PERDICINiE. 555 



Gen. Lekwa, Hodgson. 



Syn. Tetraoperdix, Hodgson. 



Char. — Bill stout, short ; orbits plumed throughout ; wing mo- 

 derately long, pointed, of great expanse, the 2nd quill longest ; 

 tail of fourteen feathers, rather long and strong ; tarsi feathered 

 a short way down. Male with short spurs. 



This genus, composed of a single species peculiar to the 

 Himalayas, combines the colors of a Grouse with the naked leg 

 of a Partridge. Gould says that it assimilates in a nearly equal 

 degree to a Grouse, Francolin, and Partridge. 



817. Lerwa nivicola, Hodgson. 



Madras Journ. Lit. 1837 — Perdix Lerwa, Hodgson P. Z. S. 

 1833— Hardwicke 111. Ind. Zool. 2 pi. 44 f. 1— Gould, Birds 

 of Asia, pt. VII., pi. 8 — Lerioa in Nepal, Quoir-monal, or Koor- 

 monal — Also Gulahi — and Jer-titar, i. e. Snow Partridge, in vari- 

 ous hill dialects — B/nj7' or Bhair at Simla — Janguriya in Kumaon. 



The Snow Partridge. 



Descr. — Head, neck, and the whole plumage, with the wings and 

 tail minutely barred with black and greyish or bufFy white, more 

 grey on the head, neck, rump and upper tail coverts, and tinged 

 with chesnut on the sides of the neck, shoulder and wing-coverts ; 

 quills dusky brown, narrowly freckled with bufFy white on their 

 outer edges ; the secondaries broadly tipped with white ; tail dusky 

 with speckled bars of grey and rufous, and the feathers black 

 shafted ; beneath, the chin is greyish ; the throat, breast, and upper 

 part of the abdomen deep chesnut red, with dashes of buff or 

 whitish on many of the feathers, especially on the flanks ; lower 

 abdomen, vent, and thigh-coverts barred like the upper part, 

 but with a tinge of rufous ; lower tail-coverts chesnut-red, with 

 bufipy white tips. 



Bill bright red ; irides dark brown ; legs and feet red. Length 

 15 to 16 inches ; extent 24 ; wing 8 ; tail 4 ; tarsus 1^. Weight 

 18 oz. 



The female is a trifle smaller than the male, and wants the spurs, 

 but does not otherwise differ. 



