s of the season," when neither inclination, nor the wants of
nature, stimulated it to the task.

[4] The passage to which our kindly Correspondent refers is as
follows: "The serpent, instead of being the emblem of
wisdom, should have been an emblem of stupidity."--See
_Mirror_, vol. xviii. p. 343.

[5] See _Mirror_, vol. xviii. p. 356.

PHILAETHES.

_Hereford_.

* * * * *

THE BUSTARD.

The Bustard, huge Rasor, with gular pouch long,
With legs formed for running, and beak that is strong,
Whose presence this island regards now as rare.

_Jennings's Ornithologia._

This bird is of the same order as the Dodo (the gallinaceous, cock or
pheasant), figured and described at page 311. There are seventeen
species, which form the genus _Otis_ of Linnaeus. They are natives of
Europe, Asia, and Africa. Their characteristics are--bill strong, a
little incurvated; toes, three before, none behind; legs long, and
naked above the knees. The specimen here figured is the _Great
Bustard_, or Tarda, said to be the largest of British birds, sometimes
weighing as much as thirty pounds. It is found in some parts of this
country, and inhabits also the open plains of Europe, Asia, and
Africa. Its colour is wave-spotted with black, and rufous; beneath,
white; length, four feet; female not so large, weighing about twelve
pounds: she has also different shades of colour. The male has a long
pouch, (_see the Cut_), beginning under the tongue, and reaching to
the breast, capable of holding several quarts of water--supposed to be
for supplying the hen while sitting on the young. The cheek-feathers
are elongated, so as to form on each side a sort of mustachio. It
subsists on grains and herbs; it also feeds on worms and insects, and
according to late observations, on rats and field-mice;[6] is
solitary, shy, and timid; flies heavily, but runs swiftly; is quick of
sight and hearing; lays two, pale, olive-brown eggs, with darker
spots, in a hole scraped in the ground. In autumn Bustards are
gregarious, when they leave the open downs for more sheltered
situations. The eggs are eagerly sought after, for the purpose of
hatching under hens: they have been reared thus in Wiltshire. As they
are very valuable birds, and eagerly sought after, they are scarce.
Mr. Jennings doubts whether they still exist in Wiltshire; but, from a
paper lately read before the Linnaean Society, by M