AVEs". .371 



sonic species; upper mandible straight, slightly beut towavclB the point; 

 nostrils basal, partly closed by a membrane; front, or acrotarsiuni, of the 

 tarsus feathered ; the hinder part, or planta, naked ; three anterior toes 

 united the length of the first joint ; hallux very small, and articulated high 

 on the tarsus ; tail subcnnic, in some species the two middle feathers elon- 

 gated and filiform ; wings long, acuminated, reaching to within a third of 

 the tip of the tail, the first quill longest. 



Pterocles bicinota.— The Double-Collared Pterocles. Plate xxxv. fig. 1. 

 Upper parts dull chestnut colour, transverely barred with black ; epigas. 

 trium, abdomen, and crissura, dusky, ■svith transverse arrow-shaped umber, 

 coloured bands ; wings chestnut above, with the secondaries fawn-coloured ; 

 greater wing-coverts with transverse bands of dark burnt umber-brown, 

 edged with white ; legs and feet fawn, the front of the tarsus transversely 

 barred with brown ; breast with a collar of ochre-yellow, beneath which is 

 another of blackish-brown ; front of head gray. Ten inches long. Inhabits 

 Africa. 



Gemcs li.—SYRRHAVTES.—Illiger. _ 



Generic Character. — Bill short, conical, slender ; upper mandible slightly 

 bent, having a groove along the ridge ; nostrils basal, lateral, partly cover- 

 ed by feathers ; feet with three anterior toes only ; tarsus and toes covered 

 with woolly feathers ; tail subconic, the two central feathers much elongat- 

 ed, and filiform at the tips ; wiugs long, extending nearly as far as the point 

 of the tail, with the first quill prolonged, and filiform. 



Syrrhaptes Pallasii. — Pallas's Syrrhaptes. Plate xxxix*. Bg. 8. Describ- 

 ed, vol. iii. p. 139, as the Heteroclitous Grouse. 



Genus 15.— ORTYX Stephens. 



Generic Character. — Bill very short, robust, greatly arcuated, compressed, 

 naked at the base, and bent at the point ; nostrils basal, lateral, and partly 

 closed by a membrane; legs strong ; three toes before, united at the baae 

 by a membrane, and a strong hallux, which rests ou the ground ; tail long, 

 wedge-shaped. 



Ortyx Californica. — The Californian Quail. Plate xl. fig. 6. Dusky- 

 brown, lead-coloured towards the tail ; breast with a broad band of dark 

 gray ; front of head ash.gTay ; blackish-brown behind ; head surmounted by 

 a crest of five or six black feathers, an inch and a half long, curved forward 

 at the point; back and neck with black margined feathers; throat black, 

 surrounded by a gorget-shaped band of white feathers ; a white stripe passes 

 over the eyes ; bill and legs dusky. Ten inches long. Inhabits California. 



Genus 16.— PERDIX.— La<Aa?». 



Generic Character.— Bil\ short, strong, naked at the base ; upper mandi- 

 ble convex, with the point bending considerably downwards ; nostrils basaj 

 and lateral, placed in a large membrane, partly concealed by an arched naked 

 scale ; wings short, concave, fourth and fifth quills longest ; tarsus long, fur. 

 nishcd, in the male, with a short spur ; feet with three anterior toes, united 

 at the base by a membrane, and a hullux behind ; tai consisting of from 

 fcmrteen to eighteen feathers, slanting downwards. 



This ginus has been divided into foiir sections : — I. Males having one or 

 two spurs. II. Tarsus provided with a callosity instead of a spur, or \iiUi- 



