THE GAME BIRDS OF INDIA, BURMA AND CEYLON. 431 



Grouse as to its habits, etc., when in India, Lieut.-Colonel J. M. 

 Anderson informed Mr. E. Gates that he " shot several Pterocles 

 coronatus in October in the Western desert near the hills of Karachi: 

 they were in flocks of from six to twenty and were very tame: 

 very different to P. arenarius, which was found one of the most 

 difficult birds to approach." 



St. John in the Ibis for 1889 speaking of this grouse writes: — 

 "This is the only small Sand-Grouse of Southern Afganistan, and is 

 very generally diffused, though nowhere numerous. It is commonly 

 seen in small parties of a dozen or so, and is more active on the 

 ground than other Sand-Grouse, running about and picking up seeds 

 like a Partridge, whereas P. alchata and P. arenarius are leisurely 

 and stay id in their gait." 



" It breeds in the Helmund Desert, for I found it common be- 

 tween Kandahar and the river in July." 



Mr. R. H. C. Tufnell has a rather curious note on this bird's 

 flight; he says "Sir William Merewether tells me that the flight and 

 cry of P, corooiatus is quite different from those of all the other 

 species. They have a curious fluttering flight, and appear often to 

 hover in the air, especially before settling, and their cry is a twitter- 

 ing one." This, however, does not agree well with Whitaker's 

 account of the same bird's flight. This is contained in the best and 

 fullest account of the habits of the Ooronetted Sand-Grouse I have 

 come across, and I, therefore, though it is written of the African sub- 

 species, quote it in extenso. 



First in his " Birds of Tunisia, " p. 243, he says of P. coronatus 

 that it is " not at all uncommon in Southern Tunisia, and it also 

 occurs in the Algerian Sahara and in Tripoli." 



" It's range in the Tunisia appears to be confined to districts south 

 of the Atlas, where, however, it is in some parts abundant." 



"Then, in the Ibis for 1894, Whitaker writes in the article to 

 which I refer, " During my journey I met with it at only one place, 

 viz., at Oglet Alima... where it was plentiful, coming in flocks of 

 from ten to fifty birds to drink at the water holes made by the Arabs 

 in the dry river-beds. I saw it first on March 12th, when the flight 

 commenced about 7 a.m., and lasted till nearly 10 o'clock, after which 

 hour the birds disappeared. During the remainder of the day I only 

 met with an occasional straggler in the plains near Oglet-Alima, and 

 think the bulk of the birds must have gone further south towards the 

 desert, nor did they return to drink here in the evening. The following 

 morning, however, they were at the water-holes again in full force. 

 They are very strong on the wing and fly at a considerable height, 

 uttering a loud clucking note all the time, something like that of 

 the Common Fowl. So loud is the note and so high do the birds 

 fly, that they can often be distinctly heard when scarcely visibly to 

 the naked eye. Though very shy and difficult to approach they do 



