PODOCES 407 



ad. (Transcaspia). Upper parts blue-grey, the rump creamy vinous ; 

 chin, throat, and under tail-coverts white ; rest of under parts vinous 

 isabelline ; wings black and white ; tail, upper tail-coverts, a spot before 

 and behind the eye, and a large patch on the lower neck, black ; bill 

 plumbeous, becoming blackish towards the tip ; legs pale blue-grey ; iris 

 dark brown. Culmen 1*1, wing 4'6, tail 3*85, tarsus 1'7 inch. Sexes 

 alike. 



Hob. Transcaspia and Turkestan. 



A resident species, found chiefly where the saxaul bush 

 flourishes, and in sandy, barren districts. It is essentially a 

 ground bird and but seldom perches on a bush, but runs with 

 extreme swiftness and is not often seen on the wing. Its flight 

 is not unlike that of a Jay, and is usually but a few feet above 

 the ground, and is but short. Its note is peculiar, consisting of 

 a quick repetition of peculiarly modulated syllables, dsclii-dschi- 

 dschi. Its food consists of various kinds of insects and their 

 larvae, as well as seeds, especially those of the saxaul. 



Its nest, which is placed in a hole in the ground and but 

 seldom low down on a bush, is constructed of twigs and desert 

 plants, lined with fine grasses, strips of bark and hair, rarely a 

 few feathers. The eggs, usually 3 or 4 in number, are deposited 

 in February or March, and are pale greenish grey, spotted and 

 blotched with brownish grey and greyish olive, somewhat 

 resembling those of Perisoreus infaustus. In size they measure 

 about 1-07 by 0'77. 



579. PERSIAN GROUND-CHOUGH, 

 PODOCES FLESKII. 



Podoces pleskei, Zarudny, Ejeg. Zoolog. Mus. Imp. Akad. Nayk. i. 

 p. xii. (1896); id. Mem. Acad. Imp. Sc. St. Petersb. vol. x. 

 No. 1. p. 157 ; Harms. Orn. Monatsbericht. v. p. 181. 

 ad. (E. Persia). Differs from P. panderi in having the upper parts 

 warm rufous buff, not blue-grey, and the under parts paler rufous buff, the 

 chin, upper throat, and middle of abdomen white ; a black patch on the 

 lower neck and soft parts as in P. panderi. Culmen 1'52, wing 47, tail 

 3-5, tarsus 1'77 inch. The female is paler and lacks the black patch on 

 the throat, and the black behind the eye, the lores only being black. 



Hob. North Eastern Persia (Birdjand). 



In general habits it resembles P. panderi but differs in being 

 more silent, and is swifter on foot. It nests on or close to the 

 ground, but in one instance a nest was found in a tree fully 

 ten feet above the ground ; its nest resembles that of P. panderi, 



