Francolins. 157 



North of this imaginary and approximate 

 line, the Black Francolin occurs from 

 Sind to Bengal, ascending the Himalayas 

 in summer up to 7000 feet. It also 

 extends through Assam and the country 

 south of the Bhramaputra down to 

 Manipur. Outside our limits it is found 

 as far west as Palestine and Cyprus. 



" It is," says Mr. Hume, " in the valleys 

 of our larger rivers, where population is 

 not very dense, and where high grass and 

 tamarisk (J/iao) jungle are interspersed with 

 cultivation, that the Black Partridge will 

 be met with in greatest abundance. . . . 



" But though they prefer such localities, 

 and the water and the low-lying lands do 

 seem a great attraction to them, numbers 

 may be found in widely different localities, 

 as, for instance, in the scrub bush jungle 

 about the bases of the Mewat hills (the 

 northern horn, if I may use the word, of 

 the Arvalis), in the Gurgaon district, where 

 every place is as dry as an old bone. 



" Again you may find them in fields 

 of all kinds, irrigated or not young 

 mustard fields especially, if the environ- 

 ment be suitable, being favourite resorts. 



" But whether in hills or plains, you 

 need never hope to find more than a 

 straggler or two, unless there be in the 



