78 THE HUNTER >S ARCADIA. 



to hide our presence, the reports of our guns soon 

 awoke the latent echoes. The velocity of this 

 sand grouse's flight is something remarkable, for 

 at, say, forty yards, to make certain of killing, in 

 cross shots I have to hold at least two feet in front 

 of them. Moreover, they carry away lots of shot, 

 if a vital part be not struck ; and even those that 

 are wing-tipped appear to be able to sustain them- 

 selves in their flight twice the distance of any 

 other fowl I know of. 



A strange thing I note about this little beauty is 

 that it often makes no attempt to descend to drink 

 till it is directly over the water, into which it 

 sweeps from an altitude of fifty yards with the 

 velocity of an arrow not on to the land, but 

 actually into the liquid whence it swims ashore 

 with as much nonchalance as if it was strictly aquatic 

 in habits. This is the more remarkable, as its 

 legs are feathered to the feet, and the latter are 

 peculiarly small. As a matter of course, it cannot 

 stand a protracted bath of this kind, but I am 

 convinced that I observed several swim ten or even 

 twelve yards. 



This species (Pteroclurus Namaqua) feeds upon 



