PTEROCLES. 211 



neck in front and upper breast gi-eenisli buff', the feathers above 

 pale chestnut, of the breast with a dark brown transverse band forming 

 a bar across ; lower breast pale chestnut, the feathers ashy white at 

 base, with a subterminal dark or dusky bar, and broadly terminated with 

 chestnut ; a black band separates the chestnut breast from the white 

 of the abdomen ; hind neck olive brown ; upper back the same, each 

 feather tipped with yellow ; lower back, rump and upper tail-coverts 

 pale bufi^, with, in some, a rufescent tinge, barred transversely with black. 

 Scapulars rufescent or orange buff", the feathers barred with black and 

 tipped with yellow. On some feathers this yellow tip is subterminal, 

 with a very narrow black margin at the extreme tip ; shoulder of wing- 

 olive brown; lesser, median and greater coverts broadly maroon, 

 bounded above and below with a narrow white line, and tipped narrowly 

 with black, the bases of the feathers being brownish ash. The upper 

 series of the median and greater coverts olive brown at base, then 

 broadly greenish yellow and margined with black at the tips. Primary 

 coverts brownish ash, black-shafted. Primaries black-shafted, all 

 (except the outer web of the first which is black) with their outer webs 

 ashy grey, their inner webs rufescent grey near the shaft (not extending 

 to the tip) then broadly dusky brown, and narrowly margined to the tip 

 with white ; secondaries with their outer webs and tips of the inner 

 webs dusky brown, rest of the inner web and edging to the outer web 

 white. Tertiaries greenish olive on their outer web and rufescent grey 

 on their inner, the uppermost with a yellow spot terminally; abdomen, 

 flanks and axillaries white, the shafts of the feathers, except those of 

 the axillaries, black basally ; a large white patch on the under surface 

 of the wing, formed by the white bases of the inner webs of the second- 

 aries and their coverts ; the edge of the wing inside dusky brown ; 

 tarsal plumes whitish ; tail with the lateral feathers white on their 

 outer webs, their inner webs grey brown, margined with narrow, nearly 

 obsolete dusky and buff" bars, the tips of the feathers broadly white ; rest 

 of the tail feathers barred buff and dark brown, plain grey brown near 

 the shaft, and all (except the longest rectrices, which are black) tipped 

 with white ; bill horny ; orbits dark plumbeous ; irides dark brown. 



Length. — To end of longest rectrices 13 inches, wing 8, tail 6 to 

 end of longest rectrices. 



Female. — Top of head and back deep buff, barred with black ; sides 

 of face and neck orange yellow; throat and chin white. One dark 

 band on the lower neck, another on the upper breast, and a third on 

 the lower breast separating the white of the abdomen. Upper plumage 

 barred black and buff; secondaries the same, with a subterminal 

 grey bar. 



Length. — 13 inches, wing 7" 75, tail 5*37, irides and orbits as in the 

 male. 



Hah. — Sind, Punjab, N. W. Provinces and Rajputana ; Beloochistan 

 (in the Bolan, Quetta and at Khelat) Persia, at Bushii'e, Southern and 

 Eastern Afghanistan and Eastern Turkistan. It also inhabits N. Africa, 

 Palestine, Spain and Portugal, and is said to breed in parts of Western 



