294 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME 



The Division was enabled to make this interesting introduction of 

 sand-grouse through the generosity of M. E. Lombardi, vice president, 

 Standard Oil Company of California, San Francisco, who purchased 

 the birds and donated them to the State for stocking purposes. Mr. 

 Lombardi was introduced to the writer in the fall of 1933 by G. Dallas 

 Hanna and 11. S. Swartli of the California Academy of Sciences, when 

 the possibility of this introduction was first discussed. It has always 

 had the support and endorsement of these scientific gentlemen and of 

 the Academy. 



Mr. Lombardi has kindly written, for inclusion in this note, the 

 observations he made upon these birds in their native habitat, whicli 

 prompted his interest in them that finally resulted in the present intro- 

 duction. His recent letter is quoted as follows : 



I first became interested in these birds when I saw them in countless numbers 

 on the northern Mesopotamia Desert. I was traveling by automobile from Nisibin 

 to Mosul in Iraq and thence to Kirkuk. This was in the spring of 1933 and great 

 flocks of sand-grouse appeared to be coming down out of the foothills to the north 

 and onto the desert. I was told that this movement was made in the spring when 

 the new grass appeared after the spring rains on the desert. They seemed to assemble 

 around the small rock-strewn hills but were sometimes seen covering as much as 

 half an acre in flocks on the flat desert floor. While on the ground they look sur- 

 prisingly like white-tailed ptarmigan, being somewhat larger, however. In flight 

 they resemble a large pigeon as their wings are more the shape of pigeon wings than 

 the usual round wing of a grouse. Their flight is very rapid and they can fly for 

 long distances going and coming from water. They are shot for sport by the few 

 Europeans in that area but are said to be not particularly good for the table. I 

 do not think the Arabs destroy many of them since the Arabs are armed with 

 rifles for the most part, and shotgun ammunition is very expensive. 



I later saw these birds in Arabia near the head of the Persian Gulf and also 

 in traveling from Bagdad to Damascus across the desert some distance south of 

 the locality of my first observation of them. Later in the spring they seemed 

 to be in smaller flocks and pairs. 



The Mesopotamia Valley has many physical characteristics which are similar 

 to the southern part of the San Joaquin Valley. It is entirely treeless and grass 

 appears only in the springtime. The climatic conditions are similar, being featured 

 by a very hot summer, and rains only in the winter and spring. Instead of sage- 

 brush, there appears a thorn bush and some other shrubs similar to those seen in 

 our desert valley. I also saw filaree, wild mustard and a grass similar to foxtail. 

 Water is scarce during the summer, being confined to the large rivers (Euphrates 

 and Tigris and a few of their tributaries) as well as some of the ancient canals now 

 unused. The foothills encircle the upper end of the Mesopotamia Valley just as 

 they do the lower part of the San Joaquin. On them, there is more vegetation, 

 very similar in appearance to the vegetation on our foothills. I saw plants which 

 are almost the same in appearance as manzanita and also others that might be 

 identified as near relatives to our desert foothill shrubs although, not being a 

 botanist, I could not identify them. 



The fact that sand-grouse live in an environment so similar to ours, with 

 climatic conditions approaching our southern deserts, led me to believe that they 

 might be successfully introduced in certain sections of California. 



After much discussion in the winter of 1933-1934 regarding the 

 advisability of importing wild trapped birds direct from Asia for 

 this planting, it was finally determined to purchase the present stock 

 from a local game breeder, because these birds were thoroughly accli- 

 mated to California weather, having been originally imported from 

 Calcutta in January, 1933. This decision was reached in Janury, 1934, 

 when Mr. Lombardi agreed to purchase and to donate to the State, the 

 21 sand-grouse recently planted. Delivery of the birds was made to 

 the Division at Palmdale on February 14, whence they were transferred 



