2 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXIII. 



Pteroclurus alchata, 



(Sub-species — Cauda cuta .) 



The Large Pin-tailed Sand-Grouse. 



Tetrao alchata. — Linn, Sjst. Nat. i, p. 276 (1766), xii, Edit. 



Tetrao caudacutus. — S. G. Gmel Reise, iii, p. 93 (1774). 



Pterocles alchata. — Blytli, Oat. B. As. Soc, p. 249 ; Jerdon, B. of 

 Ind. iii, p. 500; Hume Str. Feath, i, p. 221 ; BleMdtt, ibid, iii, p. 

 268 ; Hume, Cat. No. 801 ; Blanford, E. Persia, ii, p. 271 ; Hume, 

 Str. Feath. vii, p. 161; Hume and Marsh. Game B. i, p. 77; 

 Butler, Oat. B. of Sind, p. 53 ; Barnes, B. of Bom., p. 297 ; id. Str. 

 Feath. ix, p. 458. Le Mess, Game-B., p. 58 ; Gates, Game B. i, p. 

 28; Bogie, Jour. B. N. H. S. xii, p. 529; Nurse, ibid, xiv,p. 388. 



Fteroclurus alchata. — Ogilvie-Grant, Oat. B. M. xxii, p. 7 ; Blan- 

 ford, Avi. India, iv, p. 58. ' 



Pteroclidurus alchaia. — Sharpe, Hand-1. i, p. 50 ; Gates, Oat. Eggs 

 B. M. xi, p. 75. 



Vernacular names. — None recorded. 



Pescription, Adult male. — Oentre of crown and nape grey, more or 

 less tinged with ochreous, forehead, lores, sides of head rich rufous 

 buff shading into ochreous on the neck all round. Ohin and throat 

 black and a narrow line of the same running from behind the eye 

 nearly as far as the nape. On the back the ochre of the neck merges 

 into olive ochre, a few of the feathers here and most of the scapulars 

 with a yellow subterminal spot and all margined with grey ; lower 

 back and rump yellow buff barred with black, upper tail coverts even 

 more yellow and the bars forming arrow heads on the longest. Tail 

 barred blackish and buff at the base, becoming dark olive ochre at the 

 tip and almost black on the prolonged portion, the outer tail feathers 

 are tipped yellow and subtipped dark blackish. Lesser median and 

 secondary coverts white with, broad bands of bright chestnut 

 chocolate near the tips and with black edges ; shoulder of wing, 

 bastard wing, primary coverts and primaries grey, the last named 

 darker on the inner webs and margined white, the outer web of the 

 first primary and all the shafts black ; outer secondaries blackish 

 brown, and bases white and edged with same ; innermost secondaries 

 like the scapulars ; secondary coverts, where visible, yellow-ochre 

 with blackish chocolate terminal bands. Breast pale pinkish rufous 

 divided from the yellow ochre of the neck and the white of the lower 

 breast and abdomen by. narrow black bands ; flanks axillaries, lesser 

 and median under wing coverts, and under tail coverts white ; under 

 shoulder and edge of wing dark ' grey, greater under wing coverts 

 pale grey. 



When once fully adult the males do not vary much in tone of 

 colouration but the number and size of the yellow spots on the 



