THE GAME BIRDS OF INDIA, BURMA AND CEYLON. 189 



speckled than Major Sparrow's eggs and have fewer of the very dark 

 rnarkings, though there are some of these present. They are also 

 rather more glossy but otherwise ranch the same in general 

 appearance. They were taken at Kotri, Sind, on the 16th May 

 1895 as were Mr. Dresser's eggs, which correspond with them also 

 in appearance. 



Coming next to the two eggs in the Tring Museum we find these 

 differ in being rather more blotchy in their markings. An Qgg of 

 senegallus taken in Mesopotamia, 15th May 1911, is a dull stone 

 ochre in colour, freckled and blotched with light sienna brown, the 

 biggest blotches being about "1" in breadth and the subordinate 

 markings are of purple grey, but little paler than the superior marks, 

 though they are more washed out looking ; they are equally distri- 

 buted throughout the surface, rather more numerous perhaps at the 

 centre. It is of the usual elliptical shape, one end having a faint 

 indication of a point, evidently abnormal. There is a distinct gloss 

 and the texture is close and smooth. It measures 43 mm. x 28'5 

 mm. 



The egg taken by Dr. Hartert, from an oviduct, on 22nd Apri 

 1899, is similar in general character but far paler and is probably, 

 not fully coloured ; it is a larger egg measuring 48*5 x 28 mm. 

 There is practically no gloss and the spots are even more sparse. 



Bulkley's eggs are fully described in the Journal and worth quot- 

 ing in full. He says : " E think it is worth recording the fact that 

 I have recently obtained the eggs of the Spotted Sand-Grouse (Pfe- 

 rocles senegallus). Mr. Fletcher, of the Salt Preventive Frontier 

 Force, living fourteen miles North of this, shot some of these birds 

 on the 1 9th instant and from three of them, one egg each was obtained. 

 Two of these eggs are now in my collection, the third having the 

 shell too soft to blow. The two eggs I have are pure white with the 

 shell smooth and glossy. The fact of the two eggs being white is, I 

 think, attributable to their having been taken from the birds perhaps 

 a day before they would ordinarily have been laid, for it is a fact that 

 the egg of some birds develop their colour after being laid and 

 coming into contact with the light. I have taken eggs from 

 Rain Quail which were pure white, whereas the eggs of this bird 

 when ordinarily found in the nest are profusely spotted and 

 sometimes boldly blotched with dark purple, the ground colour of 

 the eggs being yellowish. In the same way I have taken an egg 

 from a Florikan that was a very pale-blue and without any gloss, 

 whereas the ordinary colour of this bird's egg is sap-green and the 

 egg has a fine gloss over it. It is somewhat curious that the egg 

 referred to by Blanford and Hume should be coloured and yet with 

 little gloss, whereas my two eggs are pure white but decidedly glossy." 



The two eggs, one taken by Blanford and described by Hume and 

 the third, coloured egg in my own collection, agree in all parti- 



