2o8 ALLEN'S NATURALLST's LIBRARY. 



fly well and strong for a couple of hundred yards. Their flight 

 is very like that of the ' Kyah Partridge.' They are usually 

 found in small coveys of four or five birds, and when flushed do 

 not rise together, but at irregular intervals, dispersing in different 

 directions; they are often found in pairs, and not unfrequently 

 I have come across single birds. 



"They come into tke open in the mornings and evenings to 

 feed, and wander about a good deal. Even after they have re- 

 tired into the shade they do not rest quietly, but wander hither 

 and thither under the trees, scratching about among the dead 

 leaves. 



"A well-wooded ravine with plenty of thorny undergrowth, 

 and with a stream of water in it, is always a favourite resort of 

 this species. 



" I do not think that this species is in any degree migra- 

 tory, but no doubt, in many localities, in hot weather, when 

 all springs and pools dry up, the birds shift their quarters a 

 few miles to where water is available. With this exception, 

 wherever it occurs, it is, I believe, a permanent resident, and 

 there breeds." 



There can be little doubt that this species is monogamouPj 

 as they are always found in pairs during the breeding-season. 



Nest. — A slight hollow scratched in the ground and lined 

 sparingly with dry leaves and grass, under the shelter of more 

 or less dense undergrowth, generally in bamboo-thickets. 



Eggs. — Four to seven in number, sometimes as many as ten ; 

 fowl-like ; varying in colour from brownish- or pinkish-buff to 

 cream-colour, and devoid of markings. Average measurements, 

 1-67 by 1*28 inch. 



n. THE PAINTED SPUR-FOWL. GALLOPERDIX LUNULATA. 



Perdix lunulata^ Valenc. Diet. Sci. Nat. xxxviii. p. 446 



(1825). 



Perdix hardivickii^ J. E. Gray, 111. Ind. Zool. i. pi. 52 (1830- 

 32). 



