Notes on the Birds of the Sambhur Lake Sj' its vicinity. 391 



797.— Turtur humilis, Tem, 



Very common. Breeds liere throughout the year. 



799. — Pterocles arenarius, Fallas, 



This bird is with us in very large- numbers during" the cold 

 weather. I have repeatedly watched it during the early morn- 

 ing, and have never seen it drink till about nine o^clock. The 

 bird-catchers here catch this bird by throwing a net over a 

 flock in the dusk. 



800. — Pterocles fasciatus, Scopoli. 



This very beautiful bird is common about all the low ranges 

 of hills. Sometimes it is met with under the shade of the " tor" 

 {Euphorbia Royleand) about half-way up the hills^ but^ as a 

 rule, small parties are generally flushed at or near the base of 

 the hills where the ground is mostly stony. My first acquaint- 

 ance Math this bird was made on the 4th March 1871. I had 

 been beating the hill sides for pig and samber all day in com- 

 pany with Thakoor Kesree Slug of Koochamun — the fiuest 

 specimen of a native gentleman it has ever been my good 

 fortune to meet — when on our return home I noticed a number 

 of these birds rising up before our horses, as we crossed a patch 

 of stony ground. On my asking the Thakoor if they were rare 

 about his hills, he replied that they were generally to be found 

 iu twos and threes, but that if I liked he would take me to the 

 drinking place of the birds which was only a little way off" our 

 road home, and there I should see them coming in hundreds to 

 drink. Accordingly we at once started for the pond. The 

 patch of water — it could hardly be called a pond — was 

 situated in a tope of babool trees close to a large pucca well. We 

 reached the place about half an hour before sunset, and then I 

 observed a few pigeons and doves, a wagtail and a redstart 

 coming to drink ; about half an hour after the sun had set, or 

 when it was dusk to all intents and purposes, I heard the peculiar 

 cluck, cluck, yN\\\(^ fasciatus makes when rising, and some six or 

 seven birds flew rapidly through the clump under the babool trees 

 and settled down on the bank about eight feet from the water. 

 There they lay perfectly still for two or three seconds^ and then 

 all of them commenced a rapid run down to the water. By this 

 time others came flocking in, and in about five minutes I could 

 see that there were about fifty birds collected. It was now 

 so dark that, although only about twenty yards distant from them, 

 I required my binoculars to see the birds. 



I fired at a group of six and killed two, the other birds flew 

 off" uttering their clucking call; all flew very low round the tope 



