28 NATURE AND SPORT IN SOUTH AFRICA 



feathering of the legs and feet; some of them — as 

 the yellow-throated sand-grouse — in the cry, and 

 the under-colouring of the body; like grouse and 

 other game birds they lay their eggs upon the earth, 

 and the young birds hatch out clothed in a soft 

 downy covering. On the other hand, their heads 

 and the shape of their bodies are strongly pigeon- 

 like, and their swift and sustained powers of flight 

 much more resemble the pigeons than the grouse. 

 They are indeed strangely balanced between those 

 widely different orders, the cohomhcv and gallince. If 

 we add that there is a slight trace of the plovers 

 thrown in (sand-grouse have been occasionally mis- 

 taken for grey and golden plover), it will be con- 

 ceded that the family represents a combination of 

 singular attractions. The colouring of these birds 

 is very beautiful, yet in general appearance it is 

 so protective that when upon the ground, as they 

 are for a great part of the day when feeding, it is 

 a hard matter, upon a dry sun-baked plain, to dis- 

 tinguish them from the surrounding soil. Their 

 powers of flight are immense, probably surpassing 

 those of almost any other bird. They drink at 

 desert pools and streams at night and morning, 

 and during the day disperse over immense tracts 

 of country in search of food — principally grass and 

 other seeds, and berries. Their long and sharply- 

 pointed wings, combined with a highly-specialized 



