oe t e
tip; the tail is moreover washed with rufous and terminated with buffy white ; ead on ee
penciled with black ; first five primaries white at the base, and black for the ae er 4 t a Bee
the remainder of the primaries and secondaries black, with a transverse mark a D 4 at : a oe
shite; neck and breast light grey; under surface of the wing and abdomt) aie, Ce
and under tail-coverts white, penciled and barred with blackish brown; irides yellow; DiS wa ys

except at the base, which is yellowish ; legs greenish yellow.
The figures are about two-thirds of the natural size, repres

th black, the pencilings increasing in

enting the nuptial and post-nuptial dress.