208 The New British Sand-Grouse. 



structure, which, however, he looks upon as of a very low cha- 

 racter. Not only do certain bones of the skull show a 

 " marked struthious inferiority in the Syrrhapies, but the 

 sternum, which literally unites that of the ptarmigan with 

 its counterpart in the pigeon, is inferior in one important 

 point, not only to this but to the whole Pluvialine group. The 

 heel, which is a mere rudiment in Pteroclcs proper, is absent 

 in the Syrrha/ptes, and the whole pelvic extremity is almost 

 the counterpart of that of the Swifts in deficient growth. I 

 believe that it would take a very clever anatomist to detect 

 any difference between the wing bones of the Pteroclince and 

 those of a typical pigeon."* 



With respect to the range and habits of these birds, some 

 important information was gained during the late war in 

 China. Mr. R. Swinhoe, an ardent ornithologist attached to 

 the staff of the British army, thus speaks of the Syrrhaptes 

 paradoxus in a paper published in the Ibis for 1861 : — "Your 

 readers will be both surprised and delighted to hear of the 

 abundant occurrence of this species during winter about 

 the plains between Pekin and Tientsin. Flocks of hundreds 

 constantly pass over with a very swift flight, not unlike that of 

 the golden plover, for which we at first mistook tkem.f The 

 market at Tientsin was literally glutted with them, and you 

 could purchase them for a mere nothing. The natives called 

 them sha-chee, or sand-fowl, and told me they were mostly 

 caught in clap-nets. After a fall of snow their capture was 

 greatest, for where the net was laid the ground was cleared, 

 and strewed with small green beans. The cleared patch was 

 almost sure to catch the eyes of the passing flocks, who would 

 descend and crowd into the snare. It only remained then for 

 the fowler, hidden at a distance, to jerk the strings, and in his 

 haul he would not unfrequently take the whole flock. Numbers, 

 however, were shot with matchlocks. When on the ground 

 they were rather shy and difficult of approach, but on the wing 

 they would sometimes dart within a few yards of you. They 

 possess rather a melodious chuckle, the only note that I have 

 heard them utter. The natives say that during the summer 

 they are found abundantly in the great plains of Tartary beyond 

 the Great Wall, where they breed in the sand." 



The Hon. J. Stuart Wortley purchased above seventy 

 living specimens in the market at Tientsin, and succeeded in 

 bringing thirty-four alive to England. These he presented to 

 the Zoological Society, Regent's Park. He states (in tho 

 Society's Proceedings for May 14, 1801), " on our voyago up 



* Vide Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London for Nov. 25, 1862. 

 f Several of the observers of the Syrrhaptes in England, already referred (o 

 also at first mistook them by their flight for golden plovers. 



