TETRAOGALLUS 680* 



963. CASPIAN SNOW-PARTRIDGE. 



TETRAOGALLUS CASPIUS. 



Tetmoyalluj caspius (S. G. Gmel.), Reise Russl. i\ r . p. 67, pi. x. (1784) - r 

 Gould, B. of As. vii. pi. 29 ; Raddo, Orn. Oauc. p. 343, pi. xxii. ; 

 Ogilvie Grant, ("'at. I>. Br. Mus. xxii. p. 108 ; Dresser, vii. p. 241 - r 

 pi. 493. 



( T t'-Kdd'd-, in the Taurus: Kaljk-i-dareh , Persian. 



3 (. (Taurus). Differs from T. caucasicus in having the head, neck r 

 and upper parts paler and tinged with buff, the larger wing-coverts bluer 

 and less vermiculatcd on the basal portion ; sides of head and neck creamy 

 white, the space below the eye pale blue-grey with a darker blue-grey stripe 

 down the side of the neck ; feathers of lower throat and upper breast 

 tipped with ashy buff, becoming ashy buff on the sides, and on the fore- 

 part boldly spotted with black ; rest of breast ashy buff, vermiculated 

 with blackish grey ; middle of abdomen sooty slate ; crissum dull buff ; 

 under tail-coverts creamy white ; bill yellowish horn, paler at the base \ 

 legs rich orange-red ; iris dark brown ; bare space round and below the 

 eye brilliant Indian yellow ; nostrils orange-red. Culmen 1'7, wing 11 '8 r 

 tail 8'0, tarsus 2'6 inch. The female is rather smaller and duller,- has the 

 crown slightly marked with light buff and dark grey, the stripes on the sides- 

 of the neck and the band on the lower throat buffer in tinge, the latter ver- 

 miculated with giey, and both mottled with black, soft parts duller tlmn 

 irTthe male, and the spur"on the hind tarsus wanting. 



Hal). The Taurus Mountains, west to the Gok or Geyee 

 Mountains, east to Transcaspia, Armenia, Kurdistan, and 

 Northern Persia, north to the Caucasus. 



Like T. caucasicus the present species inhabits the more ele- 

 vated portions of the mountains, and is extremely shy and wary. 

 It feeds on bulbous roots, young grass blades, moss and scale-fern, 

 and the young are probably fed on insects. The call-note is a 

 full clear prolonged whistle ending with an abrupt jerk, and the 

 male utters a loud cackle which is continued during flight. It 

 breeds late in April, the nest being a deep round hollow scraped 

 in the stony soil, slightly lined with dry grass and a few feathers, 

 and the eggs, 6 to 9 in number, resemble those of T. caucasicus 

 both in size and colour, but are, if anything, a trifle darker in 

 ground colour. 



