230 INDIAN SPOETING BIEDS 



Black Partridge. 



FrcDicolinus vulgaris. Kala tiiar, Hindustani. 



The black partridge, which is the original and typical fran- 

 colin, is at once distinguished from all other Indian partridges 

 by the prevalence of black in his colour ; his white cheeks and 

 chestnut collar, and the beautiful variegation of white in pen- 

 cilling on the tail and rump and spotting on the sides, make 

 him one of the most beautiful partridges known, and, unlike 

 the generality of our partridges, very distinguishable even from 

 his own hen. In her, the markings are in the less contrast- 

 ing tones of brown and buff, and differ somewhat in detail, the 

 under-parts in old hens, at any rate, being pencilled, not spotted, 

 while the collar is reduced to a patch of chestnut at the nape ; 

 but this is quite enough to distinguish her from our other brown 

 partridges, none of which have this chestnut nape-patch. The 

 legs are orange, spurred in the cock. The weight of a cock 

 black partridge is up to twenty ounces, though some are only 

 half that weight, as the birds vary greatly in size ; hens run 

 two or three ounces less than cocks. 



The marked distinction between the sexes is indicated by 

 the Hindustani name Kais-titur for the female, Kala, of course, 

 especially indicating the male ; the Garhwal name Tetra rather 

 recalls the Greek tetrax for some game-bird, but is more pro- 

 bably related to the Hindustani Titur ; in Manipur, the farthest 

 point east at which the bird is found, it is called Vremhi. It is 

 one of the few Indian birds of non-migratory habit which extend 

 to Europe ; at any rate, it is still found in Cyprus as well as 

 throughout Asia Minor, but is now extinct in the countries 

 bordering the Mediterranean on the north, though formerly 

 found even as far as Spain. As the classical ancients were as 

 much given to introducing game as we are, it seems possible 

 that the bird was in Greece, Spain and Ital}^ and the islands 

 only an exotic after all, so that it is less surprising that it has 

 failed to maintain itself. Even in India, though such a well- 

 known bird, it has its definite limits ; it is only found in the 

 northern provinces, and does not descend into Kattywar or 



