304 On (wo neio Genera of Rasorial Birds, [April* 



m 



Hon of the nares, which are nearer to the tip of the bill than to the 

 gape. The tect is nude and tumid, but soft and almost membranous ; 

 and it runs beneath, as well as above, the nostrils, besides limiting 

 them before and behind. The bill and nares, in a word, bear the same 

 relation to those of Perdix, as the bill and nares of Hemipodius do to 

 those of Coturnix. 



The tarsi are high and strong, quite nude, as well as half the knees, 

 and they have the acrotarsial scales of full size, with the customary 

 zigzag division upon the mesial line. The toes, also, are large; and 

 the outer fore is signally longer than the inner. They are membraned 

 as usual. The nails, with the ordinary gallinaceous attributes, are yet 

 very noticeable for size and for straightness. One of the chief charac- 

 ters of this bird consists in the red cheek piece, which, however, is over- 

 laid by close small plumes, except on the orbits. The nude skin is 

 strong and rough, but not properly papillated, not at least as in the 

 pheasants. 



The rounded and gradated wings are very similar to those of Perdix* 

 They have the 5th prime quill longest, aud the tertials equally long. 

 The wings reach within about two inches of the end of the tail. The 

 2d to 6th quills, inclusive, are emarginated, high up, on the outer web j 

 entire on the inner. The tail is drooping, and nearly or quite hid by 

 the coverts, but it is not feeble. At the point it is much rounded. The 

 drooping of the tail, with a certain dumpiness in the figure of the bird, 

 give it much the aspect of a quail. The intestines are 3 to 31 feet 

 long, with ceeca of from 4 to 5 inches in length. The gizzard is large, 

 dark, and from \ to I of an inch in thickness. The bottom of the oeso- 

 phagus is dilated and glandular ; but there is no crop. The food consists 

 of wild vetches, seeds, berries and insects. 



Colour. It is very brilliant, and changes greatly in the progress to- 

 wards maturity. The bird ordinarily figured and described is the female. 

 The mature male, in perfect plumage, is as follows. Head and neck, 

 superiorly, bright rusty red. Cheeks and chin immaculate black: 

 sides and front of the neck black, picked out longitudinally with white. 

 Ears immaculate rusty : a fainter stripe below them of the same hue 

 but dashed with the black of the neck. A broad white gorget across 

 the top of the breast. Breast immaculate slaty blue : flanks the same, 

 picked out marginally by ochreous red, and showing a large longi- 

 tudinal drop of white down the shafts. Centre of the belly and vent, 

 white, dashed with rusty : rest of the bird, olive, immaculate, or shewing 

 narrow transverse lunulas, forwards ; and round or heart-shaped blot- 

 ches, backwards— both the marks being of a black colour. Undertail 

 coverts, black with broad white tips to each plume. Scapulars, wing 

 coverts and tertials, very largely margined witii ochreous red, and the 

 two latter, showing large globose drops of black near the end of each 



