242 INDIAN SPORTING BIRDS 



seen about the •20th of June. The eggs are large for the size of 

 the bird, being bigger than those of the chukor, and are freckled 

 with reddish brown on a dull white ground. About half a dozen 

 chicks seem to occur in a brood ; they are mottled grey and black 

 above, with three black stripes on the head, rufous under-parts, 

 and black bills ; a certain amount of black remains on the beak 

 when they are full feathered. The old ones show great attach- 

 ment to them, sometimes shamming lameness in the well-known 

 partridge fashion, and at other times walking away before the 

 intruders with piteous calls, while che little ones squat, or creep 

 under the stones. 



The snow-partridge is very good eating, and after keeping 

 a few days resembles a grouse in flavour as much as in appear- 

 ance. Besides the Hindustani equivalent of " snow-partridge," 

 the bird is also called Bliair titar, Ter titar, and Golahi titar, 

 while the Chamba name is Biju and the Kumaun one Janguria ; 

 Quoir monal is given as the title in Garhwal. 



Common Hill-Partridge. 



Arhoricola torqueola. Peura, Hindustani. 



The characteristic peculiarities of this bird — the dumpy body, 

 with short tucked-in tail, yet mounted on rather high legs, spur- 

 less but furnished on the toes with very long claws only slightly 

 curved, are characteristic of hill-partridges in general, the most 

 numerous but least interesting group of partridges found with us. 



It has a greenish-brown back barred with black, and the sides 

 are grey, streaked with chestnut and spotted with white. The 

 head and breast differ in colour in the two sexes, but this is 

 exceptional in the group, all the others having the sexes alike. 

 In the cock peura the top of the head is chestnut, and the face 

 and throat black slightly streaked with white, a band of which 

 colour, unmixed with black, borders the grey breast above. The 

 hen has a duller brown, black-streaked cap, and the ground- 

 colour of the throat chestnut, though it also is marked with black ; 

 the breast has a brownish tinge. In young birds of both sexes 

 the white flank spots invade the breast also. 



