14 EAST AFRICA AND UGANDA FRANCOLINS 
plentiful ; but it was not again met with until 1901 in 
the Nyando Valley in the vicinity of Fort Ternan and 
Muhoroni. 
It affects rough broken ground on hillsides rather than 
open grass-country, and is usually found in small coveys of 
from four to five. 
In the early morning, and again in the evening, a cock 
bird will sit on a stone or small ant-hill and utter its curious 
tremulous notes, which are so unlike the call of any other 
Francolin that it completely baffled me for a long time, until 
one day at Fort Ternan I crawled through the long grass to 
within a few yards of one, and observed it in the act of calling. 
It is rather curious that just about that time my collector 
Baraka, who is a first-rate observer, was collecting birds on 
Mount Elgon, and on his return he told me that he, too, had 
been completely puzzled by the call of this bird until he 
stalked one and shot it as it sat calling on a small ant-hill 
hidden in the grass. 
Like so many of the Francolins it is a great skulker and 
is very difficult to flush without the assistance of a dog or 
several beaters. 
I believe it breeds in the Nyando Valley in December 
and January, and on the slopes of Mount Elgon in March. 
Male . — Top of head, ear-coverts, back, wings, rump, upper 
tail-coverts, and tail umber-brown, the lower back, rump and 
scapulars largely blotched with rich dark brown on one or 
both webs, and mostly with white shaft-stripes. Stripe above 
the eye white ; sides of the face and neck bright chestnut, with 
a white stripe from the eye to the ear-coverts ; chin and throat 
white, some of the feathers tipped with chestnut ; back of neck 
and upper-chest barred with black and white, and forming 
a wide ring which contrasts strongly with the rest of the 
plumage ; lower-chest and rest of the underparts pale buff, 
the former crossed with wavy black bars, the flanks with large 
oblong black blotches on one or both webs of the feathers. 
Iris light brown ; bill dusky brown ; gape and base of lower 
mandible yellow ; feet dull yellow. 
Length 13 inches, wing 6*2 inches, tail 2*7 inches, tarsus 
1*55 inches. 
