Note 27 — NOTES[H] ON CERTAIN BIRDS FOUND IN NORFOLK.

The last of the Norfolk and therefore certainly the last of the British-bred Bustards, was killed in May, 1838; those which have since occurred in this country were Continental immigrants. An exhaustive history of the extinction of this bird will be found in Stevenson's "Birds of Norfolk," vols. 2 and 3. The Bustard, although found in some numbers, associated in small flocks or "droves" in the few localities which it frequented in Great Britain, was probably never a very numerous species. The following extract from one of Browne's letters to his son Edward, dated April 30th, and written probably in 1681, shows that he was on the verge of discovering an anatomical peculiarity in this family of birds, which in after years gave rise to much controversy. He says, "yesterday I had a cock Bustard sent me from beyond Thetford. I never did see such a vast thick neck: the crop was pulled out, butt as [a] turkey hath an odde large substance without, so hath this within the inside of the skinne, and the strongest and largest neckbone of any bird in England. This I tell you, that if you meet with one you may further observe it." The presence of a gular pouch in the Bustard was first demonstrated by James Douglas, a Scotch Physician, in 1740, and it appears to be fully developed only in the adult male bird, and at the breeding season. Hence, although it has undoubtedly been found on several occasions, the frequent unsuccessful searches for it under unfavourable conditions led to much scepticism as to its existence. The use of this singular appendage is still a moot point, but it seems probable that it has to do with "voice production," and assists in the remarkable "showing off" exhibited by the male bird in the breeding season. Pennant, in his "British Zoology," 1768, i., p. 215, gives a sentimental account of its use, and an exaggerated estimate of its proportions. In the Tables of Dietary referred to at p. 6 (note) ante, the Bustard is mentioned as in season from October to May.