320 GAME-BIRDS OF INDIA 



Nidification. — There is practically nothing on record about the 

 breeding of this fine sand-grouse, but Gates writes as follows about 

 two eggs now in the British Museum collection. " These two eggs 



were found by Mr. St. George Littledale, and although 



they have no further history, doubtless belong to this species. These 

 eggs are perfectly elliptical, rather glossy, and measure, the one 

 1'9 X 1'87 inches and the other 2 X 1'33 inches. They are of a 

 light stone-colour with a number of pale-purple shell-marks and 

 numerous surface dots and marks of reddish-brown, evenly distributed 

 over the egg." 



Beyond the above eggs the only others are those mentioned 

 by Colonel Ward and some in my own collection. Colonel Ward 

 writes (m loc cit.) : " The Tibetan Sand-Grouse is found in flocks in 

 Tibet and eggs were taken by Captain W. Leslie on the eastern 

 borders of that district on the 2'2nd, 23rd and 25th June. 



One of these eggs which Colonel Ward gave to Dr. H. N. Coltart 

 is now, through the latter's generosity, in my own collection. This 

 and a second egg of the same clutch, which I obtained from the 

 collection of Colonel E. Buchanan agree well with a clutch of 

 three eggs received from Sikhim and two others, one of three 

 and one of two, sent to me from Tibet. Those from Sikhim have 

 no data with them except that they were got from a high plateau 

 in the north-east of Sikhim by villagers in the month of June ; 

 those from Tibet were taken near the Chambi Valley on the 16th 

 and 18th June. The birds are said to be common in many parts of 

 Tibet, and very common in some, but I have failed to get any more 

 eggs, though Captains F. M. Bailey, E. S. Kennedy, D. Macdonald 

 and L. Weir have all collected for me in that country very fine 

 series of eggs of many extremely rare species. 



All these eggs in my collection, with the exception of Colonel 

 Ward's, resemble one another very closely and are exactly like the 

 eggs of Syrrhaptes paradoxus in the British Museum. The ground- 

 colour is a pale stone-colour, in some being of a rather warmer tint, 

 more a creamy-buff, and the markings consist of spots, specks, and 

 blotches, the last predominating, of brown, some yellowish, some 

 reddish, the two tints varying in different specimens. The secondary 

 marks are of the same character, and in colour are a washy purple- 



