COMMON SAND-GROUSE. 17 



A somewhat allied species, Pterocles senegallus, Lin., of 

 which P. guttatusy Licht., is the female, is common in Eastern 

 Africa and Arabia, &c, and has been figured by Gould in his 

 Birds of Asia, pt. III. pi. 6. Mr. Blyth was assured by a sportsman 

 to whom he showed specimens, that this species occurred in Sindh, 

 and was even more common there than P. exustus ; however, as 

 no Indian examples have been examined, I cannot at present in- 

 clude it among the ' Birds of India.' The male resembles P. exustus, 

 but is somewhat larger ; and both sexes have the throat and sides 

 of the neck very bright pale orange buff; above and behind this 

 colour the male has the sides of the head and nape of a pure 

 ash-grey ; there is no black bar on the breast, and the middle of 

 the abdomen only is sooty black. The female is curiously dotted 

 over with dusky grey upon a light buff, almost cream-coloured 

 ground. 



Several other species of Pterocles occur in Africa, one of 

 which, P. coronatus, has been found in Western Asia, and is 

 figured by Gould in his Birds of Asia, pt. III. pi. 7. 



The genus Syrrhaptes differs from Pterocles in having the feet 

 much, smaller, joined together at the base, feathered to the claws, 

 and no hind toe ; the first two wing primaries, too, are lengthened 

 and attenuated. It was founded on Tetrao paradoxus, of Pallas, 

 a very handsome bird, inhabiting the desert regions of Central 

 Asia, which, strange to say, was lately killed in England, a notice 

 of which, with a very beautiful figure, appeared in the Ibis 

 for 1862. 



A second species has been found by several of our Indian 

 sportsmen just across the Himalayas, but not hitherto on the 

 Indian side, Syrrhaptes Tibetanus, Gould. It has been observed 

 chiefly in Ladak, is said to occur in small parties of nine or ten ; 

 and to have a loud cry yak, yak, yak. It has the upper parts and 

 breast minutely mottled with zig-zag markings, the throat and 

 sides of the neck ochre yellow ; the wings sandy yellow with 

 some black markings on the scapulars ; and the lower parts white. 

 Length 20 inches ; wing 11 ; tail 7 J. 



We next come to the more typical Gallinacei, with the supple- 

 mentary plume well developed. 



c 



