SAND GROUSE. 257 



abdomen vinous like the breast, and the under wing-coverts and 

 the band at the end of the tail-feathers bluish-grey, instead of 

 white ; bill blackish ; feet dull purplish lake. Total length, 

 jyo inches ; culmen, 07 ; wing, 7*4 ; tail, 4-5 ; tarsus, 1-05. 



Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but smaller. Total 

 length, 12 inches; wing, 67. 



Range in Great Britain. — A single specimen of this eastern 

 species of Turtle-Dove was shot near Scarborough on the 23rd 

 of October, 1889, and was exhibited by the late Mr. Seebohm, 

 on behalf of Mr. James Backhouse of York, at a meeting of the 

 Zoological Society, on the 6th of May, 1890. 



Range outside the British Islands. — According to Count Salvadori, 

 this species of Turtle-Dove is found from the base of the 

 Himalayas to Central India, and through the Burmese countries 

 to Formosa, Manchuria, Corea, and Japan. 



Habits. — Captain Hutton states that the present species arrives 

 at Masuri in the N.W. Himalayas, early in April, when all the 

 woods resound with its deep-toned cooing. It does not seem 

 to differ in any respect in habits from other Turtle-Doves. It 

 breeds in May and June, and Mr. Hume has found nests as 

 late as August. 



Nest. — According to Mr. Hume, the bird makes a loose but 

 rather more substantial twig nest than many of its congeners ; 

 it is placed on some horizontal branch of a large tree, usually 

 not far from the extremity. 



Eggs. — Two in number, white. Axis, i'i-i'34 inch; diam., 

 o-85-ro 



THE SAND-GROUSE. ORDER PTEROCLETES.* 



The Sand-Grouse hold an intermediate position between the 

 Pigeons and the Game-Birds, not only in external appearance, 

 but on account of their anatomical and osteological pecuhari- 



* In the ninth vohnnc of this Library Mr. W. R. Ogilvie Grant has 

 described all the Game-Birds, including tlie Sand-Grouse. He is the 

 acknowledged authority on these Orders of birds and I have therefore 

 merely given an epitome of the British species, founded on Mr. Grant's 

 work above-mentioned. Much of the information in the following pages 

 is a copy of Mr. Grant's work, for the simple reason that I have not 

 seen how to improve upon it. 



IS s 



