30 



BIRD GALLKllY. 



in possessing a series of small bones above the eye^ known as the 

 supra-orbital chain (see skull). The toes are provided with peculiar 

 long, nearly straight nails. With the exception of the Common Tree- 

 Partridge [A. torqueola) (143) here exhibited, the plumage is alike in 

 both males and females. All are inhabitants of the thick jungle 

 covering the higher hills, the common species occasionally ranging 

 in the Outer Himalaya to an elevation of 14,000 feet above sea-level. 

 As their name implies, these birds are given to perching on trees, 

 especially on the approach of danger, but for the most part they live 

 on the ground, running actively to and fro in search of insects and 

 vegetable food. The eggs are pure white, with a fine, rather glossy shell. 



[Case lo.] The Crimson-headed Wood-Partridge {Hamatortyx) (145) is a beau- 

 tiful form inhabiting the mountain-forests and jungles of North Borneo. 

 The legs of the male are armed with two or three pairs of spurs. 

 Other Malayan genera are the Ferruginous Wood-Partridge (Calo- 

 perdix) (146) and the Black Wood- Partridge (Melanoperdix) (147), a 

 peculiar type worthy of special notice on account of its unusually stout 

 and thick bill. 



[Case 16.] The Red-legged Partridges {Caccabis) (148-151) form a small group 

 the members of which may be recognised by the brownish-grey tint of 

 their upper plumage and bold handsome barring on the sides. The males 

 and females do not differ from one another in plumage, but the former 

 may be recognised by the stout blunt spurs on the legs. Of the six 

 forms known, four are exhibited, including the black-headed Arabian 

 species, the largest member of the genus (151), the Common Red-legged 

 (149) and Barbary Partridges (150), which are the handsomest. 



As will be seen on the small map showing its distribution, the Chukar 

 (C. chukar) (148), so well known to sportsmen, has a very wide range. 

 It varies immensely in size and colour in different localities, which is to 

 be expected in a bird that may be found from sea-level to an elevation 

 of at least 16,000 feet. The palest forms are found in such arid neigh- 

 bourhoods as Bushire at the head of the Persian Gulf, while the darkest 

 and most richly-coloured birds here exhibited inhabit the Ionian 

 Islands, Cyprus, Asia Minor, and the outer ranges of the Himalaya where 

 vegetation is more plentiful. 



[Case 16.] In the closely allied Seesee Partridges {Ammoperdix) (152), the sexes 

 differ from one another in plumage. They inhabit bare broken ground 

 and desolate hill-sides, where their colours harmonise with their 

 surroundings and afford them protection. 



[Case 16.] The Francolins [FrancoKnus) (153—162) are a very numerous group 

 including nearly fifty different species, five of which are Asiatic and the 

 remainder African. With the exception of the Painted Francolin 

 (F. pict'us) (1 54), the legs of the males and, in some species of the females 



