So SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA 



southern Europe, and now and then stragglers appear in Germany. Being an 

 inhabitant of the deserts, it is coloured in harmony with its surroundings ; the 

 plumage is sandy yellow and black above, with the throat chestnut edged with 

 black, the chest grey, and the rest of the under-parts black. In length it measures 

 nearly 14 inches. The three eggs are laid in a small hollow on the ground, never very 

 far from water, and are sandy in colour, with greyish and reddish brown markings. 

 These birds are light and strong on the wing and traverse great distances in search 

 of food, which comprises tender buds and leaves, seeds, fruits, and insects. They 

 feed in larger or smaller flocks, the members of which keep up a constant 

 "chucking," like domesticated fowls, or a kind of dove-like cooing. On the 

 wino- these birds utter a loud " kadda-kadda," and when startled an indignant 

 " gur-gur-gur." 



The pin-tailed sand-grouse (Pteroclurus alchatus) is a species of south-western 

 Asia, rano-incr into Arabia, the Caucasus, and Turkestan. In the west of Europe it 

 is represented by a subspecies (P. alchatus pyrenaicus), which breeds in northern 

 Africa and southern Europe, especially Spain and Portugal. This species is a little 

 smaller than the ringed sand-grouse, from which it is distinguished by the length 

 of the two pointed middle feathers of the tail, the eastern form being further 

 'liti'L'i-entiated by the yellowish white under-parts. In summer the breast is pale 

 rufous, in winter brownish white; in the western form the plumage is darker, 

 and the breast in summer reddish brown. 



To provide water for their young, cock sand-grouse fly oft" to a pool in which 

 they thoroughly soak the feathers of the breast. On their, return to their young, 

 the latter pass the wet feathers of their parents through their beaks, and thus 

 obtain sufficient moisture. 



Comparatively few of the anserine birds breed in the Mediter- 

 ranean area ; but the red-crested pochard ranges from Europe as far 

 as Persia and India ; and in suitable localities the white-eyed duck, the pochard, and 

 the wild duck are met with here and there, while the grey lag-goose is also occasion- 

 ally seen. There are, however, no mergansers and no swans. 



Pigmy In addition to the common species, the pigmy cormorant (Phala- 



cormorant. crocorax pygmceus) frequents the coasts, and is especially common in 

 Hungary, where it breeds from April to September and October. Its distributional area 

 extends from Hungary and Dalmatia to northern Africa, the Caspian, the Sea of Aral, 

 and Persia. In autumn this species migrates south. It lives among deep marshes, and 

 nests in colonies on retired waters amid weeds and willow-bushes, in company with 

 spoonbills, ibises, white herons, night-herons, and crested herons. In these colonies, 

 where the nests are often built on willow-bushes close beside or above one another, 

 those of the present species, to the number of three or four, are placed on the highest 

 branches of each bush. This cormorant, which never nests on tall trees, climbs 

 slender willow-stems, and even reeds, always grasping several at a time with its 

 long toes, aided by its tail. It is a shy and suspicious bird, much smaller than 

 the common cormorant, measuring only from 21 to 23 inches in length. In colour 

 it is mainly black, but the head and upper part of the neck are reddish brown, 

 and the lower-parts marked with long white spots. The dark grey wing-coverts 

 have black edges, and the beak and feet are black. 



