172 A FIRST LIST OF THE 



as far as the nostrils and the basal two-thirds of the lower 

 mandible, being" dark fleshy yellow ; irides, pale reddish hazel ; 

 eyelids, yellowish grey." 



The birds are of about the same size, and somewhat resemble 

 the other Francolins of India. The following are measurements 

 taken from the dried skins of males : — 



Length, 12 to 13 ; wing, 5'75 to 6'25; tail, from vent, 3 to 35 ; 

 tarsus, 1*8 ; bill, from gape, 1 to 1/1 ■ female, slightly smaller. 



Male : Lores, and a stripe under the eye, ear coverts, chin and 

 throat, white, often slightly soiled, or rufescent ; feathers impend- 

 ing nostrils, with a stripe over the eye and ear coverts to the 

 nape, another stripe from the gape or base of the upper mandi- 

 ble (dividing ear coverts, &c, from throat) , black; a fulvous fawn 

 streak above the black eye streak, generally meeting on the 

 forehead in front, and again on the occiput; crown and occiput dark 

 brown ; the feathers, more or less edged with pale fulvous ; the 

 neck all round, wing coverts, sides and breast, black, with a row of 

 oval white or buffy spots on each web of every feather; on the 

 back of the upper neck these spots are smaller and less perfect, 

 extending sometimes quite to the margins of the feathers, and 

 are often tinged fulvous, the feathers of the centre of the back 

 and of the upper neck being narrowly margined at the tips with 

 fulvous fawn, and of the lower neck being tipped with rufous ; 

 on the breast the spots are somewhat larger, very perfect, and 

 purer white ; on the sides they are largest of all, and often 

 strongly tinged with rufescent buff ; on the coverts the spots are 

 generally a pale rufescent buff. The scapulars and interscapu- 

 lary region are black, mingled with pure chestnut, the longer 

 chestnut feathers of the scapulars having towards the tip on 

 the outer, and in some cases on both webs, a broad black 

 streak, band, or patch, containing an oval yellowish white spot. 

 One or two of the tertiaries are like the secondaries, which are 

 deep brown with conspicuous, pale, buff, transverse bars on the 

 outer webs, and a freckling of the same color all along the 

 margin ; and in the case of the latest tertiaries, a chestnut tinge 

 towards the tips, and traces of freckling or barring on the inner 

 webs also ; the primaries have a conspicuous row of pale, buffy 

 white spots on the outer webs, and a row of very similar spots 

 down the middle of the inner web, the ground color being hair 

 brown, paling somewhat on the tips and the inner margins of 

 the inner webs. The lower back and rump are black, very narrowly 

 and regularly barred with white. The upper tail coverts are 

 similar, but the black mostly replaced by fulvous brown. The 

 tail feathers are black, but with a few very narrow transverse 

 white bars towards their bases, in some specimens extending 

 almost to the tips ; the flanks and abdomen are buffy or rufous 

 white, or pure buff, with dark shafts and a series of broad, more 



