FRANCOLINUS. 71 



Leiig/h. — 22 inches; wing lO'S ; tail 7; tarsus 2*5. (ycrd.) 

 Bab-— Kum-Aon, in the Himalayas^ Ladak, and other places across the 

 Himalayas. 



Gen. Lerwa. — Hodgs. 



Bill short and stout ; orbits feathered ; wings moderately long and pointed, 

 2nd quill longest ; tail of 14 feathers ; tarsi partly feathered and with short 

 spurs in the male. 



90. Lerwa nivicola {Hodgs), Jerd., Madras, Journ Lit. 1837; 

 Jcrd., B. Ind. iii. p. 555, No. 817; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds vol. ii. 

 p. I, pi. Perdix lerwa, Hodgs., P. Z. S. 1833; Hardiv., III. Ind. Zool. 2, 

 pi. 44, fig, I; Gould, B. Asm, pt. vii. pi. 8; J\lurray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. 

 p. 550, No. 1 213.— The Snow Partridge. 



Head of Lerwa nivicola. 



Head, neck and whole upper plumage, including the wings and tail, minutely 

 barred with black and greyish white ; the sides of the neck tinged with 

 chestnut, also the wing coverts ; quills dusky brown, narrowly freckled with 

 huffy white on their outer edges, and the secondaries broadly tipped with white ; 

 tail dusky, with freckled bars of grey and rufous, the feathers black-shafted ; 

 chin greyish ; throat, breast and upper abdomen chestnut red with dashes of 

 buff especially on the flanks ; lower abdomen, vent, and thigh coverts like the 

 back, but with a rufous tinge ; lower tail coverts chestnut red, with huffy white 

 tips. Bill bright red ; irides dark brown ; legs and feet red. 



Length. — \^ to 16 inches ; wing 8 ; tail 4 ; tarsus 1-5. 



Hab. — T\\Q whole extent of the Himalayas to the extreme N.-W. in Sikkim, 

 According to Jerdon they are gregarious in coveys, nestle and breed under 

 jutting rocks, feed on seeds and insects. 



Gen, Francolinus.— ^/f/-^. 



Bill very slightly curved at tip ; tail of fourteen feathers, even or rounded ; 

 tarsi of male with blunt spurs. 



91. Francolinus vulgaris {Steph.), Gould, B. Eur. pi. 259 ; 

 jfcrd., B. Ind. iii. p. 558, No. 818 ; Hume, N'esfs and Eggs Ind. B. p. 537; 

 id., Str. F. iv. p. 5 ; id. and Marsh., Game Birds ii. p. 9, pi. ; Murray, 

 Hhdk., Zool., S,r., Sind, p. 20 2 ; id., Vert. Zool., Sind, p. 213; id., Avif. 

 Brit. Ind. ii. p. 550, No. 1214. — The Black Partridge. • 



