52 Lieut. -Col. C. Swinhoe and Lieut. H. Barnes on 



As to the use which the birds derive from this extra- 

 ordinary elongation of the cla^YS, I shall only quote Professor 

 Meves. He wrote in 1871 as follows : — " They [Lagopus and 

 Tetrao) have^ all through the winter, to struggle with the 

 snow upon which they are forced to walk. The snow is often 

 loose, and with a foot like that of the common fowl they 

 would need much greater exertion of their strength in order 

 to keep themselves on the surface. But the Ptarmigan, by 

 having the underside of the toes thickly coated with feathers, 

 which can be spread out, and by means of the long and 

 straight claws, which may be compared with snow-shoes, are 

 enabled to run easily over the snow; the usefulness and the 

 necessity of the lengthening of the nails is self-evident. In 

 the genus Tetrao (= Urog alius + Lyrurus + Bonasa) the lateral 

 horny fringes of the toes render the same excellent service, 

 and may fitly be regarded as a kind of snow-shoes. During 

 the summer this whole outfit becomes superfluous, which 

 may be the main cause of the periodical shedding." It may 

 in this connexion be mentioned that the horny fringes in 

 the Tetraones and the thick feathering of the toes in the 

 Lagopodes also moult during the summer, at which time the 

 toes of the latter are almost wholly denuded of feathers. 



VII. — On the Birds of Central India. — Part I. 

 By Lieut. -Col. C. Swinhoe and Lieut. Henry Barnes. 



No one appears to have collected systematically in Central 

 India for any length of time. Jerdon passed through Central 

 India on several occasions more than twenty years ago, 

 but does not appear to have remained more than a few days 

 at any of the stations. 



When we, the writers of this paper, found ourselves 

 quartered together at Mhow, we agreed that it would be 

 advisable to commence collecting systematically from the 

 beginning of our residence, and to submit the results of our 

 collections and observations in a joint paper to the readers of 

 ' The Ibis.' 



