the eggs be handled in her absence, she is sure to discover it
and to destroy them herself. The eggs are of the size and
shape of an ordinary domestic fowl's, but one generally larger
and more richly coloured than the other.
" The female sits on her eggs about a month, and the young
can follow her very soon after they chip the egg. In a month
they are able to fly ; and they remain with the mother for
nearly a year, or till the procreative impulse again is felt by her,
when she drives off the long-since fully grown young. Two
females commonly breed near each other, whether for company
or mutual aid and help; and thus the coveys,—so to speak,
though they arc not literally such,—are usually found to consist
of four to six birds. The Florican breeds but once a year in
June-July, that is, the eggs are then laid, and the young hatched
in July-August.
" The eggs, about the size of those of a Bantam, 2 inches long
by IJ inch broad, are of a sordid stramineous hue, very minutely
dotted and more largely blotched and clouded with black,
somewhat as in Lobivanellus indicus or the Indian Lapwing."
I have never yet succeeded in obtaining an egg of this species,
but they have been described to me as closely resembling those
of the Likh, or Lesser Florican (fully described under that
species), but considerably larger and varying from 2 to 2'5 in
length, and from l"5 to i 8 in breadth.
I HAVE shot but few of these Florican since I took to measuring
birds, and have but few dimensions recorded. Three young
but nearly full grown males measured—
Length, 24 to 26 ; expanse, 41 to 45 ; wing, 13-5 to 1375 ;
tail, 6-87 to 7-25 ; tarsus, 6 ' I 2 to 675 ; bill to gape, 2-25 to
2-5. Weight, 3-25 to 375 lbs.
A friend sends the measurements of a single bird, an adult
male, which agree closely with those given by Jcrdon :—
Male.—Length, 27 ; expanse, 46; wing, 1475 ; tarsus,
6-25 ; tail,.75 ; bill at front, 13. Weight, 3 lbs. (!)
The females are said to be, and probably are, larger in this
species, and Jerdon gives the dimensions as :—Length, 28 to 29 ;
expanse, 50. Weight, 4 lbs to even 5 lbs. But four, apparently,
adult females which I measured were much smaller, vie. : —
Length, 26 to 27 ; expanse, 43 to 48 ; wing, 14 to 1475 ;
tail, 7-25 to 775 ; tarsus, 6'37 to 675 ; bill to gape, 2'5 to
275. Weight, 3'5 to 4'25 lbs.
The irides have certainly been yellow, varying from very
pale to almost golden in all the many birds that I have shot,
but Jerdon says they are brown ; the legs are dirty strawcolour
; the bill dusky bluish above, bluish grey to yellowish
below, and somewhat fleshy brown towards gape.
THE PLATE, taken from one of Mr. Hodgson s drawings,
very accurately represents a male in breeding plumage, and a
female or young male ; but the bills are not rightly coloured, the
breast plumes of the male are almost jet black and not grey
and that female, absolutely faultless as regards plumage, woud
have looked more natural if she had not been depicted with
both her legs on the off-side.
* Of course this grey shade is intended to represent the slightly greyish appearance
which the feathers assume under a side light, but, unfortunately, this has been
grossly exaggerated by the artist.