THE THREE-TOED SAND-GROUSE. 5 



Habits. — All the Sand-Grouse are very similar in their habits, 

 drinking in the early morning and evening, and often travers- 

 ing great distances to reach their accustomed drinking-places. 

 They feed in the morning and afternoon, resting, sunning, and 

 dusting themselves during the heat of the day in fine weather, 

 though on rough stormy days they are generally very unsettled 

 and constantly on the move. Pallas' Three-toed Sand-Grouse 

 does not differ in habits from the rest of its allies, and Prjeval- 

 sky gives the following account of its mode of life. " After their 

 morning feed, the flocks betake themselves to some well or 

 salt-lake to drink, apparently preferring the fresh to the salt 

 water. At the drinking-place, as well as at the feeding-places, 

 these birds never settle on the ground without first describing 

 a circle, in order to assure themselves that there is no danger. 

 On alighting they hastily drink and rise again ; and, in cases 

 where the flocks are large, the birds in front get up before 

 those at the back have time to alight. They know their 

 drinking-places very well, and very often go to them from 

 distances of tens of miles, especially in the mornings between 

 nine and ten o'clock, but after twelve at noon they seldom 

 visit these spots." In autumn they are very gregarious and 

 large flocks are to be met with in the neighbourhood of their 

 breeding-ground, unless compelled to migrate to greater dis- 

 tances by a heavy fall of snow. 



Swinhoe tells us that in North China great numbers of these 

 birds are sometimes caught after a snow-storm, when they 

 arrive in large flocks in search of food. Having cleared the 

 sncw from a patch of ground, the natives scatter a small green 

 bean to attract the birds and sometimes manage to catch a whole 

 flock in their clap-nets. 



Nest. — None ; merely a slight hole scratched in the ground. 



Eggs. — Like those of all other members of the group, the 

 eggs are perfectly oval in shape and remarkably Rail-like in 

 appearance, closely resembling those of the Corn-Crake {Crex 

 crex). The ground-colour is olive or brownish-buff, spotted 



