230 GALLIFORMES 



grey above, with blackish markings anteriorly, olive tints on 

 the mantle, and buff on the wings ; the throat and some blotches 

 on the flanks are chestnut, the breast is grey with black spots, 

 the abdomen grey and buff, the tail mainly black and white. 

 The male has two stout spurs. T. szichemjii of Central Tibet 

 has the throat fawn-coloured, and the whole of the under parts 

 blotched with chestnut. The habits are apparently somewhat 

 similar to those of the last genus. Lerwa nivicola, the " Snow- 

 Partridge," ranging from the Himalayas to Western China, has 

 black upper parts with white cross-bars, which become rufous 

 buff on the mantle and wings ; the under surface is chestnut, 

 with black and white markings only shewing towards the belly. 

 A pair of spurs distinguishes the cock from the hen. This species 

 inhabits broken grassy or heathery sides of mountains in the midst 

 of snow, up to an altitude of at least fourteen thousand feet ; it 

 is tamer than the Snow-Pheasant, flies equally well, and nestles 

 rmder jutting rocks. The coveys feed on moss, seeds, and insects, 

 and utter a short double Grouse-like note or a harsh whistle. 



Sub-fam. 4. Odontopliorinae} — The "American Partridges," 

 are Quail-like birds, rarely attaining the size of a Eed Grouse, and 

 readily distinguished from their kin by the doubly-toothed mandible 

 and the lack of spurs. The sexes are alike, if not otherwise stated. 



Of some four species of Bendrortyx, ranging from South 

 Mexico to Costa Pica, B. mcwrurus, of the former country, has 

 a black head and throat, with a long white streak above and 

 below each eye, and a rufous tip to the short, full occipital crest. 

 The neck and back are chestnut and grey ; the rump, wings, and 

 tail are bro\yner with black mottlings ; the breast is greyish 

 with rufous streaks. The bill, feet, and naked orbits are coral- 

 red. Callipepla squamata, of the South-Western United States 

 and Mexico, has a grey-brown head, with white-tipped crest and 

 buff throat ; the wings, rump, and tail are brownish-grey with 

 wdiite inner margins to some of the scapulars and secondaries ; 

 the mid -breast and belly are fawn-coloured. The remaining 

 plumage is grey, with black margins to the feathers which 

 cause a scaly a^ppearance, and shews dusky triangular spots beneath. 

 Oreortyx pictus of the Western United States possesses two very 

 long black occipital plumes ; . olive-brown upper parts with white 

 edges to the scapulars and outer secondaries ; slaty head, neck, 



■^ For further details of. Gould, Monocjrapli of the Odontophorinae, London, 1850. 



