grous. 255 



Gelinotte rayee, Tab. Enajc. Orn. 200. pi. 188. f. 3. Id. pi. 92. f. 4. 

 Sand Grous, fien. Syn.'w. 751. 16. Nat. Misc. xv. pi. 589. 



BIGGER than a Partridge ; length nineteen or twenty inches. 

 Bill blue grey, tip black ; head pale ash-colour; crown and nape 

 clouded yellowish grey ; chin deep yellow, terminated by a triangular 

 black mark about the middle of the neck ; throat and neck grey, 

 the feathers singularly truncated, and glossy, like those of a Dove; 

 the upper parts of the neck and body testaceous white, each feather 

 surrounded with a brown border, encircling an oval yellowish spot ; 

 on the lower part of the neck a crescent of black ; breast white ; the 

 belly, vent, and thighs black ; wings hoary, with a deep yellow spot 

 on the secondaries ; quills brownish, obliquely white at the base; 

 the tail consists of sixteen feathers, the two middle ones pointed, and 

 yellowish, crossed with brown lines; the others brown, with grey 

 lines, and white tips; legs slender, feathered to the toes, which are 

 short, naked, and callous beneath ; behind a spur, which turns 

 inwards, and is prominent, and pointed. 



The female is a trifle bigger, of a pale yellowish colour, dotted 

 on the head, neck, and throat with black, and fasciated with the 

 same on the back, and no spur behind the legs; otherwise much like 

 the male, but the markings less distinct. 



This species is found only in the middle of the deserts extending 

 towards the Caspian Sea; in plenty near Astrachan, in the summer ; 

 passes the winter in Persia : feeds on the seeds of various kinds of 

 Astragali:* seen in pairs in June; they drink much water, and of 

 course are obliged to frequent such spots where it may be found, so 

 that a traveller may be sure that this necessary element is not far off, 

 if he sees these birds ; they generally go to the pools to drink three 

 times in a day, when they are so eager, as not to mind the sportsman, 

 though very shy at other times ; are in great plenty about the sandy 

 fountains at Barlu-chuduk. They fly like Pigeons, and have a 



* Chiefly the Alopecuroides, Cicer, et Physodes. — Lin. 



