392 Notes on the Birds of the Sambhiir Lake Sj- its vicinity. 



and again settled down near the water. I again fired and killed 

 five with one barrel, and when the birds returned I killed three 

 more. After the third shot, none returned. Of the ten birds 

 shot four were females, and on dissection I found that the eggs 

 were far advanced. In two birds the yolks were well formed, 

 and one had the shell pretty tough, but without any coloring 

 on it. 



I asked the Thakoor to assist one of my servants in looking 

 for the nests, and the first was found on the 3rd April. I have 

 since obtained fresh eggs in May. The nest, I was told, was 

 simj)ly a hollow scraped in the ground with a number of small 

 pieces of stone round the edge, and some loose grass for a 

 lining. 



The number of eggs in each nest varies from two to three, 

 but in one nest four were found. When fresh, the eggs 

 vary from a deep to very pale salmon color, but when blown, 

 the color changes in a few days to a rich cream color, and all are 

 pretty uniformly spotted and speckled with light lavender and 

 rusty. They are of a blunt oval form and measure in length 

 about 1"4, and in breadth nearly one inch. 



802. — Pterocles exustus, Temm. 



The common sand grouse is found here throughout the year 

 in great numbers. It breeds here, and I have taken the nests 

 in April and May. 



I have seen a nest here at the root of a tuft of sarpat grass, 

 the leaves of which protected the bird from the sun^s rays. The 

 nest had a lining of loose pieces of grass, and contained three eggs. 



803.-— Pavo cristatus, L. 



In Rajputana this bird is considered sacred, and the shooting 

 of it is prohibited ; it is consequently very common and very 

 tame. It breeds in the beginning of August, and when the 

 young birds are hatched, the parent bird keeps them well out of 

 sight, but as they grow up, no danger being anticipated, the 

 young are brought on to the roads and about the temples without 

 any fear. 



822.— Ortygornis ponticeriana, Gmel. 



This species is very common everywhere round the lake. I 

 have taken its eggs during May. I have seen this bird take 

 three separate flights and each time settle in a tree. 



827..— Perdicula asiatica, Lath. 



Not common. I obtained a few specimens of these birds from 

 the scrub jungles near the Koocliamun hills. The young males 



