'J'HK PIN-'r.\IL]':D FOUK-TOEI) SAND-GROUSIC. 11 



Picroduriis pyrenaicus, Ogilvie-Grant, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 

 xxii. p. 9 (1893). 



This is merely a darker, and more richly coloured, western 

 form of P. alchaUis. 



Adult Male. — Differs from the male of P. alchahis in having 

 the sub-terminal bars to the wing-coverts yellow, in stead of white ; 

 the chest in summer plumage rich chestnut, instead of rufous. 



Adult Female. — Differs from the female of P. alchatus in havirg 

 the sub-terminal bars to the wing-coverts yellow, instead of 

 white ; the chest rufous or pale chestnut, very similar to that 

 of the male of P. alchatus in summer plumage. 



Range. — Southern Europe and North Africa are the home of 

 this form, which is found in suitable parts of Spain and Por- 

 tugal, as well as the south of France, while it has been ob- 

 tained at various other localities to the east, as, for instance, 

 Sicily, Malta, Greece, and Cyprus. South of the Mediter- 

 ranean it is common in Eastern Marocco and the extensive 

 sandy plains at the base of the Atlas Mountains. 



Habits. — Similar to those of its eastern ally. Canon Trist- 

 ram writes : " Though this bird does not approach so near the 

 verge of cultivation northwards as the Black-bellied Sand- 

 Grouse {P. arenariiis), it is far more generally abundant, and 

 continues to occur in vast flocks in winter in the M'zab and 

 Touarick country." 



Eggs. — Rich fawn-colour, covered and sometimes zoned with 

 large maroon-red surface blotches, and pale lilac shell-mark- 

 ings. 



II. NAMAQUA PIN-TAILED SAND-GROUSE. PTEROCLURUS 



NAMAQUUS. 



Tetrao namaqua, Gmel. S. N. i. p. 754 (1788). 

 Pterocks na?naqua, Bocage, Orn. Angola, p. 396 (1881). 

 Pteroclurus namaqua, Gurney, ed. Andersson's B. Damara- 



land, p. 242 (1872), Ogilvie-Grant, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 



p. 10 (1893). 



