Partridges. 193 



dreary and desolate to a degree — no 

 grass, no bushes, only here and there, 

 fed by the melting snow above, little 

 patches and streaks of mossy herbage, on 

 which I suppose the birds must have 

 been feeding." 



This beautiful Partridge is probably not 

 found below an altitude of 12,000 feet. 



The nest of this species was discovered 

 by Major Barnes on the 12th July with 

 ten fresh eggs in the pass leading from 

 the Pangong valley to the Indus valley at 

 an elevation of about 19,000 feet. He 

 states that to the best of his recollection 

 the nest was a mere indentation in the 

 ground, in grass amongst low dwarf bushes. 

 One of these eggs is now in the British 

 Museum. There is also another egg in 

 the same collection presented by Colonel 

 Biddulph, who procured it in Ladak. 

 These two eggs are very similar, but one 

 is rather more pointed than the other. In 

 shape they are oval, with a good deal of 

 gloss. Both eggs are clay-coloured, with- 

 out marks of any kind. They measure 

 respectively 177 by 1*2 and 1-64 by I'lS. 



The male and female of this species are 

 quite alike. The forehead and a broad 

 streak over the eye are white ; the crown 

 of the head is rufous with white streaks. 



13 



