662 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVII. 



Distribution. — From Kiimaon and Garhwal throughout the Hima- 

 layas to the extreme East of Assam, North of the Brahmapootra, 

 from the level of the broken ground up to an elevation of about 8,000 

 feut. 



The boundary between East and West would appear to be the Brah- 

 mapootra or the Dibong ; birds obtained for me by Mr. Needham, east 

 of the former river, though perhaps rather indeterminate, were nearer 

 to intermedia than to true rufogularis, and birds obtained by Dr. H. W. 

 Coltart and myself from the hills east and south of the Brahmapootra 

 in Lakhimpur were certainly intermedia. 



Nidification. — The Kufous -throated Hill Partridge breeds throughout 

 its range at all heights from the foot of the plains up to 8,000 feet, at 

 which height Mr. W. P. Masson found it nesting on the Singlo Range 

 beyond Darjiling. In the Dapla Hills and the Western Abor Country 

 it ranges up to some 5,000 .feet commonly, but wanders up at 1 east 

 2,000 feet higher than this from time to time in the hottest weather. 



It breeds in all kinds of forests and jungle. Its eggs have been 

 taken by Mr. H. Stevens in evergreen forest in rocky broken groimd, 

 with an undergro^vth of moss, ferns and bracken ; Mr. W. P. Masson 

 found it on similar ground round about Darjiling ; Mr. A. M. Primrose 

 found its nest near Kurseong in tea cultivation and in scrub jungle 

 as well as forest. Its f ggs have also baen found both in grassland and 

 bamboo jungle, but at present we have hardly sufhcient data to enable 

 us to decide as to what is really its favourite form of cover during this 

 season. In the lower parts of its range it btgms to breed in the middle 

 or early part 'of April, and continues well on into June, but in the 

 higher ranges few eggs will be found until early May and more often 

 in the middle and end of that month, whilst a few may be found as 

 late as July. 



The nest itself varies very greatly, but I have had very few detailed 

 descriptions of it. Most of my correspondents describe the nest as a 

 mere depression in the ground well filled with grass, sometimes this 

 is just loosely placed in it, at other times it is worked into quite a 

 matted pad some inches thick. Mr. Masson, however, found near 

 Darjiling a well-made nest of grass, partly domed and densely lined 

 with soft grass. In this case the nest was placed in coarse grass 

 about a couple of feet high just outside the forest in dense scrub. His 

 other nests were quite simple pads of grass in hollows amongst 

 bracken and ferns. 



The eggs are, I think, most often four or five in number but as many 

 as eight have been recorded and I have Imown three hard set. 



They are, as indeed are those of aU the Hill Partridges, an extremely 

 pure china white, often with a fair amount of gloss though this is 

 seldom very highly developed. 



The texture is stout, close and fine, the surface being very smooth. 

 In shape they are modified p3n:'iform or oval with the smaller end well 



