COMMON SAND-GKOUSE 145 



Common Sand-grouse. 



Pteroclurus exustus. Bhat-titar, Hindustani. 



This sandy-coloured, sharp-tailed bird, about the size of a 

 dove and rather like one — indeed, sand-grouse are often, though 

 quite mistakenly, alluded to as "rock-pigeons " — is pretty certain 

 to be encountered by anyone shooting in any dry open district 

 in India; on hills, in heavy cover, and on damp land it is not 

 to be found, and so is generally absent from Bengal, and is 

 not to be looked for either on the Bombay and Malabar coasts 

 nor in Ceylon or Burma, from which all sand-grouse are absent. 

 The dry North-west is naturally its greatest stronghold. 



This bird is less handsomely marked than the generality of 

 its allies, which are remarkable for the quiet beauty of their 

 plumage. The sandy hue of the cock is relieved, however, by 

 yellow on the throat and face, and chocolate on the belly ; the 

 ben is barred with black on the buff upper-parts and has the 

 dark brown abdomen lightened by buff barring. 



These sand-grouse begin feeding at daybreak, frequenting 

 stubble fields and weedy fallow land, where they procure the 

 seeds of the weeds ; and they also eat millet and pulse, as well as 

 grass seeds, but insects are very rarely eaten. Hume only notes 

 two cases of this, the insects in one case being ants, in the other 

 beetles. In both specimens seeds were present as well. 



Between 8 and 10 o'clock in the morning they go to the 

 nearest water to drink. They have sometimes to fly a long 

 distance for this purpose, but this does not matter to them, 

 as they are fine and swift fliers, and often fly very high ; they 

 call continually when on the wing, their note being a double 

 cluck. After the morning feed they seek another feeding-ground 

 of a more open character, such as a ploughed field or sandy 

 plain ; here, after a slight lunch, they lie down to take a nap 

 during the heat of the day under some clod or other shade, 

 getting up again for tea in another field, and gradually drifting 

 off later on for the evening drink from 4 to 6 o'clock. The 

 drinking time varies with the season, but, whenever it is, their 

 enemies are liable to interfere with this simple routine of 

 existence, since it is the custom to lie up for them at the 



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