148 THE FORESTS OF UPPER INDIA 



and his expectation proved correct ; for during the next 

 three days we hunted miles of fine country in vain, and 

 saw plenty of tracks, but no nyang. We had several 

 shots at the beautiful little gazelle called goa.* 



It is astonishing how full these great plains and rolling 

 hills are of animal life, principally birds, which are quite 

 tame. They nest in numbers on the ground, and the air 

 is full of larks singing aloft, besides numerous small 

 migratory birds, which sit and look at one at five 

 yards off. There is also a remarkable bird, the snow 

 pheasant or snow cock {Tetraogallus Tihetanus). When 

 tramping over the bare ground, one sees troops of them 

 running amongst the stones and rocks, stooping low and 

 almost invisible from their gray colour when they squat. 

 They seldom take wing except when flushed by a dog, and 

 then the whole covey runs and rises and shoots along 

 about two feet above the bare ground. They are heavy, 

 fat birds about the size of a bemicle goose, and have 

 powerful bills and feet like turkeys. They are easy to 

 shoot with a rifle, and are excellent eating, being layered 

 with goose-like fat. 



There are also snow partridges {Lerwa nivicola) re- 

 sembling a ptarmigan, which sit close and are almost 

 invisible on the bare ground in coveys. 



* The goa is described by Jerdon as a distinct species, the Pro- 

 capra picticaudata of Hodgson. 



