^4 GAME BIRDS OF INDIA AND ASIA. 



The plumage above and on the breast is of a 

 plain grey without any markings, with a tinge 

 of reddish in places and sometimes verging on 

 olive-brown ; the throat is white or buff, surround- 

 ed by a black band. The lower parts below the 

 breast are buff, and the flanks very beautifully 

 banded vertically with grey, buff, black and chest- 

 nut. The bUl, legs and eyelids are red, and the 

 eyes themselves dark or orange. 



The cock, which is a little larger than the hen, 

 is about fifteen inches long, with the wing six 

 inches and-a-half, tail just over four, shank nearly 

 two, and bill just over one. 



The chukor has a very wide range, from Greece 

 to China. It is a lover of open hilly ground, and 

 with us is found on the Himalayas, in the hilly 

 parts of the Punjab and in the higher hills of Sind 

 west of the Indus. According to the country it 

 inhabits, it is found from the sea-level up to 

 12,000 feet, and in Tibet even to 16,000. Hima- 

 layan birds are darker and browner in tint, but 

 in Ladak, the Western Punjab, and Sind — ^in dry 

 open tracts, in fact — are paler and greyer. The 

 birds haunt open hill-sides among grass and .scat- 

 tered bushes, but may also be found in more or 

 less wooded country and in cultivation. In 

 winter they go in coveys or even flocks, but in the 

 breeding season in pairs. The said season is from 

 April to August, varying according to the eleva- 

 tion ; for birds at high levels of course breed later. 

 The eggs are up to a dozen, cream-colour with 

 brown or lilac spots. The chukor is a noisy bird, 

 and its two-syllabled note has given origin to its 

 name. It is a fairly good sportirg bird, but not so 

 good to eat as some other partridges. The ancient 



