PARTRIDGE, SAND-GROUSE, AND FLORIKEN 



mate. They are very handsome birds, and afford good 

 shooting, rising something like the English partridge. 

 They are mostly found in green corn-fields, large patches 

 of high grass, or on the banks of nullahs or ravines. They 

 are not particularly good eating. 



Grey partridge are very common, and not thought 

 much of by Indian sportsmen, either from the sporting or 

 table point of view. The flesh is tough and extremely 

 tasteless ; in fact, hardly eatable unless the bird be stuffed 

 with bacon, then roasted with layers of bacon wrapped round 

 it. These birds are found in bushes and hedges round 

 villages. The natives catch them in pits and often keep 

 them as pets. 



We now come to the black partridge, found mostly in 

 Sind. It is a large and very handsome bird with beautiful 

 black plumage plentifully spotted with white on the breast. 

 On rising it towers for a few yards, then flies straight forwards 

 giving a fairly easy shot. 



These birds are generally to be found in patches of 

 high grass near water, in cotton fields and beds of rivers 

 where there is thick cover. They have a shrill peculiar 

 call, and are very noisy, especially in the early mornings 

 and about sundown. Their flesh is tender and excellent 

 eating. 



Of sand-grouse, probably so called because they frequent 

 open, sandy plains, there are three varieties, one very 

 large and the other two with pin-tails. The largest kind 

 are rare, and mostly to be found in Sind. Sand-grouse 

 squat or lie very close. They are very strong on the wing, 

 and it requires hard hitting to bring them down. They are 

 good eating, but tough, and should be skinned before 

 being cooked. By watching over, or near water, where 

 these birds come to drink, any number may be shot. 



Floriken, without doubt the finest game bird in India, 

 arrive soon after the rains, and are found in rush-grown, 

 swampy places, and in high grass, also on plains where the 

 grass has been burnt. The cock bird is about the size of 

 a pheasant, and very handsome, with neck and under part 

 of the body black ; while the back is mottled like a bustard. 

 On the back of its head are six thin, upturned feathers, 

 with small tufts at the end, somewhat resembling the crest 



Q 225 



