SAND GROUSE. Pterocles bicincrus. 



of a stone, ready to spring off the moment you show an indication of hostility. If you 

 throw a stone at him, he rises, utters his call, and is immediately joined by all the 

 individuals around, which to your surprise, if it be your first rencontre, you see spring up 

 one by one from the bare ground." A flock of these birds flitting along the sides of a 

 mountain has a very curious effect, their speckled bodies being hardly visible as they sweep 

 along, and when they alight they vanish from view as if by magic. In the winter, too, 

 when the snow lies thickly on the ground, the Ptarmigan assumes a white coat, hardly 

 distinguishable from the snow. When perceived by a hawk, the Ptarmigan has been seen 

 to dash boldly into the deep snow, and to find a refuge under the white covering until ite 

 enemy had left the spot. 



In the winter, the plumage of the male Ptarmigan is almost wholly white, the 

 exceptions being a small patch behind the eye, the shafts of the primaries, and the bases 

 of the fourteen exterior tail feathers, which are black. There is also a patch of red, bare 

 skin round the eye. In the summer, the black retains its position, but the white is 

 mottled and barred with black and grey. The length of the adult male is rather more than 

 fifteen inches. 



The SAND GROUSE are mostly found in the sandy deserts of Africa and Asia, though 

 one or two species are inhabitants of Europe. The wings of all these birds are long and 

 pointed, denoting considerable powers of flight, and in many species the two central 

 feathers of the tail are much elongated and project beyond the others. 



These birds are mostly gregarious, assembling in large flocks, but still retaining a 

 division into pairs. One species, the Pin-tailed Sand Grouse, is found in such vast 

 multitudes that they are killed by boys, who arm themselves with sticks and fling these 

 rude missiles at the winged armies. It has been suggested by some writers that this bird 

 is the quail of Scripture. The Sand Grouse runs with considerable rapidity ; and as the 

 legs are very short, and the body consequently carried close to the ground, the effect 

 produced very much resembles the toy mice which are wound up like watches, and run 

 about the floor. When coming directly towards the observer, the bird has a very comical 

 aspect, the feet being hardly visible beneath the broad body, and the steps being very 

 short, quick and tripping, 



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