ORDER GALLING. 263 



have some affinity with those of the pintado. The flesh of 

 this genus is very succulent, and agreeable to the taste. 



The body of these birds is a little oval and compact. To 

 the rounded head is attached an oblong bill, rather strong, 

 conical and curved, and more wide than high at the base. 

 The upper mandible is slightly inclined, curved strongly 

 towards the point, and covers the lower. The nostrils are 

 basal, projecting, and half-closed by a vaulted and naked 

 membrane ; the feet are naked, and armed, in the male fran- 

 colin, with one or two spurs, and in the partridges proper, 

 provided with a tuberosity, more or less apparent. The toes 

 are four in number, and the front ones united at the base by 

 a short membrane ; the wings are short and rounded ; the 

 three external remiges, which are the shortest, are equally 

 graduated ; the fourth and fifth are the longest ; the tail is 

 short, inclining towards the ground, and very slightly gra- 

 duated. It varies in the number of quills, according to the 

 different species. 



We should have noticed at page 356, under the division 

 of ptarmigan, the figure of the Louisiana Grous, or Ptarmi- 

 gan, from a specimen in the Museum at Philadelphia. The 

 forehead, neck, before, and breast, are dingy ; the hind head, 

 nape, and back part of neck, slate-coloured, with white 

 meshes ; the mantle is dark chocolate, with numerous small 

 darker transverse lines ; the quills and tails are blackish, the 

 former white-edged, and the latter with several regular 

 lozenge-shaped white spots. It inhabits the province from 

 which it is named. 



The name Francolin {Tetrao Francolinus) is the Fran- 

 colino of the Italians. This name is applied to different 

 birds, but more particularly to this species, on account of the 

 exemption which it enjoys from being shot at indiscrimi- 

 nately, on account of its rarity and the excellence of its 

 flesh. The birds of this species inhabit low and humid 



