What the heck is a lek?
Males great bustards perform spectacular courtship displays, gathering at a ‘lek’ or small display ground to try to impress the females.
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Young Bevis should have been lord of the manor at Downton, but he was abandoned on the downs when he was seven years old, and brought up by shepherds. Bevis knew who he was. He was angry. At the age of 11 he went to claim his birthright. But he was just a boy. He was seized and placed on a slave ship to the east. The King of his new land made him a page and he took his lessons with the King’s daughter. As they grew up they fell in love. The knights of that land mocked him. He fought back. The Princess told him to do a great deed to redeem himself, and so Bevis killed a giant rampaging boar. He then requested the Princess’s hand in marriage, but the King sent him away to the King of Damascus with a letter that gave instructions to imprison the bearer. In his dungeon were two dragons, and Bevis defeated them. After many adventures he was reunited with his beloved. They made their way to England, where Bevis took back his land and married the Princess.
Males great bustards perform spectacular courtship displays, gathering at a ‘lek’ or small display ground to try to impress the females.
The great bustard has a dignified slow walk but tends to run when disturbed, rather than fly.
The hen-bird on display at The Salisbury Museum was one of the last great bustards to be eaten in the town!