554 THE SAND GROUSE. 



others on Tentsmuir, Cambo, Pittenween, and Priormuir. 

 They looked like sparrow hawks when flying. When two 

 were flying off the links near Eden, one struck itself with such 

 force against the telegraph wire that it cut its neck through and 

 deep into its breastbone, killed on the spot. The man who saw 

 it picked it up, stuffed, and still has it here. It was a female, 

 and embryo eggs found in its ovary, showing they breed here. 

 They were about the size of the cuckoo and turtle dove, but 

 longer wings and pointed tail, mouse-grey, all barred and mottled 

 with black on the back ; feet most singular, having no toes, 

 only three claws, denoting sand walkers ; no hind toe ; the tarsi 

 feathered like the ptarmigan's ; tail deeply forked, the lateral 

 feathers four inches long, to a fine point, like the red-fronted 

 swallow's or tern's ; the long wings also brought to a fine point, 

 the longest quill being 1J inches longer than the next, and so 

 on ; the feet very small — merely stunted claws (or nails) ; the 

 tarsi also short, covered with feathers like hairs. Under the 

 heading of " Introduction of Prairie Grouse," a letter appeared 

 in the Field from E. C. Molony, Port Qu'Appelle, KW. 

 Territories — 



" In April 2nd I observe a paragraph on the introduction of prairie 

 grouse into Britain. Mr Bartlet is mistaken in supposing that the 

 food for these game birds is not to be found in the British Isles. Their 

 chief food consists of berries from the wild rose and haws in winter ; in 

 summer, grasshoppers and other insects, and a small plant like the maiden- 

 hair fern. They are also very fond of wheat and oats. They do not 

 migrate in our country, but stay with us all the winter, roosting in a hole 

 in the snow at night and in stormy weather. It is possible, however, that 

 a damp climate may not agree with them." 



I do not know if these birds were the same, as I have not 

 seen an account of them in any of our works on British birds I 

 have read. If it is the Pterocles setarius, this is its description 

 from Chambers' "Encyclopaedia" — 



"Sand giouse {Pterocles), a genus of gallinaceous birds closely allied to 

 grouse and ptarmigan, but distinguished by a pointed tail. The toes, or 

 rather claws, are not feathered. The species are natives chiefly of the warm 

 parts of Asia and Africa, and most abundant in arid sandy plains. Two 

 species — the banded sand grouse (P. arenarius) and the pin-tailed sand 

 grouse (P. setarius) — are found in the south of Europe. The latter species 

 is very abundant on the arid plains of Persia. In Europe it is found as far 

 north as the south of France, chiefly on the sterile Landcs. It is always to 

 be seen in the markets of Madrid. The banded sand grouse is abundant on 

 the vast steppes of the south of Russia." 



Linnaeus included the grouse, ptarmigans, partridges, and quails 

 into his comprehensive genus Tetrao. 



