THE GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. 637 



Grossoptilum ma7icMtricum. — Ogilvie-Grant, Hand-L. Game Birds, 

 I., p. 254 (1895). Sharpe, Hand-L., I., p. 35 (1898) ; Gates, Cat, 

 Eggs, B. M., I., p. 53 (1901). 



Vernacular names. — Hoke or Hoky (Chinese). Ho-chi (vide 

 Saurin.) 



Descrvption. — Adult Male and Female. — Crown velvety brown-black ; 

 tipper back, whole wings, neck and breast brown, dark and almost 

 black next the head and gradually paling posteriorly on the qnills 

 and back. Below in the same way the breast changes from deep 

 rich brown next the neck to pale ashy brown on the abdomen and 

 under tail-coverts. Lower back, rump and upper tail-coverts 

 dirty ashy white. Chin, throat and lengthened ear-coverts white, 

 generally gullied on the throat with yellowish. Central tail feathers 

 white with black shafts and black tips, the latter glossed with 

 purple, in each succeeding pair of feathers the white decreases in 

 extent so that from below the tail appears to be a purple brown or 

 black with merely the long disintegrated plumes of the central tail 

 feathers shining white. 



It is interesting to note that a female in the possession of Lord 

 Rothschild in the Tring MiTseum has a small amount of white on 

 second and third primaries near the bases of the outer webs. 



Colours of soft parts. — Naked space surrounding the eyes brilliant 

 scarlet red, bill reddish horny, dark tipped and more red at the 

 base near the nostrils ; leg;? red ; the claws reddish horny. 



Males with a short blunt spur aboat \" long, reddish at the base 

 and horny brown at the tip. 



Measurements. — Bill at front about J -7" (43*2 mm.) from 

 gape about 2" (50*8 mm.) or rather less, lengthened ear-coverts 

 from 1-75" (44-4 mm.) to 2-50" (63-5 mm); tarsus, 3-50" 

 (88-9 mm.) to 3-80" (96-5 mm.) ; tail, central feathers up to 26" 

 (660 mm.); generally about 22" (559 mm.) to 24" (609-6 mm.); 

 outermost feathers about 7*5" (190-5 mm.) to 8*5" (216 mm.); 

 wings between 11-75" (298-4 mm.) and 13-0" (230 mm.). 



Chicle. — Head fulvous, centre of crovra chestnut with two ill- 

 defined dark brown and black coronal stripes ; a dark brown streak 

 from the back of the. eye running through the ear-coverts to the 

 nape. Above chestnut brown indistinctly barred with black and 

 with two broad longitudinal bands of dirty white ; wings dull pale 

 brown more or less mottled and barred with white and fulvous. 

 Below pale dull grey ; flanks and thighs marked with pale brown 

 and diill fulvous. 



Distribution. — The Mountains of Manchuria and North-Eastern 

 China. 



It must be noted that although the original skin received by 

 Swinhoe came from Manchuria no others have since been obtained 

 there and Owston's collectors failed to obtain any there in 1908. 



