172 Manual of the Game Birds of India. 



to June, and again from September to 

 November. The eggs are usually laid in 

 a shallow depression, well concealed 

 under a bush, or in a large tuft of high 

 grass, and more or less neatly and thickly 

 lined with grass. The eggs vary in 

 number from six to nine, and are spotless, 

 pale buff. They are oval, a good deal 

 pointed towards one end, and glossy. 

 They vary in length from 1*2 to 1*42 in 

 length and from '95 to 1*12 in breadth. 



In this bird the forehead is chestnut 

 and the crown umber-brown with darker 

 shaft-streaks. A band over .the eye and 

 the cheeks is pale rufous. The chin and 

 throat are buff surrounded by an inter- 

 rupted black band or series of spots. 

 The sides of the neck are delicately 

 barred with black and white. The whole 

 upper plumage, the visible parts of the 

 closed wings, the tail-coverts and the 

 middle tail-feathers are umber-brown, 

 dashed with chestnut, especially on the 

 back and wings, and everywhere barred 

 with pale buff. The first ten quills of the 

 wing are brown with a little grey mottling 

 towards the base of the outer webs, 

 The tail-feathers, except the middle pair, 

 are chestnut, becoming black towards 

 the extremity and tipped with buff. The 



