THE FRANCOLINS. 233 



In the bare portion of the countries between North- Western India, Persia, 

 and North-Eastern Africa, is the home of the see-see partridges (Ammoperdix), 

 of which two species, A. bonhami and A. heyi, are known ; and then we leave 

 the true partridges for the francolins, which are a very large group, princi- 

 pally African. They may be divided into two genera, Francolinus and 

 Pternistes. Both these genera have 14 tail-feathers ; but the former has a 

 feathered throat, while in Pternistes the throat is bare. More than forty 

 species of francolin are known, of which all but four are peculiar to Africa. 

 They inhabit all kinds of country : some the open grass-lands, some bare and 

 desert situations, while others are found in forest-lands. 



This interesting species (F. francolinus) has now been practically exter- 

 minated in its former haunts in Sicily and other parts of Southern Europe, 

 but is still found in Cyprus, Palestine, and Asia Minor, 

 whence it extends eastwards to the Indian Peninsula, as far The Common 



as Assam and Manipur. It is familiarly known as the black Francolin. 



partridge, by Indian sportsmen, and is a favourite Game- Bird F. francolinus. 

 in the north-west provinces of India, though it is much less 

 common in many places than it was formerly. This is partly owing to the per- 

 secution it receives, while from the accounts published by Mr. Allan Hume 

 and his friends, the francolin is not a prolific breeder, and the young birds 

 suffer from the depredations of stoats, jackals, etc. It is, like most of its kind, 

 a ground bird, but Mr. Greig says that the cock will at times get on to a stump 

 or ant-hill, when calling, and he has even seen them high up in fir-trees. 

 The natives are very fond of keeping the francolin as a pet, and numbers are 

 netted by them. Some of the African species are quite small, scarcely larger 

 than a quail, whilst others are of large size and heavy build, and they are 

 sometimes so disinclined to fly, that after being flushed a second time, they 

 will allow themselves to be taken with the hand rather than rise again. 



These birds have all the appearance of francolins, but differ from them in 

 having the throat naked. Nine species are known, and they are all peculiar 

 to the Ethiopian region. Pternistes swainsoni is one of the 

 best-known species, -and is the "pheasant" of Matabeleland. The Bare- 

 Mr. T. E. Buckley says that the coveys are extremely throated 

 difficult to flush, and they prefer to escape by running. In Francolins. 

 the day-time they come out into the open, and frequent the Genus Pternistes. 

 neighbourhood of small streams ; they pass the night in the 

 brushwood, and roost on trees. They feed on bulbs, seeds, berries, and 

 insects. The eggs of Swainson's bare-throated francolin are six or more in 

 number ; they are rounded in shape, of a pinkish cream-colour, finely speckled 

 with chalky-white. 



In the Malayan Archipelago the francolins of Africa and India are re- 

 presented by the genus Rhizothera, distinguished by its long bill. The 

 typical species, the long-billed francolin (R. longirostris\ is an inhabitant 

 of .the southern portion of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and the lowlands 

 of Borneo. In the highlands of the latter island,- on Mount Dulit, at an 

 elevation of 4,000 feet, it is replaced by Hose's long- billed francolin 

 (Rhizothera dulitensis). 



Of these birds our common partridge (P. perdix) is the type, and the best- 

 known species. In illustration of the curiosities of bird-life, especially in 

 species the most familiar to us, I may mention that Mr. Ogilvie-Grant, 

 who has made the game-birds his special study, has recently discovered 

 diflerences in the coloration of the sexes of the partridge hitherto unrecorded. 



