2180 THE GAME BIRDS AND RAILS 



while in the other the middle of the chin and throat are whitish. The distribution 

 of these species is complimentary to each other, that is to say, though both are 

 found over the greater part of India, the localities they affect are widely different, 

 the jungle quail being met with on hilly ground covered with moderates-thick for- 

 est and jungle, while the rock quail prefers half- barren sandy or rocky plains, 

 studded with low scattered bushes. Mr. Hume describes the former as "little, 

 bustling, ground birds, always keeping, according to my experience, in packs or 

 families; never coming out into the open; always feeding in grass, jungle, or stub- 

 ble long enough to hide their tiny selves." The painted bush quails (Microperdix} 

 are chiefly found in rocky ground interspersed with bushes, fern, and high grass, 

 and are met with in coveys, and prized by the natives on account of their pugna- 

 cious habits. 



These partridges form a group characterized by the short tail, its 



tridees l en g tn being less than half that of the wing, and also by their 

 peculiarly -long and rather straight nails, that of the first toe being 

 well developed. There are nearly twenty species, ranging from the Himalayas, 

 through the Indo-Chinese countries to Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Formosa, and Hai- 

 nan. Unlike the preceding genera, which are all ground birds, though individuals 

 may occasionally perch, these partridges are not unfrequently in the habit of sit- 

 ting in trees. The color in most of the species is a mixture of olive brown, black, 

 and rufous, but in the species (Arboricola ardens} from Hainan the chest is orna- 

 mented with a patch of fiery red. All these birds frequent hill forest, the common 

 tree partridge {A. torqueolus) ranging to an elevation of fourteen thousand feet, and 

 being seldom flushed except with dogs; but when they rise their flight is strong 

 and swift. The eggs differ from those of other partridges in being pure white. 

 The plumage in all but one is practically identical in both sexes, but in the tree 

 partridge of the outer ranges of the Himalayas, it differs considerably. In both 

 male and female the general color of the upper parts is olive brown barred with 

 black, and the sides and flanks are gray, widely edged with chestnut, and spotted 

 with white; but the male has the top of the head bright chestnut, the eye stripes, 

 sides of the face, chin, and throat black, more or less margined with white, and 

 there is a broad white band across the front of the crop. In the female the top of 

 the head is brown marked with black, and the sides of the head are rufous spotted 

 with black, the white band being absent. 



The members of the three genera now to be considered are peculiar 



Partridges * n Caving the nail of the first toe rudimentary. In the ferruginous 

 wood partridges ( Caloperdix} the legs of the male are provided with 

 one or more pairs of spurs. The general color of the head, neck, and under parts 

 is bright rust red, the upper back black and white, the lower parts black with rusty 

 red markings, and the wings olive brown, spotted with black. The three species 

 respectively inhabit the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Java and Borneo. The 

 red-crested wood partridge (Rollulus roulroul}, figured in the cut, is an inhabi- 

 tant of Tenasserim and the Malay Peninsula and islands. In both sexes there is a 

 tuft of long hair-like bristles on the middle of the forehead and the claw on the 

 first toe is rudimentary. The male has also a long, fan-shaped maroon crest of 



