GALLINACEOUS BIROS. 175 



flies to great distances. In disposition it is generally shy and wary, and difficult to approach 

 closely, from the open nature of the country it affects. It is highly esteemed as a game bird, and 

 much sought after by many sportsmen, as well from the difficulty of the chase as for its qualities on 

 the table. It is stated that, from the closeness and firmness of its plumage, it Ukes a good gun and 

 heavy shot to bring it down. A ^vriter records the preponderance of one sex in every flock, sometimes 

 seven or eight females and not one male being killed, and vice versa. The flesh is mixed white and 

 brown on the breast, and although somewhat tough when fresh, and perhaps requiring to be skinned, 

 is considered delicious eating ; indeed, one authority states that it is the finest game bird for the table 

 in India. Shooting these Grouse from a hole dug in the ground is said to be a very deadly way of 

 making a good bag. They are caught in the n'eighbourhood of Peshawur and other places in horse- 

 hair nooses., Adams, when at Peshawur, towards the end of the year, noticed the arrival of this species 

 and also of the P. exustus. Their guttural voices were frequently heard among the sounds giving 

 notice of cold weather. Both kinds were often seen in flocks during the day, and seemed to be 

 regular migrants. 



The eggs of this Sand Grouse, usually three, occasionally four in number, are, according to the 

 Arabs, deposited on the sand or bare ground; whilst Adams, on the contrary, maintains that this 

 species excavates a small hole wherein to place the brood, and raises a circle of dry grass around its 



outer edge. 



THE LARGE PIN-TAILED GROUSE, OR KHATA. 



The Large Pin-tailed Grouse, or Khata {Pterodes akhata), is somewhat smaller than the 

 Ganga, and has the feathers more highly coloured. Like that bird, the plumage is principally of a 

 sandy yellow, the brow and sides of the cheeks being reddish brown, the throat and a delicate line 

 commencing at the eye and passing to the back of the head are black ; the nape and the back 

 brownish-greyish green, spotted with yellow ; the small wing-covers greyish crimson, their upper 

 feathers striped with reddish brown, then with light yellow, and again with deep brown ; the feathers 

 of the larger covers are greyish-greenish yellow, bordered with blackish brown ; the lower part of the 

 throat is reddish fawn-colour ; the upper breast bright crimson-brown, surrounded above and below 

 by a narrow black line, and the belly white. The quills are grey, with black shafts shading beneath 

 to a deeper tint ; the shoulder-feathers are greenish grey above and fawn-grey on the lower surface ; 

 most of the tail-feathers are striped grey and yellow on the outer, and grey tipped with white on the 

 inner web ; while the long centre pair are greenish grey, marked with fiint stripes. The plumage of 

 the female resembles that of her mate, but is readily distinguished by the stripes upon her mantle, 

 a double line upon her throat, enclosing a patch of greyish yellow, and by the white hue of its upper 

 portion. The eye is brown, the beak dark grey, and the foot of a brownish shade. The length of 

 the male is twelve inches and three-quarters, the breadth twenty-two inches and a half; the wing 

 measures seven inches, and the tail five inches. This well-known Sand Grouse inhabits Northern 

 Africa, Western Asia, and the south of Europe, especially Spain, Sicily, and the Levant, and it 

 occasionally penetrates through Central Asia to the Punjaub and Scinde. 



" The Khata," says Jerdon, " is a comparatively rare bird in India, only a few finding their way 

 across the Sutlej. I presume that, like P. araiarius, it is migratory to this countn,', and only found 

 in the cold season." It is a very beautiful bird, and the bill is thicker and stronger than that of any 

 other of the genus. 



This species has a peculiar call, resembling the syllables " kaa-kia," and not unlike the or}- of the 

 Jackdaw. It flies in flocks of from ten to seventy, or more, and is said to be very shy and wary, and 

 more difficult to approach than the Large Sand Grouse. Its specific appellation is taken from its 

 Arabic name, El-chata or E!-kaiia, which, however, is also applied to P. arenarius. It breeds among 



