ORTYGORNIS PONDICERLANA. 751 



in the lower branches of some dense thorny shrub as much as 3 feet from the ground." It is more or less 

 neatly lined with grass, and the usual number of eggs varies from six to eight. 



It is well known how close Partridges will sit on their eggs ; and the " Grey " of India does not seem to 

 be any exception to this rule. Mr. A. Anderson has the following anecdote relative to this habit : — 

 " When out coursing on the chur lands opposite the station of Futtehgurh I flushed a ' Grey ' which 

 was feeding in an open field ! It struck me at once that this was the male, and that the female must 

 be feeding somewhere, because these birds invariably go in pairs, and this was their breeding-season. Forming 

 a line with my coolies I beat every conceivable bit of cover (there was not a crop standing for miles), including 

 a few clumps of sarpat grass which grew in the form of a hedge. I rode alongside of this grass hedge (it had 

 been charred) and looking down into the centre of each clump soon discovered what at first appeared to be a 

 hare in her form, but which on closer inspection proved to be the hen Partridge. The grass was again well 

 beaten, and, as a last resort, handfuls of earth and small stones were showered in on her from above, but without 

 avail. Seeing how futile were all my efforts to flush the Partridge, I decided on capturing her in her nest, 

 which was effected by my horse-clothing being placed over the clump and the coolies making a rattling noise 

 round the bottom of the grass, which eventually had the effect of making her rise perpendicularly. The 

 nest was carefully fenced in with grass-stalks of the thickness of an ordinary cane, so that ingress and egress 

 for so big a bird must have been a matter of no little difficulty." 



Genus PERDICULA. 



Bill short, very high at the base, the culmen curved from the forehead. Wings short and 

 rounded, the primaries sinuated on the outer webs ; the 3rd and 4th quills the longest ; the 1st 

 quill slightly variable in length ; secondaries exceeding the primaries. Tail short, of 12 feathers. 

 Tarsus stout, covered before and behind with broad scales, and armed with a blunt tubercle. 

 Toes long, the lateral ones nearly equal. 



Of small size. Sexes differing in plumage. Feathers of the chest rigid. 



