BLACK PARTRIDGE. 73 



delkund ; but in these instances, it has certainly been confounded 

 with the nearly related Painted Partridge, as the Black Partridge 

 does not 5 to my own knowledge, occur for many miles north of 

 Mhow, Saugor or Jubbulpore, and I suspect not till the valley 

 of the Jumna is reached. Adams says that the Black Partridge 

 is plentiful in Bombay and Bengal, but as he does not give 

 the Painted Partridge at all, he has in some instances, at all 

 events, confounded it with that bird. The Black Partridge extends 

 along the valleys of the tlimalayas for some distance in the 

 interior, but not ascending high ; and I observed it on the Khasia 

 hills at nearly 4,000 feet of elevation. The Black Partridge from 

 Sindh is put as distinct by Bonaparte under the name of F, 

 Henrici, and a drawing of the Sindh bird in Sir A. Burnes' collec- 

 tion gave some color to the separation ; but Sir B. Frere, to whom 

 I applied, having sent several specimens from Sindh, they proved 

 to be perfectly identical with the Partridge of Bengal. Out of 

 India the Black Partridge inhabits Northern Africa and the 

 South of Europe, especially Malta, Sicily, and probably part of 

 Western Asia. 



The Black Partridge frequents, by preference, grass meadows 

 near water, also cultivated fields of corn, mustard or pulse, and 

 any patch of moderately high, green herbage, also occasionally 

 jhow jungle ; and it is not unfrequently flushed in moderately 

 long grass interspersed with bushes, even at some little distance 

 from water. It never associates in regular coveys, though several 

 may be flushed not far from each other ; and, indeed, it is generally 

 to be found in pairs at all seasons. 



From January, to August, the call of the Cock-bird may be 

 heard, a harsh sort of cry which has been variously rendered 

 by sounds in different languages; but these imitations, though 

 intelligible to those who have heard the call, fail to give any- 

 thing like a correct idea to a person who has not had the 

 opportunity of hearing it. The Mussulmans say that it repeats 

 the pious words, ' Sobhan teri kudrut ; others say it calls out 

 ' Lussun, piaz, udruk,' or garlic, onions, ginger. Adams sylla- 

 bizes it as * Lohee-iiha-ivhich-a-ivhick\ and some one else puts it 

 as { juk-jaJc, tee-teetu7\ One writer calls it like the harsh grating 



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