276 
During the cold season, they swarm all over the N. W. P., 
the Punjab, and Rajpootana, making their way far down into 
Central India, throughout Oudh, and into Behar, but although, 
as Jerdon says, they are found much in low cultivated lands, 
especially irrigated fields, edges of jheels, &c., (where they prey 
mostly on Frogs) their winter quarters, par excellence, is in the 
half desert tracts of Northern and Western India, amongst the 
interminable colonies of the Desert Rat, (Gerbellus Erythrourus) 
which is unquestionably their favourite food. In these localities, 
they occur during the winter in surprising numbers; a dozen 
may be seen sitting within a circle of half a mile, and fifty 
counted in a morning’s ride. Directly, however, the hot weather 
begins to set in, their numbers decrease, and by the first of 
April, all, but solitary stragglers, have retreated northwards, to 
the Himalayas, or westwards, across the Sutledge. 
good light, faint traces of darker bars. The medium wing coverts, are a uni- 
form, but rather pale, umber brown, palest towards the edges, while the winglet 
and greater coverts are an equally uniform, but rather darker shade, the coverts 
with traces of paler tippings. 
The first five primaries (of which the 3rd, 4th and 5th are emarginate on the 
outer webs) are grey on the outer webs, except the last two, just below their 
larger coverts, where they are a rather pale umber brown. ‘They are all five 
conspicuously emarginate or notched on the inner webs, on which, below these 
emarginations or notches, they are nearly black, while above these, they are 
nearly pure white, with only a little pale brown, running along the shaft. 
The rest of the primaries and secondaries, are dark brown on the outer webs, 
and tips; and pure white, and pale brown towards the shafts, on the inner 
webs, with four or five rather ill-defined, and incomplete, darker brown, trans- 
verse bars. ‘The ear coverts, chin and throat are white, the feathers have pale, 
rufous brown shafts. here is a trace of an uniform, rufous brown streak 
from the posterior angle of the eye, along the tops of the ear coverts. The 
feathers from the base of the lower mandible, below the ear coverts, and behind 
them, with small central streaks of the pale rufous brown, as well as the 
shafts of that colour. The centre of the neck in front, and breast, white, the 
feathers with darker shafts, and many of them with linear, or narrowly, oval 
streaks of rufous brown towards the tips, these being most conspicuous on the 
lower part of the breast. A patch on each side of neck, feathers rufous 
brown, dark shafted, margined rather narrowly, with fulvous white; centre 
and lower part of abdomen, vent and lower tail coverts, unspotted, yellowish 
or dirtyish white; sides uniform umber brown, with darker shafts and feeble 
whitish margins. Thigh coverts a still darker brown, with a greyish bloom 
on one web in.a good light, darker shafted, and margined, with rufous above, 
and fulvous white towards the tarsus. Axillaries bright rufous, somewhat 
mottled, and shafted, with umber brown. Lesser and median, lower wine 
coverts, pale rufous, to rufous white, with dark shafts, and a narrow rufous 
brown streak. Coverts beyond carpal joints, umber brown, mottled, and 
blotched with rufous. Greater lesser coverts, of primaries and secondaries, 
pale greyish brown, variegated towards the margins, the former with white, 
the latter with pale rufous. 
