14 



THE OOLOGIST. 



THE SAND GKOUSE. 

 {Pterocles.) 



BY FRED. J. DAVIS. 



HE family of Sand Grouse consists of 

 five species, differing so fromthe.oth- 

 er Grouse as almost to merit the for- 

 mation of a different tribe of birds. They 

 inhabit the sandy plains and desert wastes 

 of northern Africa, southern Europe and 

 Asia. Their range in Europe is not so 

 extensive as in Africa and Asia, and con- 

 sequently they are more rare. 



The characterfstics of the Pterocles are : 

 short body ; breast much arched ; and neck 

 of medium length. Tarsi and toes small, 

 the latter sometimes connected as far as the 

 first joint with skin ; the wing bones are 

 short, but quills long ; tail of foui'teen to 

 eighteen feathers, rounded or wedge-shaped 

 at the end in some species, the two centre 

 feathers forming a ' 'pin-tail ;" feathers are 

 short, rounded, and have a smooth appear- 

 ance, of nearly the same color as the earth 

 or sand in the regions they inhabit. 



The most common of the Indian species 

 is the Common Sand Grouse or Indian 

 Rock Pigeon {Pterocles exustus). The 

 principal color of this bird is a beautiful 

 reddish cream, shading into yellow on the 

 face, cheeks, and wing-coverts, and a bright 

 green gloss on the back ; a narrow black 

 line passing across the breast from each side 

 of the throat separates the darker colors of 

 the lower breast and belly, from the lighter 

 shades of the upper part ; the tarsi feathers 

 and lower tail-coverts ai*e cream color ; 

 primaries black, all except the three outer- 

 most having the tip and inner web white ; 

 wing-coverts tipped with a line of reddish- 

 brown ; central tail-feathers of a yellowish 

 shade, and long and pointed, the outer Oi es 

 are dark brown striped with a lighter shade ; 

 the eye is brown, and tlie bare spot which 

 surrounds it lemon yellow. This Grouse 

 is thirteen inches long and twenty-three in 

 extent ; the wing seven and a half inches, 

 and the tail from five to six inches long. In 

 the female the markings are darker than in 



the male ; head and throat grayish ; the 

 band across the breast lighter ; the belly 

 striped black-brown ; the central tail-feath- 

 ers of the female are only a little longer 

 than the rest. 



This bird is common in all parts of India 

 except the wooded districts never occurring 

 in Lower Bengal and Malabar. It is com- 

 mon in central and western Asia and north- 

 ern Africa, sometimes occurring in Europe. 

 The principal habitation of this Grouse is 

 bare, open plains and ploughed or fallow 

 lands. They feed in the mornmg and drink 

 regularly between eight and nine in the 

 morning, often being collected in thousands 

 on the bank of some river or tank. In hot 

 w^eather they drink again at four o'clock p : 

 M. When flying they utter a loud call, 

 which may be heard at a great distance. 

 They are a wary bird and difficult to ap- 

 proach at all times, especially so when in 

 large flocks. They breed in southern India 

 from December to May,, and in northern 

 India later. They make no nest, but lay 

 their eggs upou the bare ground. The eggs 

 are three or four in number, nearly round, 

 and of a greenish color spotted thickly with 

 brown and lilac. It feeds on seeds and grains 

 and although somewhat tough when first 

 shot is excellent eating if kept long enough, 

 as it has a good game flavor. 



The Ganga or Large Sand Grouse 

 (yPierocles arenarius) , is described as fol- 

 lows : Head reddish— gray, deeper on the 

 nape ; the mantle spotted light or dark yel- 

 low and gray, with a round yellow spot on 

 the tip* of each feather ; throat yellow, bor- 

 dered with a black baud on the lower part ; 

 breast reddish— gray with a clearly marked 

 streak of black or brownish-black on its 

 surface ; abdomen same color as the streak ; 

 primaries gray or grayish- blue, tip- 

 ped with brownish-black ; secondaries white 

 at the base ; some of the upper wing- 

 coverts unspotted ochre yellow ; lower cov- 

 erts white ; the two central feathers of tail 

 reddish-brown striped with black, the oth- 

 ers deep gray tipped with white ; tarsi feath- 

 ers brwonish-yellow. This bird is thirteen 

 and a half inches long, and twenty-six or 



