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town. In summer frequents bare sterile grounds. Quits Erzeroom about the end of September." 

 Mr. A. O. Hume speaks (Stray Feathers, i. p. 219) of it being "met with occasionally in Upper 

 Sindh (I did not myself see it lower than Sehwan, though I heard of its occurrence), but never 

 in any thing like the numbers in which it occurs throughout the North-west Punjab and parts of 

 Eajpootana. In fact, as far as I could see and learn, the only Rock-Grouse which occurred in 

 very great numbers were P. alchata and P. senegallus." Dr. Jerdon (B. of India, ii. p. 497), as 

 " found only in the North-west Provinces nnd Sindh, rarely extending as low as Allahabad, 

 tolerably abundant in the Punjab, and said to be very numerous towards the edges of the great 

 desert. It is recorded in the Bengal ' Sporting Magazine ' as " common in the Doab between 

 the Ganges and Jumna, near Futteyghur, in Rohilcund, near Ferozepore, in Humana, and in 

 various parts of the Punjab. I have heard of its having been killed near Nusseerabad and also in 

 Khandeish. It is only a winter visitant to India, arriving towards the end of September and 

 leaving in March." Severtzoff (Turk. Jevotnie, p. 68) speaks of it as being common throughout 

 Turkestan, where it breeds, to an altitude of about 4000 feet. 



The Black-breasted Sand-Grouse is essentially an inhabitant of the plains and flat open 

 country, especially dry arid deserts and steppes where there is a wide expanse of sand and but 

 few or no bushes ; but it often frequents the stubble-fields in search of food. Lord Lilford, who 

 has frequently obtained it in Spain, informs me that " it is a very wary bird, and only to be shot 

 by chance, except by stalking with a horse or by waiting in ambush at their drinking-places. It 

 breeds in the marisma and many other parts of Spain, the usual number of eggs deposited being 

 three ; and several pairs generally nest in close proximity to each other. They are very fast on 

 the wing, and get up with a rattling of wings like a flight of pigeons, and have a loud and 

 peculiar croaking cry. In Andalucia they are called ' Corteza,' in some parts of Spain ' Ortega,' 

 and in others ' Churra ' or ' Churra Manchega.' I have often kept them alive ; they become very 

 tame, and feed readily on any kind of grain, wheat, barley, millet, canary-seed, hemp-seed, &c. 

 In my estimation the flesh is very poor eating, but better than that of Pterocles alohata." 

 Dr. C. Bolle says that they are snared in the Canaries by placing nooses in a small path leading 

 to their drinking-places, made by putting rows of stones, over which, owing to the shortness of 

 its legs, the Sand-Grouse will not step. 



Dr. Jerdon, writing on its habits in India, says (I. c.) that " it frequents extensive open sandy 

 plains, flies in vast flocks, being said to be more abundant than P. exustus in those parts where 

 it does occur. Like the others of this tribe, it goes regularly to certain spots on the banks of 

 rivers or tanks to drink, which it does twice a day ; and it is fond of basking in the sun and 

 rolling on the sand. One writer records that he saw them about sunrise leave their roosting- 

 places among sand-hills and collect in thousands on a hard bare plain, close to where they 

 usually drank, but that they were neither feeding nor drinking at that early hour, and came 

 there, he suggests, for the sake of basking in the early sun's rays. It feeds on grassy plains, 

 and also on stubble-fields, and does so especially immediately after drinking. The flight of this 

 Sand-Grouse is said to be amazingly strong and rapid ; and when roused, it flies to great distances. 

 It is generally said to be a shy and wary bird, and difficult to approach closely, from the open 

 nature of the country it affects ; it is highly esteemed as a game bird, and much sought after by 

 many sportsmen, as well for the difficulty of close access, as for its qualities on the table. It is 



