OETYX. 301 



further distinguished by the narrower black collar on the lower throat. According to 

 Mr. Nelson'' it inhabits the tableland of Mexico, from San Luis Potosi and Northern 

 Jalisco to the Valley of Mexico. 



Like its allies, 0. graysoni inhabits the open grassy countiy where there are patches 

 of small trees and thickets of cacti. The neighbourhood of small streams appears to 

 be a favourite resort, and it was on similar ground, near Guadalajara, that Grayson ^ 

 first met with the species in coveys, though he found it extremely local. 



4. Ortyx godmani. 



Colinus godmani, Nelson, Auk, xiv. p. 45^; xv. pp. 120, 121, t. 2°; xix. t. 14. fig. 4'; Grant, Ibis, 

 1902, p. 240*. 



Gula alba, pilei plumis nigris, brunneo vel griseo margiuatis ; corporis lateribus castaneis, nigro marginatis, 

 minime albo maculatis ; secundariis intimis albo Bee fulvo maculatis. (Descr. ex scriptis E. W. Nelson.) 



ffab. South-eastern Mexico, coast-plains about Jaltipan and Minatitlan, Vera Cruz, 

 and thence north to Lake Catemaco {Nelson & Goldman ^). 



We have seen no specimens of this Colin, which Mr. Nelson ^ says is a very distinct 

 species and one of the most beautiful in the genus. Five adult examples were 

 obtained, but from the description alone it is somewhat difficult to determine its nearest 

 ally. 0. godmani is stated to be darker in colour than 0. graysoni, but Mr. OgUvie 

 Grant ^ thinks that it must be very near 0. cuhanensis. He observes * : — " The male 

 appears to differ from the latter species chiefly in having the crown blackish, with 

 brown and greyish edgings to the feathers ; the sides, flanks, and belly chestnut, 

 heavily margined with black, and devoid of white sjpots; and the tertials spotted with 

 white instead of buff." The throat and sides of the face are described as white, in 

 which characters 0. godmani must resemble 0. graysoni, but the " sides and lower 

 portion of the neck, with the breast, are glossy black, the flanks, abdomen, and lower 

 tail-coverts are light chestnut, with heavy black borders on the feathers of the flanks 

 and abdomen ^. In these respects the species apparently approaches 0. cuhanensis, as 

 Mr. Grant observes, but it seems to be altogether a distinct form of Colin. 



Mr. Nelson ^ gives the range as the lowlands of Southern Vera Cruz, probably also 

 passing into Tabasco, occurring from the sea-level to 1500 feet. In his interesting 

 article ('Auk,' xv. pp. 115-121) on the Mexican species of "Bob-White," he relates 

 that after travelling for some time in South-western Mexico, he took the train to the 

 port of Coatzacoalcos, on the Gulf of Mexico, and ascended the river of the same 

 name to the town of Minatitlan, a place once noted for its enormous trade in Spanish 

 cedar and dye woods. Here he remained for some days in the midst of the coast 

 lowlands, where the tropical forest is interrupted by grassy prairies of considerable 

 extent. In visiting these prairies he was delighted to find a species of "Bob- White" 

 hitherto unknown {0. godmani). He afterwards met with the same bird a few miles 



