746 CHETTUSIA 



ad. (S. Russia). Forehead, a broad streak above the eye passing 

 round the nape, chin, upper throat, lower flanks, under wing surface, 

 upper and under tail-coverts, thighs, secondaries, larger wing-coverts, sides 

 of rump, and outer rectrices white ; crown, lores, a narrow streak behind 

 the eye, primaries, and outer primary coverts jet black ; upper parts 

 brownish ashy grey, the hind neck paler ; tail white with a broad sub- 

 terminal" black band ; neck and breast ashy grey, the latter darker ; 

 abdomen black but posteriorly rich chestnut-red ; legs and beak black ; 

 iris brown. Culmen 1'5, wing 8'1, tail 3'6, tarsus 2*4, bare part of tibia 

 1 ! inch. Sexes alike, and the winter dress similar. Young birds have 

 the crown brown marked with black, the white on the head tinged with 

 buff, the upper parts darker and with pale margins, and the black and 

 chestnut on the abdomen wanting. 



Hal. South-eastern Europe; of rare occurrence in South 

 Spain, Italy, once at Nice, once in Hungary, and once as far 

 north as Lancashire ; Africa in winter as far south as Kordofan 

 and Senaar ; Asia Minor and Central Asia, north and east to the 

 Yenesei, south in winter to North-western India, Ceylon, and 

 Arabia, 



In habits it much resembles the Lapwing, and frequents the 

 uplands, the steppes, grassy and sandy plains, and cultivated 

 ground, is somewhat shy, and not noisy, only occasionally 

 uttering its peculiar cry, kretsch, kretsch, kretsch. Its food con- 

 sists of insects of various kinds, especially coleoptera and grass- 

 hoppers. It nests on hilly steppes, the nest being a hollow 

 scratched in the ground, and lined with dry grass. The eggs, 

 4 in number, are deposited late in May, and resemble those of 

 V. vulgaris, but as a rule the ground-colour is paler and the 

 markings less bold. 



1039. WHITE-TAILED PLOVER. 

 CHETTUSIA LEUCURA. 



Chettusia leucura (Licht.), in Eversm. Reise nach Buchara, p. 137, 

 (1823) ; Dresser, vii. p. 531, pi. 529 ; id. Ibis, 1902, p. 177, pi. vi. 

 figs. 1, 2 (eggs) ; (Sharpe), Cat. B. Br. Mus. xxiv. p. 171 ; Blanf. 

 F. Brit. Ind. Birds, iv. p. 233 ; C. villotcei, Audouin, Expl. somm. 

 Descr. de 1'Egypte, p. 388, pi. vi. fig. 2 (1825) ; Shelley, B. of 

 Egypt, p. 233 ; V.flavipes, Lesson, Traite d'Orn. p. 542 (1831). 



Chizi, in Cabul ; Chiric, in Afghanistan. 



<$ ad. (Turkestan). Upper parts brown with a lilac tinge on the back 

 and wings ; upper tail-coverts, tail, most of the secondaries, flanks, under 

 wing-coverts and upper throat white ; primaries black ; forehead and sides 



