12 Allen's naturalist's library. 



Adult Male. — Lower breast and belly not pure white; the shaft 

 of the first flight-feather white ; a white and chestnut band sepa- 

 rates the vinaceous buff-coloured chest from the brown breast, 

 which shades gradually into buff on the belly. Total length, 

 12 inches ; wing, 6*6 ; tail, 4'6 ; tarsus, o"85. 



Adult Pemale. — May be distinguished from the male by hav- 

 ing no pectoral band, while the breast and belly are buff, 

 barred with black. Total length, 10*5 inches ; wing, 6*2 ; tail, 

 4-3 ; tarsus, o'8. 



Range. —South Africa, from the Transvaal in the east to 

 Damaraland and Benguela in the west, and extending south- 

 wards to the Great Karroo. 



Habits. — Andersson found these birds very abundant in some 

 parts of Damaraland, where immense flocks were observed at 

 the water about eight or nine o'clock in the morning. Before 

 descending to drink, they might be seen circUng round the 

 water at a considerable height, and adding to their numbers at 

 almost every turn. He says : " Frequently they make no 

 attempt at a descent until they are directly over the spot they 

 intend to visit, when they suddenly descend with great velocity, 

 at the same time describing more or less of a semicircle before 

 they alight." 



iil the common pin-tailed sand-grouse, pteroclurus 



EXUSTUS. 



rterodes exustus, Temm. PI. Col. v. pis. 28, 29 [Nos. 354 and 



360] (1825) ; Hume and Marshall, Game Birds of India, 



i. p. 69, pi. (1878). 



Pterodurus exustus, Ogilvie-Grant, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxii. p. 



12 (1893). 



Adult Male. — The lower breast and belly are not pure white, 



and the shaft of the first flight-feather is dark. The chest is 



uniform vinaceous-buff, divided from the yellowish-buff upper 



breast by a narrow white and black band ; lower breast and 



