80 THE PINTAILED SAND-GROUSE. 



making- any approach to the pure pale lead colour adopted by 

 the artist, neither is the orbital skin quite correct, according to 

 my notes and recollections. Note that in the female the upper 

 of the two throat bands is almost always much broader than in 

 the plate, and that the upper tail-coverts in the male are buff 

 and black, and very rarely almost white and black, as in the 

 specimen figured. The markings on the crown of the male 

 are often obsolete. 



Besides these seven species of Pterocles (or Barefooted Sand- 

 Grouse) that occur within our limits, seven other species are 

 known, viz., P. personatus, from Madagascar ; P. gutturalis, 

 from Southern and Eastern Africa ; P. variegatus, from Southern 

 Africa ; P. namaqiia, from Palestine (?), Transvaal, and Damara 

 land ; P. bicinctus, from Southern Africa ; P. qtiadricinctus, from 

 Senaar, Abyssinia, and Western Africa ; and P. decoratus, of 

 which a single specimen only is known, from the interior of 

 Eastern Africa. Though largely represented in India, the genus 

 is essentially an African one, and occurs with us, and elsewhere 

 in Asia and Europe, only so far as an African element has 

 percolated into these. 



K ¥m ( ^^ / 



