1847.] Notes on the Ornithology of Candahar. 7H3 



M'Lean of the 67th Regt. N. I., who wished to take them home to 

 the highlands of Scotland, but he unfortunately died on his way back 

 to India, and I know not what became of the birds. They are com- 

 mon on the snowy passes of the Himalaya and in Tartary, rising in 

 coveys of 10 to 20, and usually having a sentry perched high on some 

 neighbouring rock, to give warning of danger by his loud and musical 

 whistle. They are difficult birds to shoot. I found them usually in 

 patches of the [so called] Tartaric furze. 



68. Perdix? [Bonhami (?), Fraser, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1843, p. 70. 

 The Seesee Partridge : figured in the ' Bengal Sporting Magazine' for 

 October, 1843.] Frequents rocky situations, and is abundant. The 

 first were seen in the Bolan Pass. [Capt. Hutton has sent no specimen 

 of this bird ; but I suspect it to be the species described by Mr. Fra- 

 ser, late of the Zoological Society, and which was procured at Teheran. 

 I took the following description of the Afghan Seesee from some fine 

 specimens prepared by Capt. Duncan of the 43d Regt. N. I ., who brought 

 the bird alive from Afghanistan, and kept one up to the time of his 

 departure for England in the beginning of 1845. The figure in the 

 ' Bengal Sporting Magazine' was taken from his living specimen. 



" This seems a remarkable species, connecting true Perdix and Per- 

 dicula with Caccabis, and I think Lerwa, or the Himalayan Snow 

 Partridge (L. nivicola, Hodgson) : it does not, however, well range in 

 either, though it is probable that other species will be eventually found 

 with similar characters.* The tarse of the male are devoid of tuber- 

 cles in place of spurs. 



" Length about 10 inches ; of wing 5in., and tail 2£in. ; bill fin., and 

 tarse 1 Jin., the middle toe and claw l^in. Colour of male, isabella-brown 

 above, with little trace of markings, though each feather of the back 

 when raised is seen to have several pale dusky cross-rays ; on the 

 rump, these become obsolete or very nearly so, except along the shaft 

 of each feather, where they assume the appearance of a series of small 

 linear blackish spots : upper tail-coverts and medial tail-feathers 

 minutely but obscurely mottled, the three or four outer tail-feathers 



* It should be remarked that I had no opportunity of actually comparing- the Seesee 

 with other species. It has probably an affinity with the Tetrao kakerlik of Gmelin ; and 

 Mr. Fraser writes, of his P. Bonhami,—" This species is nearly allied to P.Hayi, Temm. 

 p. c, but is readily distinguished from that bird by the black stripes about the head 

 of the male." Mr. Fraser neglected to give the admeasurements of his P. Bonhami. 



