614 BIRDS OF INDIA. 



tides bengalensis, but the whole style of the markings is that of 

 the Houbara rather than of the Florikin. The only difference is 

 that the white of the wing is not shown ; but, on the other side, 

 the primaries of the hen Florikin are black. It may, indeed, be 

 a young Houbara. 



According to Captain Boys the female assumes the ruflp in 

 the breeding plumage but not the crest ; but so few observations 

 have been recorded about this bird, that it is yet possible (and 

 probable from analogy) that the hen bird possesses neither crest 

 nor ruff. The female of the African Houbara, accordinsr to 

 Temminck, has neither crest nor ruff. The figure among Burnes' 

 drawings may be that of a young male in his first breeding season 

 before the ruff had been fully developej^ ; and in this drawing and 

 that of marmorata, the irides of both are represented as vinous 

 red, whilst that of the adult is said to be yellow. This bird is 

 so exceedingly similar to the African Houbara (H. undulatd) 

 that I consider them to be doubtfully distinct, but Gould and 

 other late writers still separate them, the black on the crest of the 

 Indian bird being one of the chief distinctions. 



The Indian Houbara is found throughout the plains of the 

 Punjab and Upper Sindh, occasionally crossing the Sutlej and the 

 Indus lower down, and it has been killed at Ferozepore, Hansi, 

 and in various parts of Hurriana, but no records exist of its 

 occurrence eastwards of Delhi. It is probably a permanent re- 

 sident, as no notice is given of its occurring at any particular 

 season. It frequents open sandy and grassy plains, or undulating 

 sandy ground with scattered tufts of grass, also wheat and other 

 grain fields; and is generally met with in such bare and open ground 

 that, being shy and wary, it is approached with difficulty, ex- 

 cept in the heat of the day, when it lies down in a thick tuft, 

 or other shelter, and can be approached with ease. Major James 

 Sherwill informed me that it is very abundant across the Indus 

 at Derajat and towards the frontier of Sindh; and that a black 

 hawk which hunts in pairs often kills a wounded bird, and has 

 been seen to strike a sound one. The Houbara is much hawked 

 both in the Punjab and Sindh, and the Falcon exclusively used 

 for this purpose is the Chartagh {Falco sacer, vol. 1, p. 30). It 



