62 British Birds, with their Nests and Eggs. 



Fam ily— CHA RA DRIIDAL, 



Cream-Coloured Courser. 



Cursorius gallicus, GmeL. 



THIS bird gains its second Latin name from having been first described from 

 a stray specimen obtained in France ; and, like tlie name Kentish Plover 

 (conferred for a similar reason), and many other such names, conveys a very 

 erroneous impression of its habitat. It is found in sandy deserts, from the 

 Canaries to Sindh. North of the Mediterranean it is a rare straggler only, but 

 in the Canaries it breeds in some numbers, also across Africa, north of Abyssinia 

 (Rtippell). In Palestine it is scarce, but occurs in Persia, Arabia, Beluchistan, 

 Sindh, the Panjab, and Rajputana. I used the expression "in some numbers" 

 above, but do not wish to convey a misleading idea; this bird is nowhere found 

 in large numbers together. In the extreme east and west of its range, i.e., in 

 Sindh and the Canaries, it is probably most plentiful. About a dozen and a half 

 have been obtained in Great Britain (one only in Scotland), mostly in October 

 and November. One in Holland, three or four in Germany, about ten in France, 

 a few in Spain, and more in Italy, are on record. It has not been known to 

 breed north of the Mediterranean. 



Colour of adult : bill almost black, fo inch long, slender, decurved at the 

 point ; iris hazel ; general colour ochreous buff, all the feathers with black bases, 

 or black down at the base ; nape clear grey ; two white streaks over the eyes, 

 meeting behind at the nape, bordered below, and less distinctly above, -ndth black ; 

 wing quills very dark brown, with indistinct rufous margins ; the secondary quills 

 approaching the colour of the back, with a black subterminal bar to each, and a 

 white tip ; tail warm buff, the two centre feathers plain, the next, on each side, 

 with a black bar at the end, terminated by a bufiish-white tip ; the white increases 

 in area on each pair outward. Legs and feet light pinkish-grey. Length 9|-iOj 

 inches, wing (closed) 6 inches, or a trifle more. Sexes exactty alike. From an 

 adult female in my collection from Fuerteventura, Canaries. 



Young are ruddier than adults, with grey on the nape, but no white or black ; 

 the upper parts have the feathers tipped with grey-brown crescents, and the throat 

 and breast are spotted with the same colour. Saunders (" Yarrell," 1884, vol. iii. 



