GREEK PARTRIDGE. 243 



Red-leg, or French Partridge, but is at once dis- 

 tinguished by its larger size, and by the absence of 

 the mottled plumage below the black mark in the 

 neck. The older ornithologists — Gesner, Willughby, 

 and Belloni — acknowledged this affinity by designating 

 Perdix Grceca as Perdix major or Rufa major ; while 

 Ray, Linnaeus, and Albin all referred it to Perdix 

 rufa, the latter even figuring the Red-legged Partridge 

 for this bird. In the present day we do not find 

 ornithologists confounding the two birds, as they are 

 universally considered specifically distinct. There are, 

 however, other varieties or races which are considered 

 by modern naturalists as probably distinct also. Mr. 

 Tristram has sent me two skins, one from the Morea, 

 a male, which may be considered typical; and another, 

 a female, a smaller bird with a rufous throat, which 

 was obtained from Crete. But I cannot, after careful 

 examination, find anything which age, or sex, or 

 difference of food might not account for. Mr. Tristram 

 says he thinks they represent two distinct species, 

 one inhabiting the hills, the other the plains. 



Dr. Leith Adams writes me word he is quite 

 confident that the Perdix chukar (Gray) of India is 

 identical with this bird. I will give an abstract of 

 his letter: — "These two are identical. P. chukar 

 frequents the Himalayas from Nepaul to the mountains 

 of Persia in the west. I have seen and examined 

 specimens from all these countries, including Afghanistan 

 and Chinese Tartary. P. Grceca is common on the 

 hills and mountains of south-eastern Europe. It is a 

 common bird during the winter months in the markets 

 of Constantinople, where I procured several specimens, 

 which I have carefully compared with Himalayan 

 specimens of P. chukar, and I cannot observe any 



