246 BIRDS. 



The Turtle -Dove has bred in some of the northern 

 counties, and has recently extended as far north as 



* Turtle- Caithness. A bird of more twisting flight 

 Dove. than the rest, it is distinguished by the 

 somewhat longer tail, which is edged with white, and by 

 the black-and-white patches on the neck. It is the 

 smallest of our doves, and in food and habits closely re- 

 sembles the wood - pigeon, only the nest is generally 

 placed nearer the ground. I have taken the nests, how- 

 ever, in adjoining plantations, and at the same height. 

 ) 2, \\ inch; white. 



CHAPTER X. PALLAS'S SAND-GROUSE. 



Pallas's Sand-Grouse, which must stand by itself, is a 

 capricious migrant from the steppes of Asia, spring and 

 autumn irruptions passing over Europe to these islands 

 at long and irregular intervals. These arrivals of this 

 curious bird, known by its long tail - feathers, short 

 feathered legs, and the possession of three toes only, 

 united by a membrane, have occasioned a great deal of 

 discussion and learned correspondence, and have even 

 been the subject of more than one monograph. Here 

 it suffices to say that the chief arrivals have been in 

 1859, in the winter 1863-64, in 1872, 1876, and 1888-89, 

 the last being also the greatest and in many ways the 

 most interesting, as a large number were kept in confine- 

 ment, 1 and many more remained, probably to breed, as 

 eggs were taken in several counties. Moreover, this in- 

 flux extended over a greater range than its predecessors, 

 reaching even to the extreme west of Scotland and Ire- 

 land. The bird feeds entirely on seeds, and its flight has 

 been likened to that of the golden plover. It builds no 

 1 Macplierson, Visitation of Pallas's Sand-Grouse, p. 31. 



