GAME BIRDS OF INDIA AND ASIA, I09> 



Eliya. It is not found east or west of India. It 

 meets the Black Partridge on the boundary of 

 that species, and hybrids between the two are 

 occasionally found. Its general habits and quali- 

 fications as a sporting bird and table delicacy are 

 much the same as those of the Black Partridge, 

 and it may be regarded as one of our most desirable 

 Game-birds. It is more often found in cultivated 

 land than the other species, and also more fre- 

 quently occurs in dry grass land at a distance from 

 water, so that it would appear to be of a more 

 adaptable nature. Another detail of its habits, 

 which differs from those of the other species is its 

 partiality for perching in trees, whence the male 

 frequently calls ; he has a different and less harsh 

 note. "Hie nest and eggs are much like those of 

 the Black Partridge, but the present bird seems 

 to breed somewhat later. 



The Eastern or Chinese Francolin. 



FrancoHnus chinensis, Faun. Brit. Ind.,. 

 Birds, Vol. IV, p. 138. 



Native name -.—^Kha, Burmese. 



The Chinese Francolin is intermediate in size 

 between the black and the painted Francolins ; 

 the sexes differ in colour nearly as conspicuously 

 as those of the black species, and the male alone 

 possesses spurs. His general colour is black, spotted 

 with white, the spots becoming broad bars on the 

 belly. The top of the head is brown with pale 

 edges and black forehead and eyebrows ; there is 

 another black band from the corner of the mouth 

 to below the ears, and between this and the eye- 



