SAND-GROUSE. 35 
to traverse great distances in a remarkably short space of time. The 
majority are migratory, some of them wandering thousands of miles. 
As their name implies, they are for the most part inhabitants of the 
sandy-deserts, where water is generally scarce and in the dry season 
only to be met with at long intervals. Sand-Grouse cannot exist 
without water, and drink regularly in the early morning and at evening, 
when they visit the nearest pool in countless numbers, their powerful 
wings rendering distance no obstacle. The legs and toes, which are 
remarkably short, seem ill-adapted for walking, but the birds are 
perfectly at home on the ground, and can run much more easily and 
rapidly than might be supposed. 
No nest is made, merely a slight hollow is scratched in the ground, 
The eggs are nearly perfectly oval in shape, double-spotted (very similar 
to those of the common Land-rail), and almost invariably three in number. 
The young, which are able to run soon after they are hatched, are covered 
with beautifully-patterned down, but quite different from the fluffy 
down of young Game- Birds, each plume of the body being distinct and 
almost scale-like in appearance. All the species are included in one 
family and are well represented in the Table-case (192-198). 
Great interest attaches to Pallas’s Three-toed Sand-Grouse (Syr- 
rhaptes paradoxus) (192), on account of its irregular migrations into 
Western Europe. Its true home, as may be seen on the map showing 
its distribution, is the Kirghiz Steppes and Central Asia, but for some 
unknown cause great numbers periodically visit Europe in the early 
summer, even penetrating to Great Britain and other islands off the 
western coasts. The first great visitation took place in 1863, and again 
in 1888 enormous numbers spread themselves over Europe and bred in 
various places, both eggs and young having been obtained. In other 
years smaller flocks have been observed, but the species has never 
succeeded in establishing itself permanently in Western Europe. 
Order III. TURNICIFORMES. 
Family Turnicip#. Hemipopes. 
The Hemipodes or Bustard-Quails (Turnicide) form a family by 
themselves. They are small birds resembling Quails, but distinguished 
externally by the absence of a hind-toe, except in the Australian genus 
Pedionomus (204), and internally by many structural characters of 
importance. The female is always larger and more handsomely 
marked than the male, who undertakes the duty of hatching the 
' eggs and caring for the young. The latter are covered with patterned 
down, like young wading birds, and are able to run soon after 
D2 
[Table- 
case. | 
