TIBETAN SNOW-COCK 225 



Tibetan Snow-cock. 



Tetraogallus tibetanus. Hrak-pa, Bhutanese. 



Although found in our territory from Sikkim to Ladak, it is 

 only at the highest elevations that this species of snow-cock is to 

 be found, and even on the wing it may be noticed as something 

 different from the ordinary kind, not showing the conspicuous 

 white on the pinion-quills, which are dark with white tips instead 

 of the reverse. Close at hand the differences in plumage are even 

 more striking, for the grey colour of the upper-parts only extends 

 across the breast, the belly being white with black streaks. Here 

 again, then, there is a reversal of colours in the two species, the 

 common snow-cock having a grey belly and white breast, slightly 

 barred transversely with back. Moreover, although the legs are 

 of much the same colour in both species, the bare skin near 

 the eye is red in the present bird, and yellow in the other. 



The Tibetan snow- cock is a much smaller bird than the 

 Himalayan, the cock barely equalling the hen of that bird 

 in size ; and in the Tibetan species the hen is not much 

 smaller than the cock. 



The real home of this desolation-loving bird is the northern 

 side of the mountains between India and Tibet, and it is 

 generally distributed over the latter country, extending to 

 Turkestan westwards, and east to Kansu and southern Koko- 

 Nor. In the Himalayas it is seldom found lower than 15,000 

 feet, and occurs up to 19,000. A sure find for it appears to be 

 the Sanpo Pass, where it is particularly common. Scully found 

 it abundant near there in 1874, having seen hundreds in one 

 day ; he found them excellent eating and not very shy. 



According to Prjevalski, who observed it in its north-eastern 

 haunts, this is a lively, noisy bird, with several calls — a 

 note, uttered at rest, much like a common hen's, varied by a 

 snipe-like whistle, a click, click, when alighting, and a goooo, 

 gooo when settling down on the ground ; while it has a distinct 

 whistle for reassembling a scattered brood. 



He considered the birds very wild, and found them good 

 runners ; but both he and Scully noticed that they would 

 not stand an approach from above so readily as from 

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