PLATE III 



SIKHIM HIMALAYAN BLOOD PARTRIDGE 



Ithagenes cruentus affinis Beebe 



Blood Partridges keep close to the edge of the melting snow, gradually ascending in the spring 

 and summer. But in the high altitudes of the Sikhim mountains, late spring storms often cover every 

 growing plant deep in snow. To obtain food the Blood Partridges are obliged at once to retreat far 

 down the valleys to where the warmth has turned the snow to rain. Occasionally the birds are able to 

 remain storm-bound and yet find food. This occurs when the insects, caught suddenly unawares, retreat 

 in numbers to pass a few days benumbed with the cold in the seed cases of last year's lilies. Some of 

 these are empty, others partly filled with seeds, and here earwigs, beetles, moths and spiders find a temporary 

 haven. And this haven at least one flock of Blood Partridges discovered and ruthlessly rifled, spilling 

 insects and seeds upon the snow and feeding to its heart's content. 



