222 INDIAN SPORTING BIRDS 



not an abundant bird, and generally found in pairs ; its call, 

 heard in spring, is unmusical and loud, like che-ke heree. 

 The nesting season is said to be May and June, and the 

 eggs brownish-buff laid in a nest on the ground in or under 

 a tuft of grass. The weight is about twelve ounces in the 

 cock and a couple less in the hen ; the plumage is exceedingly 

 variable in detail, but the points given above, in conjunction with 

 the length of tail, which may reach five inches, make this bird 

 easily distinguishable from other local partridges, especially 

 the woodland species, all of which except this one have very 

 short tails. 



Himalayan Snow-cock. 



Tetraogallus himalayensis. Bamchukar, Hindustani. 



The home of this great grey partridge, as big as a small 

 goose, is the rocky but grassed slopes between the forests and 

 the snows on the Himalayas ; its eastern limit is Kumaun, 

 and it ranges on the west through Afghanistan, where it is 

 called kabk-i-dara, to Central Asia. 



Seen on its native heath, or rather turf, it looks, from its 

 orey colour and orange legs, large size, and rather awkward 

 gait, very like a goose ; it also has other goose-like habits, 

 feeding mostly on grass, though now and then scratching up 

 a tasty bulb, and being eminently sociable, several old birds 

 being seen together with a number of chicks ; while the sentinel 

 perched on a stone ready to give warning to the pack is 

 eminently reminiscent of the ways of wild geese. When on the 

 wing, these birds fly well and often high, frequently crossing 

 from one ridge to another, or travelling a mile at a time, and 

 they are particularly conspicuous when in flight, owing to their 

 pinion-quills being white except at the tips, while they keep 

 up a continual whistle while flying. They habitually feed up- 

 hill, walk slowly, and never run far ; in fact they are not built 

 for much sprinting, being thickset, short-legged birds and very 

 heavy, the cock weighing up to six and a half pounds, and 

 normally about five. The hen is not nearly so large, but still 

 weighs between three or four pounds, and except for having 



