10 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXII. 



air with equal ease and grace ; but the beats of their wings are 

 never accompanied by the clapping sound made by the wings of 

 the pigeons meeting overhead when those birds suddenly change 

 their elevation or direction. 



Their note is described by some writers as a clucking sound 

 difficult to write down in Avords ; other observers call it a soft 

 double chuck or chuckle which is uttered both when on the wing 

 and when on the ground, and when feeding and drinking. 

 Indeed, even when the birds are indulging in their midday rest, 

 a few will be seen constant^ moving about and chuckling softly 

 to themselves. 



Their diet is mainly a vegetarian one, consisting for the most 

 part of seeds and grain, and to a very small extent of young 

 shoots and buds ; but they will also eat small insects of all kinds, — 

 white ants, beetles, lav£e, etc., — but never, as far as I can 

 ascertain, worms or similar items of food. 



When they first arrive in India, the flocks consist entirely of 

 one sex, either male birds only or females only ; biit as the season 

 advances the flocks seem to become mixed and some time before 

 they take their departure, they will be found to contain about 

 equal numbers of either sex. I have been told that the first few 

 flocks to reach India will invariably be found to be those of males, 

 but, though this is probabl}^ correct, I have not as yet been able 

 to verify it. 



For the table thej are generally said to be good, though, as 

 usual, opinions differ somewhat on this point. Jerdon writes : 

 " The flesh is mixed brown and white on the breast, though 

 somewhat tough when fresh, and perhaps requiring to be skinned, 

 it is reckoned delicious eating ; indeed, one writer says that it is 

 the finest game-bird for the table in India." 



Whitaker's description of the habits of Pterocles arenarius (Birds 

 of Tunisia, p. 236) in Tunis agrees well with that given by Hume; 

 he writes : — " The present species is eminently a denizen of the 

 plains, and more particularly semi-desert plains, where sandy 

 hillocks, strewn with stones and dotted with patches of Haifa-grass 

 are a characteristic feature of the country. The tops of these 

 hillocks or mounds are favourite resorts of the birds during the 

 middle of the day for resting, or basking in the sun, and possibly 

 also for roosting at night. In these spots the birds remain quietly 

 for the greater part of the day and do not leave them except for 

 drinking and feeding purposes. Like other Sand-Grouse, P. 

 arenarius is chiefly to be seen during the earlj^ morning and 

 evening hours, when on its way to and from its drinking and feed- 

 ing haunts. It is said to drink regularly twice a day, but in Tunisia 

 I never observed the bird drinking except in the morning. To 

 reach the water they often travel a great distance, but no doubt do 



