134 Manual of the Game Birds of India. 



members of this group. There is not 

 much to be said about this species in 

 particular, but Colonel Tickell, in his 

 usual charming manner, has strung to- 

 gether a few remarks about it which I 

 shall reproduce. He says : " I have met 

 with them in ones and twos, sometimes 

 in a small covey of five or six. They 

 are not wild, trusting apparently to the 

 dense covert they frequent for safety ; 

 and I have sometimes sat down on the 

 hill side and, after remaining quiet for a 

 few minutes, heard their little feet patter- 

 ing and scratching over the fallen leaves 

 close to me. Now and then one would 

 emit a low soft whistle ; and in places 

 under the bushes, where no grass grew, 

 one or two might be seen picking and 

 pecking as they glided along under the 

 leaves. In these bare spots they would 

 sit or lie on their sides, scratching and 

 throwing dust over themselves. A very 

 little movement would send them all 

 into covert as suddenly as if they had 

 disappeared by magic ; and by striding 

 hastily into the bush where they had 

 been last seen, it was possible sometimes 

 to flush them and get one, or a hasty 

 right and left shot ; but a more difficult 

 one cannot be imagined, for they fly with 



