and then met with, in troops o f fifty or more: frequent the open
countries of the fouth and eaft parts, from Dorjetjhire as far as the
Wolds in Yorkjhire; and on Salijbury -plain, -in Wiltjhire, are often
feen. ' Suppofed to be extinft in ’Scotland *. Are flow in taking
-wing, yet run fo faft that nothing but Greyhounds can overtake
them. It is faid that thele fwifc couriers have run them down
before they could rife from the ground. In England are in
greateft numbers in autumn; but in France are likewife feen in
fpring. Are common alfe in fome parts of Germany f ; hence
they fliould feem to migrate from one part to another. It is
common in all the fouth plains of RuJ/ia and defarts of ftart ary;
and is folitary, except air the times of migration, when it unites
into fmall flocks J.
This bird makes no neft, but lays the eggs on the ground,
fcratching an hole therein, in fome dry corn - field : they are
two in number, as big as thofe of a Goofe-, of a pale olive brown,
marked with Ipots of a deeper colour. The female abandons the
neft: if the eggs be touched in her abfence. The food is grani-
vorous and herbaceous, but the bird alfo feeds mueh on worms
which come out o f the ground before fun-fet in fummer ||.
* Br. Zool.— Flor. Scot.
+ Bujlards .are fo common in Hungary, that fometimes they are feen four
Bye hundred in a flight.— Keyjler's Tram, vol. iv. p. 176.-~Kramer.
t Dec. Ruff. || Br. Zool.
©ti* tetrax, Lin. Syfi. i. p. 264. — Faun. Suec. N° 196. — Muller, p. 27.
v N° 220,
La petite Outarde, ou Canne-petiere, Brif. orn. v. p. 24. pi. 2. f. 1. 2 .—
B uf oif. ii. p. 40. — PL enl. 25. (the male.) 10. (thefemale.) — Raii
Syn. p. 59. 2.—Will. orn. p. 179. pi. 32,
French Field Duck, Albin. iii. pi. 41.
Little Bullard,. Ed-zu. pi. 251 .'■—Br. Zool.. i. N° 99. — Phil. franf. vol. xlviii.
p. 502. pi. 16.— Aril. Zool.
Lev. Muf.
g I Z E of a Pheafant: length feventeen inches. Bill grey
brown : crown of the head black,' dallied with rufous: fides
of the head, chin, and throat, rufous white, marked with fmall
blackilh dalhes : the whole neck black, encircled with two irregular
bands of white, the one near the top, the other near the bottom
: the back and wings are rufous mottled brown, crofted with
fine irregular black lines, mixed with fome perpendicular dalhes
of the laft: the under parts of the body and outer ed»es of the
wings white : the tail confifts of eighteen feathers-; the four
middle ones are tawny, barred with blackilh; the others white,
marked with tranfverle irregular narrow blackilh- bands-: le«s
grey.
The female differs in, wanting the black, neck-; inftead of
which, it is much of the fame colour with the reft of the upper
parts, being fomewhat like thofe of the male, but the lines not fo
delicate, and fuller of longitudinal irregular fpots r the breaft rufous
white, ftriated with blackilh : the reft of the under parts
white; but the tail.coverts crofted with blackilh lines in both
lexes *.
* “ He (fays Willughhy, from Bchn) that defires an exaft defeription of this
“ bird> let him imagine a Quail of the bignefs of a Pheafant, but very much
“ Spotted ; for juft fuch is this Field Duck)1
LITTLE K,
D es c RiPTiorr®,
Female