654 PTEROCLES 



Like its congeners it frequents sandy, desert localities, and is 

 extremely swift on the wing. In its general habits it resembles 

 P. senegallus, but its flight and cry, which latter is very loud, 

 are said to differ from those of all allied species. Its eggs, 2 

 or 3 in number, are deposited in June or July, and are ashy 

 white with a few pale brown markings, and measure about 1'5 

 by 1-06. 



906. PIN-TAILED SAND-GROUSE. 

 PTEROCLES ALCHATA. 



Pterocles alcliata (Linn.), Syst. Nat. i. p. 276 (1766) ; Dresser, vii. 

 p. 67, pi. 467 ; (Ogilvie Grant), Cat. B. Br. Mus. xxii. p. 7 ; (Blanf.) 

 F. Brit. Ind. Birds, iv. p. 58 ; P. pyrenaicus (Briss.), Orn. i. p. 195 ; 

 pi. xix. (1760) ; (Ogilvie Grant), Cat, B. Br. Mus. xxii. p. 9 ; P. 

 setarius (Temm.) Pig. and Gall. iii. p. 256 (1815) ; Gould, B. of E. 

 iv. pi. 258. 



Ganga cata, French. ; Co-rti$ol, Portug. ; Ganga, Span, and 

 Ital. ; el Guett'-ha, Arab. 



ad. (Spain). Crown, nape, and hind neck dark brownish ash-grey 

 washed with yellowish ; back and scapulars brownish ash,, broadly tipped 

 with golden yellow ; primaries bluish ash externally ; secondaries dull 

 white on inner and ashy brown margined with white on outer web, the 

 elongated innermost dark brown ; smaller outer larger, and median 

 coverts bluish ash at base, then pale dove- blue, then chocolate-red 

 bordered with pale sulphur, and with a narrow black apical border ; 

 inner large coverts dark ash, then golden yellow margined with black'; 

 rump and upper tail-coverts, and tail light yellowish narrowly barred with 

 black, the elongated middle tail-feathers black on the terminal portion, the 

 rest broadly tipped with white ; sides of head warm orange, passing on the 

 neck into olivaceous buff ; chin, upper throat, and a broad line behind the 

 eye jet black ; a broad chestnut-red band bordered with black passes 

 across the upper breast ; rest of under parts white ; under tail-coverts 

 blackish grey barred with yellowish and broadly tipped with white ; beak 

 dull horn-brown, feet greyish brown ; iris dark brown ; bare orbital space 

 dull lead-grey. Culmen 0'65, wing 7'3, tail 5'3, tarsus T15 inch. The 

 female has the chin and centre of throat white, not black, the Clipper parts 

 yellowish barred with black and ashy grey, and there are three black 

 bands across the lower throat and breast. 



Hob. Southern Europe ; North Africa ; Asia Minor,. east to 

 Central Asia ; North-west India in the winter. 



In habits this Sand -Grouse does not appreciably differ from 

 P. arenarius, and like that bird is wild and shy, flies very swiftly, 



