THE GAME BIRDS OF INDIA, BURMA AND CEYLON. 19 



went to look at them the following morning the whole lot were 

 dashing with wild flights and shrieks of terror in all directions. 

 It was only prompt and resolute action with a landing net and 

 subsequently with a pair of scissors that put a stop to their 

 apparently determined efforts at suicide. 



"The Pin-tailed Sand-Grouse soon become comparatively tame and 

 run about on the sand with contented little "crooning" cries. I have 

 noticed thej^ are much steadier when divided as, when a lot are 

 together, the alarm note of one at once sets off the others attempting to 

 fly. So far I have seen no signs of nesting, though I have divided 

 them into several different enclosures in hopes they will do so. " 



What constitutes the breeding season of the Common Sand-Grouse 

 is, it must be admitted, practically impossible to determine and the 

 utmost one can say is that more breed in some months than in 

 others and even thus we must hedge and allow that what are the 

 favourite months in one place need not be so in another place no 

 great distance away. For instance, if we take the three places Sirsa, 

 Hissar, and Hansi, all close together in the South of the Punjab, we 

 find that the British Museum has a series of no less than 75 eggs from 

 round about these towns which were taken in the following months: — 



March 9 



April 23 



May 6 



June ... ... 5 



July 9 



August ... ... 



September ... ... 8 



and 35 are not dated. This does not help us much but would seem 

 to infer that they do not lay in the cold weather. If we then 

 turn to Hume's "Nests and Eggs" we find Khan Nizam-oo-deen, 

 Ivhan Bahadur, took eggs at or near Sirsa on the following dates : — 

 1869 1870 



January 



February 3rd, 24th. 



March 1st, 4th, 12th, 21st. 



April 21st, 22nd, 27th, 28th. 



May 8th & 25th. 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 15th, 28th, 



June 16th, 17th, 30th. 11th, 15th, 21st, 30th. 



July 1st, 2nd, 5th, 10th, 23rd. 



11th, 12th. 



August 



September 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 



7th, 10th ' 

 October 3rd, 22nd. 



November 24th. 



December 7th, 20th. 



