2156 PIGEONS AND SAND GROUSE 



The gigantic flightless pigeon of Rodriguez, known as the solitaire 

 (Pezophaps solitaria}, survived till a later date than the dodo, having 

 probably lingered in the more remote parts of the island till 1761. It was much 

 longer in the leg than the dodo, and had a proportionately-longer neck, and the 

 males, which were far superior in size to the females, had a peculiar ball-like ex- 

 crescence on the wings. L,eguat, who visited Rodriguez in 1691, found the soli- 

 taires abundant, and has given us a good account of their habits, and a truthful, if 

 somewhat pre-Raphaelite portrait; while of late years numerous bones of the soli- 

 taire have been brought to Europe, so that we have now a fair idea of its organiza- 

 tion and affinities. 



THE SAND GROUSE 



Family PTEROCLID^E 



The sand grouse form a small group intermediate in their affinities between 

 the pigeons and game birds, resembling the former in the most important particu- 

 lars of their skeleton, while their digestive organs are very similar to those of the 

 latter.* Among their other columbine characteristics may be specially noted the great 

 triangular deltoid crest of the humerus or upper bone of the wing, the peculiar 

 shape of which is so characteristic of the pigeon tribe; this deltoid crest being the 

 projecting process on the right side of the upper part of the specimens figured on p. 

 2158. To this process is attached the great pectoral muscle which renders these 

 birds capable of sustained and powerful flight. In the game birds this process (as 

 shown in the same cut) is very differently formed, the edge being rounded and 

 curved inward instead of nearly flat and triangular. In the sand grouse the body 

 is rather stout and compact, the neck short, and the head small. The bill is short 

 and shaped like that of the game birds, although not so strong; there is never any 

 naked space round the eyes; the wings are long and pointed, and the legs and toes 

 are remarkably short, rendering it impossible for these birds to perch on trees. 

 The general tone of the plumage is suggestive of the sandy arid regions these birds 

 frequent, being a subtle mixture of subdued colors, beautiful in their arrangement 

 and pattern, but well suited to afford protection by their perfect harmony with the 

 surroundings. The majority of this group inhabit Africa and Southwestern and 

 Central Asia, but Pallas's sand grouse ranges in summer to the north of L,ake 

 Baikal, and westward to Pekin, and the black-bellied sand grouse extends to the 

 Canary islands and Southwest Europe, while Madagascar contains a species (Ptero- 

 clurus personatd) peculiar to that island, and the Pyrenean pin-tail sand grouse (P. 

 pyrenaicus) , a western form of the Asiatic species (P. alchata}, is met with in 

 Southwestern Europe and North Afiica. The flight of these birds is swift and power- 

 ful, and on the wing they resemble the plover tribe. All are more or less migra- 

 tory, and some travel immense distances. They are in the habit of repairing in the 

 morning and evening to certain favorite drinking places where numbers congregate. 



*In placing them here the editor follows the late Professor Garrod, but the writer of this chapter prefers to re- 

 gard them as representing a distinct order. 



