TEE BIRDS OF NORTH C AC EAR. 489 



below that. It does not keep to tree and bush jungle as does arhoricola 

 and is seldom found far from open land of sorts, preferring bamboo 

 and scrub jungle on the borders of rice-fields or patches of grass. 

 Early in the morning it is one of the first birds to rise ; it comes into the 

 open to feed, scratching for seeds and insects like other partridges. 

 Except during the breeding season it is found in coveys consisting of 

 the old birds and the last brood of young. About March the young go 

 off on their own hook and the cock bird begins to get extremely noisy. 

 The very earliest glimmer of dawn sees him perched on so2ne stump or 

 bush crowing away for all he knows, his cry being much like that of 

 the black partridge, only less shrill and high pitched. It might be 

 syllableized — Che-chirree — che-chirree, chirree chirree chirree. Before 

 laying her eggs the female also sometimes attempts to call. I watched 

 a pair for some time once on the peak of a hillock close to my house. 

 There were a few young trees and some bushes standing in long grass 

 and every few minutes the cock bird would fly on to one of these, 

 making a tremendous commotion with his wangs, crow two or three 

 times and then drop to the ground, where after a little " walk round" 

 he would subside into the grass. After every two or three of these 

 exhibitions the hen would jump up, give utterance to a few discordant 

 squawks and retire again to give place to her husband. 



They fly very well and get up quickly and are at once away ; are 

 much easier to flush than are the partridges of the genus a'^horlcola, and 

 sometimes give quite good shooting when the hill rice has been cut and 

 the birds frequent the edges of the jhums. 



They lay principally in x\pril, but I have had eggs brought to me in 

 March and again as late as July. The nest is placed in high grass, the 

 birds collecting a good deal of rubbish and leaves together and placing 

 them in some natural hollow. Now and then the nest may be taken 

 in bush jungle and more often in bamboo. 



The eggs number from four to six or seven, five being, I think, the 

 number most often found. In colour they vary from a pale, dull buff 

 to buff of a warm tint, nearly always dull and brownish but sometimes 

 with rather a pink tinge. In shape they are normally rather broad 

 ovals decidedly compressed towards the smaller end which is often 

 pointed, some eggs are rather longer and narrower, and a few are broad 

 blunt ovals. The texture is coarse and very hard, the surface rather 



