290 GAME-BIRDS OF INDIA 



east of Kut on the right bank of the Tigi'is. Our camp, a small one, 

 was on the site of an old transport camp many acres in extent and 

 a small water-cut went through the place, the water pumped up from 

 the river losing itself in the open plain about 2,000 yards south 

 of our camp, where this overflow had formed a small marsh. The 

 conditions for enticing and keeping myriads of sand-grouse in the 

 vicinity of our camp were ideal, and the daily routine of these 

 birds easy to study. In October it is still fairly hot, and the birds 

 would start feeding out in the plain about dawn or a bit later, on 

 the seeds of a small shrub which grows in profusion on the edges of 

 marshes (usually dry in the summer), water-cuts, nullahs which are 

 flooded in the winter, and on country liable to be flooded in the wet 

 season. Having pretty well filled their crops with these small, soft 

 seeds, they went off to the jheel to water, a few starting at 8 o'clock, 

 but the majority came along from 9.30 till 10 o'clock and even later, 

 and after having drunk their fill would proceed to flight to the site 

 of the old transport-camp in their thousands to pick up the grain 

 which had been dropped about and buried in the dust. The majority 

 of the birds returned to the jheel for another drink between 12.30 

 and 2 p.m., but a certain number used to stop on until after 3 p.m., 

 which was their latest hour with us. Having watered at the marsh, 

 the birds then fed for a time on their wild food-plant before finally 

 packing for the night, which they usually did in immense packs 

 any distance from a mile to two miles west of the water. The area 

 to the east and south was probably too disturbed, being nightly 

 frequented by Arab raiders. It was curious to see the amount of 

 water which poured out of their mouths when birds fell to the 

 ground, shot as they were winging their way into our camp. Their 

 crops were usually tightly packed with food, and often burst trom the 

 force of their impact with the ground. I particularly noticed that 

 P. senegaUus, on the other hand, did not usually have much in their 

 crops before they came to water in the morning. 



" In the camping-area the birds were ridiculously tame, hardly 

 troubling to get out of one's way ; in fact they were tame to 

 foolishness, because it was not until they had been harried for the 

 best part of a month or more that they began to get really wild. 

 Even then they still continued to water at the same place, after 

 which they would disperse east and north in great packs, which 

 would return between 2.30 and 3.30 and later still during the latter 

 half of November. When feeding in the camping-areas these birds 

 were exactly like barn-door fowls, and preferred the heaps of litter 

 which lay out drying near the incinerators, but when disturbed, or 

 with no visible reason at all, it was extraordinary the way a pack 

 of some hundreds would suddenly rise as a single bird. 



"In October, and even as late as the latter half of November, I 



