154 INDIAN SPORTING BIRDS 



its bushy haunts and lives in the open Hke the common sand- 

 grouse. Where such ground as it Hkes is to be found it is widely 

 spread, but not by any means universally; its chief stronghold 

 is in Guzerat, Cutch, Rajputana, the North-west Provinces and 

 the Simaliks. On the Malabar and Bombay coasts and the 

 Ganges delta and the Carnatic lowlands it is not to be found, nor 

 does it pass westward of the Indus. It is not nearly so gre- 

 garious as other sand-grouse, being usually found in pairs or 

 even singly, a flock of ten being exceptional. Owing to its 

 lying very close, at any rate in the day-time, it is seldom seen 

 until startled, when the birds fly strongly and fast, but are not 

 diflicult to kill. They do not fly very far at a time, and do not 

 go far from home except in search of water, which they visit 

 much earlier and later than other species, not taking their 

 evening drink till dusk or even after dark, and drinking again 

 before sunrise. They have also often been seen feeding and 

 flying about at night, and observations on specimens in captivity 

 in England have shown them so verj^ lethargic by day that it 

 is probable that they are really night — rather than day — birds, 

 which would no doubt account for the fact of their lying so much 

 closer than other species. 



Their note is as characteristic as their other traits ; although 

 they call on the wing like other sand-grouse, the note is described 

 by Hume as a " chuckling chirp." 



The nest of this bird is, however, the usual sand-grouse 

 " scrape" on the ground, with the scantiest of lining, if any ; the 

 eggs, which are usually three in number, but sometimes two or 

 even four, are of the typical long shape, but of a very distinctive 

 colour, salmon-pink, marked with brownish-red and dull purple ; 

 they are much like those of some nightjars. 



The weight of these birds is between six and seven ounces, 

 the male exceeding the female but very little. In South India 

 it is known as Handeri, the Tamil word being Sonda polanka. 



