Sand-Grouse. 51 



The occurrence of this Sand-Grouse in 

 India is so rare that I can find no note 

 on the species by any Indian sportsman, 

 and I am obliged to quote the remarks 

 of sportsmen who have met with it in 

 Arabia and Africa. Major Yerbury, who 

 procured this bird near Aden, has a brief 

 note in which he informs us that when 

 he first met with it, he saw a flock con- 

 sisting of from eighty to a hundred 

 individuals ; subsequently he found it in 

 small flocks of four or five birds. Dr. W. 

 T. Blanford, who became well acquainted 

 with this species in Abyssinia, has some 

 very interesting information to give about 

 it, and I shall quote the whole of his 

 remarks : " This bird has precisely the 

 same habits as the closely allied Pt. 

 fasciatus of India. It is rarely if ever seen 

 on open sandy plains ; like Pt. exustus, 

 it keeps to bush and thin tree jungle, and 

 is usually found solitary, in pairs, or at 

 the most two or three pairs together. I 

 once came upon a considerable flock in 

 January, and possibly at that time these 

 birds may collect in large numbers ; but 

 in May, June, July and August, it was 

 rare to see more than four together, 

 except about watering-places. When dis- 

 turbed, the Sand-Grouse rises with a 



