566 TETRAONID^E. 



perfect ; chin and throat patch dark brown ; breast pale buff, buffy white or 

 rufous, with pale shafts to the feathers ; sides of the breast and flanks similar 

 or deeper in colour, with pale shafts; abdomen white, pale rufous, or buff; 

 back, scapulars and upper tail coverts from brown to a rich dark brown, each 

 feather shafted a rich rufous, or buff, with three transverse bars or bands of 

 the same colour on each side, the tips being pale buff ; primaries dusky brown 

 with pale rufous bars on their outer webs ; the secondaries with pale tips, and 

 the tertials barred buffy on both webs, the borders of the buffy bars darker 

 than the ground colour of the feathers. The female is like the male, but 

 wants the central throat patch, and the breast is spotted with brown or dark 

 brown. She is also much larger. 



Length. 7 to 8 inches; wing 4 to 4*5; tail r6 to 2*25; irides brown or 

 hazel ; legs pale fleshy ; bill blackish with a brownish horny tinge above and 

 at the tip. 



Hab. Sind, Punjab, Beloochistan, Afghanistan, Persia, Arabia, theDeccan, 

 N. Guzerat, Rajputana, Kutch, Kattiawar and Southern and Central India 

 generally to Nepaul. A rare visitor to Burmah and in the countries S.-E. of 

 the mouths of the Ganges, Chittagong, Arracan and Pegu, where it may be 

 considered a straggler. It is found throughout Europe and nearly the whole 

 of Asia. The greater bulk of these which come into India, Hume says, are 

 migratory. They arrive from the North from Central Asia across the 

 Himalayas, and from the west from Persia, Beloochistan, &c. Hume adds, that 

 arrived within our boundaries, while a certain number remain scattered 

 about, some remaining in the lower ranges and valleys of the Himalayas up 

 to an elevation of 4000 to 5000 feet, the greater bulk move forward, southwards 

 and eastwards, and arrive about the middle of October in Sylhet, Bengal, and 

 the Deccan, and frequent the crops of peas, millet, &c., to the end of March ; 

 their stay, however, depends much on the supply of food. They migrate 

 invariably at night, and evidently in large numbers at a time. Numbers are 

 netted throughout India, for the table, for quaileries, and the cock-birds 

 for fighting purposes, a favourite pastime nearly throughout India amongst 

 Mahomedans. Breeds generally in the N.-W. and Upper Provinces of India, 

 laying six eggs, from February to April. Eggs broad ovals, a good deal 

 pointed towards one end. The ground colour is a clear yellowish or reddish 

 buff, thickly speckled and freckled and thinly blotched with reddish brown. 



1237- Coturnix coromandelica ( GmeL), Jerd , B. Ind. Hi. p. 588, 



No. 830 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p. 550 ; id., Str. F. iii. p. 178 ; 

 Blyth, B. Burnt, p. 157; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. Hi; Hume and Marsh., 

 Game Birds ii. p. 151, pi.; Oates, Sir. F. x. p. 236; id., B. Br. Burm. ii. 

 P- 333 ; Murray, Hdbk., Zool., &.C., Sind, p. 203 ; id., Vert. ZooL, Sind, 

 p. 216. Tetrao coromandelica, Gmel, Syst. Nat. i. p. 764. The BLACK- 

 BREASTED RAIN QUAIL. 



