til CMMM ttBMMH 



HI 



Pterocles exustus. Temminck 



VoraaClllar Names. — [Bhut-titur, Bukht-titur, Kumar-tit, Kuhar, &c., N. W. Pro- 

 vinces, Punjab, &c. ; Butabur, Batibun, Sind ; Popandi, B heels J Pakorade, 

 Pokurdee, Pokundi, (Marathi), Khdndesh, Deccan, 6°c. ; Palki, Belgaum ; Jam= 

 Polanka, (Telugu) ; Kal gowjal haki, (Kanarese), Mysore ; Kal-kondari, (Tamil.)] 



H ROUGH OUT India Proper, where the rainfall is 

 moderate, the soil fairly dry, and the country open 

 and tolerably level, the Common Sand-Grouse 

 abounds. Towards the east and south its general 

 distribution is much that of the Painted Sand-Grouse, 

 though the particular localities it affects are differ- 

 ent, but it is a western form which extends into India 

 and not a purely Indian form, and it is common in places (for in- 

 stance in Sind,) to which P. fasciatus does not extend. 



It is a bird of the level, sparsely wooded, sandy countries 

 par excellence, and though it may be shot in sandy plains 

 close to hills in Rajputana, unlike the Painted Sand-Grouse, 

 it eschews hills, has no liking for scrub, and absolutely avoids 

 damp, swampy, low-lying tracts, jungles and forests. 



Bearing this in mind, it may be said that it occurs in all 

 suitable localities throughout the whole of the Punjab, Sind, 

 Rajputana, the N. W. Provinces and Oudh, the western parts of 

 Behar, and of Chota Nagpore, the Central Provinces and the 

 Central India Agency including Bundelkhand, Berar, the Nizams 

 Territory, the whole Bombay Presidency, except the sub-Ghat 

 littoral * Mysore,t and the Northern and Central portions of the 

 Madras Presidency. 



* Mr. Vidal writes : — 



"This species is not found at all in the Konkan, nor on the eastern slopes and 

 spurs of the Western Ghats. A few birds are found on the barer plains and hill sides 

 about thirty miles east of the Ghats, and as the country becomes more bare and tree- 

 less, and the scrub-clad hills and spurs are replaced by the open plains of the eastern 

 districts of Poona and Satara, Grouse are found plentifully. In the neighbourhood 

 of the Bhima, Nira, and Yerla rivers they are especially numerous, and every 

 morning and evening hundreds may be seen flying in successive small parties to 

 drink all along the banks of these rivers. After drinking, the birds sun themselves 

 on the bare stubbles and rocky plains for half an hour or so every morning. By 

 taking up a position on the river bank close to any favourite drinking place, very 

 pretty shooting may be had, and a considerable bag be made." 



+ Mr. Davidson says : — 



" This species was rather rare in Mysore, though I found a few about the Tumkur 

 district." Another correspondent, however, says: — "I have met with this bird 

 throughout Mysore. It is exceedingly abundant in the Chitaldroog district." 



