THE RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGES. 9 1 



Caccahis saxatilis, Dresser, B. Europe, vii. p. 93, pi. 470 (1875) ; 

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



Adult Male and Female. — Above greyish olive brown ; breast 

 grey ; belly pale rufous-buff; outer tail-feathers dark chestnut ; 

 top of the head dull vinaceous-grey ; white throat and fore- 

 neck surrounded by a black band ; feathers of the chest uni- 

 form, not margined with black on the sides ; lores black; ear- 

 coverts black, mixed with buff. 



Male : Total length, 15 inches ; wing, 6*6; tail, 3*6; tarsus, 

 r8. 



Female: Total length, 13*6; wing, 6*2; tail, 3*4; tarsus, 



17. 



Range. — Mountains of Southern Europe. Eastern Pyrenees, 

 Alps, Carpathians, Apennines, and Balkans; also Sicily. It still 

 remains uncertain whether it is this species or the closely allied 

 form, C. chukar, which is found in the mainland of Greece ; it 

 is certainly the latter which is met with in the Grecian Archi- 

 pelago, but so far I have been unable to obtain examples of 

 the mainland bird. 



Hybrids. — Crosses have been described between this species 

 and the Barbary Red-legged Partridge (C. petrosa) ; and also 

 with the Common Red-legged Partridge (C. rufd). 



Habits. — This species inhabits the desolate stony hillsides, 

 and its mode of life and habits are very similar to those of its 

 eastern ally, the Chukar, which are fully described below. 



Professor Victor Fatio records a curious variety of this 

 species, with a black head. For this bird, of which he has 

 seen three examples from Switzerland, he proposes the name 

 of C. saxatilis, var. mela?iocephalus (nee Riipp.). 



sUB-SP. a. THE CHUKAR RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE. CACCAEIS 

 CHUKAR. 



PerJix chucar, J. E. Gray, 111. Ind. Zool. i. pi. 54 (1830-32); 

 Gould, Cent. B. Himal. pi. 71 (1832). 



