THE SNOW-COCKS. 



THE Snow-Cocks are magnificent birds, 

 the size of a large fowl, confined to 

 the higher parts of the Himalayas. In 

 the two species which are found in India, 

 the sexes appear to be similar in plumage, 

 and there has been some controversy on 

 this subject. After carefully studying the 

 birds of this group in the British Museum, 

 of which there is a large series, I am of 

 opinion that the sexes are alike in colour. 

 In this group the male is very much 

 larger than the female, and the former is 

 furnished with a large blunt spur on each 

 leg. The tail is of fair size, rounded and 

 composed of as many as 20 or 22 feathers. 

 A lengthened patch behind the eye is 

 bare of feathers and is of a yellow colour 

 in the larger species, red in the smaller. 

 The first quill of the wing is very long, 

 reaching nearly to the tip of the wing; 

 and this character, combined with the 

 large number of tail-feathers, will suffice 

 to separate these birds from all the other 

 Indian game birds. 



