THE GALLINACEOUS 

 BIRDS. 



GALLING— ALECTOROPODES. 



The Gallinaceous Birds embrace those 

 Game Birds which have a foot resembling 

 that of the domestic fowl, and comprise 

 the Quails, Partridges, Pheasants, Pea- 

 Fowl, and some other groups, more or 

 less peculiar to India. 



The Gallinaceous Birds differ so re- 

 markably among themselves in appearance 

 and structure that no general description 

 of these birds can be given. I have 

 found it equally impossible to divide 

 them into a few large groups by any 

 definite characters. The line of demarca- 

 tion between two such groups, for instance, 

 as the Partridges and the Pheasants is 

 purely arbitrary, especially when we have 

 to deal with a number of Indian species 

 which connect by a chain of links the 

 typical Partridge and Pheasant of the 

 sportsman. 



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