THE SHORT-TAILED SAND-GROUSE. 2 1 



coverts white, narrowly barred with black, and with buff tips. 

 Total length, 10-3 inches; wing, 7; tail, 2*8; tarsus, 11. 



Adult Female. — Differs from the male and is distinguished 

 from the females of allied forms by having no pectoral band ; 

 the throat thickly spotted with black, to the chin ; the upper 

 abreast barred with black; the tarsus pure white, and the black 

 bars on the wing-coverts and chest narrow and regular. Total 

 length, 97 inches; wing, 7; tail, 2"8; tarsus, i'i. 



Range — North-eastern Africa and South-western Asia, ex- 

 tending from Kordofan and Nubia to Abyssinia, Somali-land, 

 and the Siik Country. Across Arabia to the western portions 

 of Sind. 



Habits. — Like the Painted Sand-Grouse described below, 

 this species is chiefly met with among bush- and thin tree- 

 jungle, and in other respects their habits appear to be very 

 similar. 



Eggs- — Heuglin occasionally found " nests " of this species, 

 which, he says, contained " two cylindrical-shaped eggs, much 

 the colour of dirty and faded Peewits' eggs." 



VIII. THE DOUBLE-BANDED SAND-GROUSE. PTEROCLES 

 BICINCTUS. 



Pterocles bicinctus, Temra. Pig. et Gall. iii. pp. 247, 713 (1815) ; 

 Ogilvie-Grant, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxii. p. 30 (1893). 



Adult Male. — Under tail-coverts closely barred with black; 

 a pectoral band of two bars, white and black ; throat not 

 spotted with black; chest above the pectoral band uniform. 

 Total length, 97 inches; wing, 6*9; tail, 3-3; tarsus, 0-9. 



Adult Female. — No pectoral band; throat spotted with black 

 to the chin, especially on the sides ; upper breast and chest 

 rather irregularly barred with black ; tarsus barred with black- 

 ish-brown. Total length, 97 inches; wing, 6-6; tail, 3-2; tar- 

 sus, 0*9. 



