PLATE IV 



PLUMAGES OF THE HIMALAYAN BLOOD PARTRIDGE 

 Ithagenes cruentus (Hardwicke) 



The Blood Partridge acquires its adult plumage during the first year of its life. If a chick slips 

 from its shell in May, it will be hardly distinguishable from its parents in October. Except for a lack 

 of spurs it is as well equipped for the dangers of life as its father. 



Figure i shows the chick in its down about a week old. The little wings are just visible, but the legs 

 are the most prominent feature. The head and neck are grey and black, and the body is of a warm rufous. 



Five weeks later the clown has been shed and the young bird is in full juvenile garb of dull mottled 

 buff and black, with terminal spots of pale buff. The legs have increased but little, but the wings and 

 tail show that the bird roosts high and can escape swiftly from any enemy. Figure 2 shows a juvenile 

 bird of six weeks. 



In Figure 3 a young cock of two months is well advanced in the adult plumage. Most of the juvenile 

 brown has left his back and tail, and the green and scarlet feathers are rapidly covering the breast. The 

 two outer juvenile tail feathers and the white-shafted outer primaries are still unshed. 



