156 INDIAN SPORTING BIRDS 



grouse, and resembles a sharp whistle through the fingers, and 

 is " deafening " when the small parties pack in numbers at their 

 drinking-places. As he speaks of them as in enormous multitudes 

 in some places, they must be far more numerous in their African 

 haunts than they ever seem to be in India, and far more so 

 than the painted sand-grouse ever is, for that matter ; though, 

 no doubt, scarcity of watering-places causes a great deal of 

 concentration. 



The eggs, according to Heuglin, although of the usual long 

 shape of sand-grouse eggs, are " much the colour of dirty and 

 faded peewit's eggs." The highland slopes with a thin covering 

 of scrub were the breeding-grounds, and the time of breedmg 

 the beginning of the rains. 



TibetaiY Sand-grouse. 



Syri'haptes tihetanus. Kuk, Ladakhi. 



The Tibetan sand-grouse is at once distinguishable from 

 all other Indian game-birds by having the legs and toes — which 

 by the way are excessively short — completely feathered to the 

 claws ; there is no hind-toe at all. It is larger than any of the 

 other sand-grouse, and duller in colour, its sandy hue being only 

 relieved by dull-orange neck and cheeks, a white belly, and black 

 pinion quills; the tail has long "pin feathers" in the middle. 

 The hen's black pencilling on breast and back will easily distin- 

 guish her, for though the cock is also pencilled above, the 

 markings are very fine and not conspicuous. 



The Ladakhi name of this bird is evidently derived from its 

 characteristic cry, which, however, is in two syllables: another 

 local name is Kaling. The only other place, besides Ladakh, 

 in which this species occurs in our Empire is the valley of the 

 upper Sutlej ; its real home is the " Roof of the World," the 

 high steppes of Tibet and the Pamir Plateau, extending to 

 Koko-Nor ; but it may of course be expected frequently to stray 

 over our frontier at high levels. Its haunts are barren and 

 desolate places, but it manages to find sufficient food to exist 

 upon in the shape of grass- seeds, shoots and berries, in search of 



