38 SAVAGE SVANETIA. 



those of their cousins in Daghestan, but this 

 is probably owing to the comparative scarcity 

 of the lammero;eier and other biof birds of 

 prey in Svanetia and their great numbers in 

 Daghestan. 



The snow partridge never seems even in 

 winter to come much below the level of the 

 wood Ime ; the lowest elevation at which I 

 ever saw one beino; about four thousand feet. 

 At Lapur in August I saw several coveys of 

 young birds, strong, and well able to fly, 

 clucking and chattering on the moraine, from 

 which you could hardly distinguish them. 

 Their cry when disturbed is a kind of whistle, 

 and this too seems to be their call note, but 

 they have another note, used apparently for 

 conversational purposes amongst themselves 

 when excited or feeding. The cock bird has 

 a habit of spreading his tail, fan-shaped, over 

 his back, and executing a kind of step dance 

 like the old black cock, but I was rather sur- 



