THE PHEASANT-GROUSE. 8 I 



together on the top of some large stone in their way . . . 

 They seldom fly far, and if followed and put up again, often fly 

 back to the spot where first found. At times they seem un- 

 willing to get up at all, and several shots may be fired at them 

 before they take wing." 



The Snow Partridge feeds on moss and tender shoots of 

 small plants. It is seldom shot, as those sportsmen who tra- 

 verse its lonely haunts, which range from 10,000 to 15,000 feet 

 (for it is only met with on lower ground after severe snowstorms), 

 are generally in search of large game such as Tahr and Burrel. 



Nest. — " It breeds on the high ridges jutting from the snow 

 at elevations of from 12,000 to 15,000 feet." {Wilson.) 



Eggs. — " Very large, intermediate in sizes between those of 

 the Chukor (Caccabis chukor) and Koklass (Pucrasia macro- 

 lopha) ; dull white, freckled all over with reddish-brown, like 

 the Koklass, but without blotches of colour." ( Wilson?) 



THE PHEASANT-GROUSE. GENUS TETRAOPHASIS. 



Tetraophasis, Elliot, Monogr. Phas. i. pi. xxi. (187 1). 



Type, T. obscitrus (Verr.). 



The feathers on the feet scarcely extend below the joint ; tail 



wedge-shaped, and rather long, about three-quarters of the 



length of the wing, and composed of eighteen feathers ; first 



flight-feather about equal to the eighth or ninth, the fourth 



slightly the longest. 



The sexes are similar in plumage, but the male is armed 

 with a stout spur on each leg. 



Only two species of the.^e large Grouse-like Pheasants, or 

 rather Partridges, are known from the mountains of Tibet 

 uid Western China. Few collections contain examples of 

 these rare birds, and very little is known about their habits. 



I. THE DUSKY PHEASANT-GROUSE. TETRAOPHASIS OBSCURUS. 



Lophophorus obscums, Verr. N. Arch. Mus. Bull. v. p. 33, pi. vi. 

 (1869). 



9 O 



