152 INDIAN SPORTING BIRDS 



Coronctcd Sand-grouse. 



Pterocles coronatus. 



This, like the common and spotted sand-grouse, is a sandy- 

 colom'ed bird of the size of a dove, but has not the long 

 feathers in the tail ; the cock has a grey stripe on the side of 

 the head, and some chocolate on the wings, but can be easily 

 distinguished from the spotted sand-grouse and common sand- 

 grouse cocks by his small black bib and black streaks on the 

 forehead and face. The hen is less easy to distinguish, but may 

 be known from the hen spotted sand-grouse by the black 

 markings on her buff plumage being crescents, not spots, while 

 the absence of the long points to the tail will distinguish her 

 from the hen common sand-grouse. 



Like the Lichtenstein's sand-grouse, this is merely a frontier 

 bird of doubtful status ; it is uncommon and usually only occurs 

 in Sind, does not go east of the Indus even there, and is only 

 suspected of breeding in the country, being usually a winter 

 visitor. Its present range is from North-east Africa, through 

 Arabia, South Persia and Baluchistan, to our frontiers. It 

 breeds as near as Afghanistan, eggs being found about May or 

 June ; they are pale in colour, the spots being scanty and pale 

 brown, while the ground colour is greyish white. 



There is very little on record about this bird ; Heuglin says it 

 is just like the spotted sand-grouse — which, in spite of being 

 "pintailed," appears to be its nearest ally in voice and habits. 

 In the southern parts of the Sahara according to Tristram, 

 it takes the place of the black-bellied sand-grouse, along with 

 the spotted species. He only found it in small parties of four 

 or five (no doubt families), but he attributed this to the extreme 

 scarcity of vegetation in its arid haunts. In Baluchistan, 

 Blanford considered it commoner than the spotted sand- 

 grouse. 



Mr. Whitaker gives some useful notes on it in his " Birds of 

 Tunisia," where he found it abundant, though local, in the 

 districts south of the Atlas. He found it coming in flocks of 

 from ten to fifty birds to drink at the water-holes at Oglet 



