950 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXV 111. 
crop, which were identified by Mr. Irving of Kew as those of Melilotus, sp... pro- 
bably indie, a, and Astragulus, sp., in about equal proportions. 
One skin obtained : Sheik, Saad 24-12-16 (P. Z. C. and It. E. C.). 
325. Large Pin-tailed Sand-grouse, Pterocles alchata. 
Pterocies alchata cmidacutus (Gm.) (Reise d. Russ, iii, p. 93, 1774— 
X. Persia). 
Tliis is the Sand-grouse of Mesopotamia ; it is widely distributed, resident, and 
in most places excessively abundant. There are a number of records -of the 
migrations of vast flocks in March in several areas, as in Kut, Feluja and Baghdad, 
etc., and again in the autumn from August to the end of October. These move- 
ments are accounted for in two waj’s ; this species has its own favourite nesting 
areas and breeds there in large scattered colonies, and so towards the nesting 
season birds draw towards these lavourpd places from districts ^^•here they have 
spent the winter. Other movements are doubtless explained by their flights 
to their drinking ground and to their feeding grounds ; also the latter sites are 
changed as frequently as the food supply is exhausted, or become untenable due 
to flooding or other causes ; then again in the rainy season these birds can 
push further out into the desert, not being dependant on the rivers and canals for 
their water, and so in this way perform a local migration. 
There is no evidence at all that any Sand-grouse of this species visits our plains 
as either a summer or winter visitor, and all the movements noted are no doubt 
purely local. 
Like all Sand-grouse this species is somewhat local ; in some places it swarms 
in countless myriads and yet large stretches of country may be ti-a versed without 
seeing one ; the key to this of course must be food supjfly. Although it may be 
said to be in winter widely distributed throughout the country and very common, 
I will give one or two instances to show its erratic distribution ; Cheesman found 
it abundant at Kifri in January, but on a journey from Kanikin to Mosul none 
W'cre seen ; Buxton, at Amara, says they are there in verj' irregular numbers 
throughout the year except in December and January, sportsmen agreeing that 
it was absent in mid winter there every year ; yet Pitman saw- a large flock near 
there in .January. Doubtless in this case different parts of these areas were 
worked with the above varying results. Most agree that it is uncommon at 
Xasariyeh. 
This Sand-grouse breeds throughout our area from Ras-el-Ain and Mosul to 
Basra and Ahwaz, though there again its distribution is somewdiat local and in 
some places as at Hindia, Feluja and Amara it is quite scarce or sporadic, or as 
round Baghdad where it is said not to breed at all ; in other places as Ahwaz, 
Tekrit, Mendali it is pretty common, while round Kut, Sinn Banks and Sheik- 
Saad enormous colonies exist. Pitman wiio was in this latter district during 
the breeding season and found many nests, has furnished a number of notes on 
the nesting of this species. Here he found these »Sand-gi'ouse vei-y abundant in 
April and towards the end of the month they shewed evident signs of wanting 
to nest, but were much w’orried by the presence of troops on what was probably 
their old breeding grounds, and by the incessant fil ing of field guns and howitzers. 
The first eggs were found on Ajn-il 25th, but it was not until the middle of May 
that nesting W'as in full swing, and he thinks that tlie birds had been delayed 
by the firing in starting nesting operatioms. 
There must have been thousands of pairs in a few- square miles of country and 
not a few of them were nesting between our lines and the Sinn position. 
The ■■ nesst ” is situated preferably on dry open flat ground esj^ecially on the 
drv outskirts of wdiat had been a mud-marsh, though some were found in shoit 
stubble and gi-ass. Xo nest is made but in a few eases a few bits of straws were 
found in the nest, Tlie usual clutch is three eggs : in one case two were normal 
in size and the third no larger than a dove’s egg. Of twenty eggs taken by 
