8G GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. 



being longitudinally dashed with white instead of narrowly barred ; 

 it is nearly double the size, and has very different distribution and 

 haunts. 



The Kyah Partridge is found throughout Bengal, from Tirhoot 

 and Goruckpoor to the Sunderbuns, and extending eastwards 

 into Assam, Sylhet, Cachar and Tipperah. South of this it is 

 not recorded, but it may occur in Chittagong. In the Western 

 Provinces of Bengal, it is chiefly found on the north bank of the 

 Ganges, crossing in a few suitable localities from Monghyr to 

 Rajmahal, and also found between the Bhagirutty and the Ganges; 

 but not extending to Kishnagur, it is said, nor to the vicinity of 

 Calcutta. It is stated that it used to be found along the banks 

 of the Roopnarain River, but is so no longer. It is found up to 

 the base of the Himalayas, and I have heard of its occurring in 

 the Oude Terai, but it apparently does not go further west. 



The favorite grounds for this Partridge are thick beds of reeds 

 and long grass along the banks of rivers, jheels, and water-courses ; 

 and especially in those swampy patches of reeds where the creep- 

 ing Rose-bushes form thickets impenetrable to aught but an 

 Elephant, though hardly " frequenting swampy churs and reedy 

 waters, the same as the Bittern, Snipe and Heron" as one writer 

 states. "The strongest depths" says a writer in the Beng. Sport. 

 Mag. " whether in patches, or in continuous, wavy, thick grass, 

 or seas of jungle hold them." If cultivated land be near, so 

 much the better, for this Partridge loves to feed on open patches of 

 Mustard, Dhal and other pulses, and indeed during the cold weather 

 may frequently be found in the fields at all hours of the day. 

 Occasionally it resorts to dry grassy plains with scattered bushes, 

 but much more generally grassy churs near water. During 

 the rains, and when some of its usual haunts are flooded, it betakes 

 itself to the fields, hedgerows and bush jungle, and at this time 

 affords good sport even to the Sportsman on foot ; and, in some 

 localities when flooded, the Kyah may be seen flying from tree 

 to tree. 



This Partridge is generally, except when breeding, met with in 

 somewhat scattered coveys, which rise three or four at a time with 

 a cackling scream ; they fly strong and straight with outstretched 



