SAND GROUSE. 257 



abdomen vinous like the breast, and the under wing-coverts and 

 the band at the end of the tail-feathers bluish-grey, instead of 

 white ; bill blackish ; feet dull purplish lake. Total length, 

 13*0 inches ; oilmen, o"j ; wing, 7*4; tail, 4/5 ; tarsus, 1*05. 



Adult Female. Similar to the male, but smaller. Total 

 length, 12 inches; wing, 67. 



Range in Great Britain. A single specimen of this eastern 

 species of Turtle- Dove was shot near Scarborough on the 23rd 

 of October, 1889, and was exhibited by the late Mr. Seebohm, 

 on behalf of Mr. James Backhouse of York, at a meeting of the 

 Zoological Society, on the 6th of May, 1890. 



Range outside the British Islands. According to Count Salvadori, 

 this species of Turtle-Dove is found from the base of the 

 Himalayas to Central India, and through the Burmese countries 

 to Formosa, Manchuria, Corea, and Japan. 



Habits. Captain Hutton states that the present species arrives 

 at Masuri in the N.W. Himalayas, early in April, when all the 

 woods resound with its deep-toned cooing. It does not seem 

 to differ in any respect in habits from other Turtle-Doves. It 

 breeds in May and June, and Mr. Hume has found nests as 

 late as August. 



Nest. According to Mr. Hume, the bird makes a loose but 

 rather more substantial twig nest than many of its congeners ; 

 it is placed on some horizontal branch of a large tree, usually 

 not far from the extremity. 



Eggs. Two in number, white. Axis, i 1-1*34 inch ; diam., 

 o'85-ro 



THE SAND-GROUSE. ORDER PTEROCLETES.* 



The Sand-Grouse hold an intermediate position between the 

 Pigeons and the Game-Birds, not only in external appearance, 

 but on account of their anatomical and osteological peculiari- 



* In the ninth volume of this Library Mr. W. R. Ogilvie Grant has 

 described all the Game-Birds, including the Sand-Grouse. He is the 

 acknowledged authority on these Orders of birds and I have therefore 

 merely given an epitome of the British species, founded on Mr. Grant's 

 work above-mentioned. Much of the information in the following pages 

 is a copy of Mr. Grant's work, for the simple reason that I have not 

 seen how to improve upon it. 



15 S 



