362 PTEEOOLrD^. 



To quote an abstract I made of his register for 1869 : — " In no 

 case did he find more than three eggs in one nest. In one instance 

 he obtained five eggs in one spot — three in one place and two 

 about 3 inches distant ; but he ascertained that these belonged to 

 two different pairs. Pully half of these eggs were found in fallow 

 fields ; the rest in bare waste-land or desert-like sand. In only 

 two cases were the eggs found in any way sheltered or hidden in 

 the roots or tufts of grass. In every case the eggs were laid in a 

 slight depression on the bare ground. Xonest of any kind was 

 met with." 



This has also been my own experience, except that I have not at 

 all unfrequently found the eggs more or less sheltered by low bushes, 

 tufts of grass, or large clods. 



Mr. William Blewitt says : — " On the 9th March, in a field near 

 Bhatoul in the Hissar District, I found a nest of this species 

 containing Jive (!) almost fuUy incubated eggs. They were, as 

 usual, placed on the bare ground in a shallow basin scratched out 

 by the birds, some 5 inches in diameter and 2 inches in depth. They 

 all belonged, I believe, to one pair, but in no other instance did I 

 ever meet with more than three eggs in any nest." 



I may note here that the Khan Sahib reported that although he 

 had never been able to meet with such a nest, the villagers, where 

 the birds were very common, said that they occasionally saw four 

 eggs in one nest-hole. 



From the Sambhur Lake Mr. E. M. Adam writes: — "The 

 Common Sand-Grouse is found here throughout the year in great 

 numbers. It breeds here, and I have taken the nests in April and 

 May. 



" I have seen a nest here at the root of a tuft of sarpat grass, the 

 leaves of which protected the bird from the sun's rays. The 

 nest had a lining of loose pieces of grass, and contained three 



This is another instance of the variable habits of this species. I 

 must have taken at least thirty nests, the Khan Sahib fully double 

 that number, and neither of us ever saw any sort of lining to the 

 nest-hole : and yet not only Mr. Adam but other good observers 

 have vouched for finding more or less of a grass lining on many 

 occasions. 



The late Major Cock told me that " the Common Sand-Grouse 

 lays its eggs in a hollow amid loose stones (I speak of the environs 

 of Nowshera) in the months of May and June, usually on ban-en 

 arid ground, the heat of which is terrible at that time of the year. 

 I have frequently found the eggs with their albumen semi-coagu- 

 lated from the heat, and I fancy that if the bird left its eggs for 

 any time during the heat of the day they would be baked ! 



" They lay three eggs, blunt at both ends. There is no nest to 

 speak of, only a bit of stick or two." 



The late Mr. A. Anderson remarked : — " The Common Sand- 

 Grouse breeds throughout the Doab in March, April, and May (and 

 no doubt later on), laying the orthodox number of three eggs, and 



