2176 



THE GAME BIRDS AND RAILS 



and often congregating in packs, sometimes to the number of twenty or thirty, 

 snow cocks never enter the forests or jungle, avoiding spots where the grass is long. 

 When feeding, they walk up hill, picking up tender blades of grass and young shoots 

 of plants, occasionally stopping to scratch up bulbous roots, of which they are fond. 

 Easily recognized by their transversely- barred sides and flanks, 

 which contrast strongly with the rest of the plumage of the breast 

 and under parts, the red-legged partridges are represented by half a 

 dozen species. In these birds the tail is composed of fourteen feathers, and the 

 sexes are similar, except that the male is provided with a pair of blunt spurs. In 



Red-Legged 

 Partridges 



FRENCH PARTRIDGES. 

 (One- third natural size.) 



the mountains of Southern Europe, ranging from the Pyrenees to the Balkans, the 

 so-called Greek partridge is found; but in the Grecian islands and Cyprus its place 

 is taken by the nearly-allied chukar (Caccabis chukar}, distinguished by having the 

 lores or space in front of the eye white instead of black. Its range is extensive, 

 extending across Asia to China, and reaching from the sea level to an elevation of 

 sixteen thousand feet; while the bird apparently flourishes as well in desert country 

 as in cultivated hills. Their surroundings largely affect the chukar both in size 

 and color; the paler-colored birds from the Persian Gulf differing widely from the 

 dark forms found in Cyprus and the Himalayas. The common red-legged or 



