PTEROCLES. 209 



'^ Female, length. — 12'4 to IS'l inches, expanse 22 to 22-6, tail from 

 vent 4 to 4-6, the central tail feathers only extending from 0'75 to 1-2 

 beyond the rest, wing 7'3 to 7-5, bill at front 0-4 to 0-44." — Hume 

 Str. F. i. 219. 



Common throughout Ra^'piltana, Kutcb, Kattiawar, Guzerat and the 

 Punjab. Breeds in the Province. Like the preceding species it is found 

 in N. Africa, also in N. W. Arabia, and in Beloochistan. 



Pterocles arenarius. Pall. Nev. Comm, Petrop. vol. xix. p. 418 ; 

 id. Bosso. As. ii. p. 73 ; Lath. Lid. Orn. ii. p. 642. Pterocles arenarius, 

 TeiH. Pig. et Gallin. vol. iii. p. 240 ; id. PI. Col. No. 62, 53; Qraij Gen 

 B. iii. p. 518 ; P. Z. S. 1858, p. 501 ; Ibis. 1859, p. 352; 1860, p. 69 • 

 Jerd. B. Ind. iii. p. 496; Str. P. i. 219; iii. 418; iv. 179 ; Blf. East. 

 Peru. ii. 271; Murray, HdbJc, Zool., ^c, Bind, i^. 194— The Large 

 Sand Grouse. 



*' Forehead and crown greyish brown, with a faint pearly tinge, in 

 some specimes with a buffy tinge; lores, behind the eye and ear-coverts 

 light grey, in some specimens, especially old males, the dark shafts of 

 the feathers of the lores, under the eye, and of the ear-coverts are dis- 

 tinctly visible and end in bristles ; nape and base of the neck, Like the 

 crown ; back, scapulars, upper tail and wing-coverts rich bufi' or orange 

 bnff with a subterminal dark bar, the bases of the feathers paler buff, 

 with waved barrings and vermiculations ; primaries greyish and black 

 shafted, the outer web of the outermost quill dark brown, and with the 

 two following tipped blackish, the rest the same, but edged on the tip 

 and the euter edge of the inner web near the tip, with whitish, the under 

 surface black ; the secondaries basally white or fulvous white, with 

 faint vermiculations on their exterior webs, all broadly tipped dusky, 

 and the margin of the exterior web blackish; tertiaries dusky grey, or 

 huffish, with vermiculations basally, and margined at the tips on the 

 exterior web with rich buff or orange buff; the visible portion of the 

 lower series of the median and greater coverts rich buff or orange, 

 forming in the closed wing, with the outer edges of the tertiaries, an 

 oblique bar of rich buff; edge of the wing fulvous white; under wing- 

 coverts pure white ; chin, upper throat, sides of the neck to behind the 

 ear-coverts and nape deep chestnut ; middle of the throat with a large 

 •triangular patch of black ; breast dull ashy or pearly grey, crossed on 

 the lower part by a broad black band, succeeded by a broad buffy 

 «ne, about four times the width of the black band ; abdomen, vent 

 and thigh-coverts deep black ; under tail-eoverts black, tipped with 

 ■white ; tail with the central tail feathers like the back, or orange buff, 

 with numerous dark bands, and slightly elongated beyond the others ; 

 lateral feathers dusky rufescent, with darker narrow bars, tipped white, 

 and with a subterminal black band ; tarsal feathers fulvous white ; bill 

 bluish ; feet dull yellowish brown; irides dark brown, 



"Length.— U-75 to 12-5, wings 9'25, tail 4 to 4-25, tarsus Tl. 



" The female differs in having the whole head and upper parts, and 

 also the breast, narrowly barred with brown . The pectoral band it-- 

 narrower and the chin fulvous with a narrow black edge," 



27 7. 



