PERDICIN^.. 
leav: 
fou  th^  rounded  hard  scale  naked.  Wings  moderate  and  pointed,  with  the  second,  third) 
®*ddl ' drills  equal  and  longest.  Tail  short  and  slightly  rounded.  Tarsi  shorter  than  the 
the  b in  front  with  divided  scales,  and  armed  with  a blunt  tubercle.  Toes  long,  united  at 
) With  the  outer  one  longer  than  the  inner  ; the  claws  moderate  and  slightly  curved. 
Europe  ™ cultivated,  as  well  as  the  uncultivated  lands,  in  the  plains  and  in  the  high  mountainous  parts  of 
Summer  -^h’ica,  and  Asia,  that  the  various  species  of  this  genus  ai'e  found.  Some  frequent  during-  the 
^liich  th  ^ portions  of  the  mountains,  and  descend  towards  the  valleys  on  the  ap2>roach  of  winter,  during 
live  thro^Il  enter  the  villages  without  fear.  Other  species  prefer  the  level  lands,  where  they 
disfiuce^'l^f  migrating  from  place  to  place,  in  search  of  food ; when  alarmed,  they  usually  run  for  a great 
vegetahl  and  thereby  generally  escape  the  sportsman’s  aim.  Their  food  consists  of  grains, 
> nd  insects.  The  female  usually  deposits  her  eggs  in  a tuft  of  rank  grass,  or  beneath  a low  hush  in  barren 
places.  Ofli  iAi5Liiiiij  ucjjucii/o  lici  cgg°  “ ......  o ' 
generallv  mo®®  o'^  slender  herbage,  which  covers  the  rocks  or  large  stones.  The  eggs  are 
y teen  to  eighteen  in  number. 
of  Enr.  pi  fbenl.  150. — Perdix  rubra  Briss.  Gould, 
f • rufa  PI.  enl.  231. — Perdix  saxatilis  Bechst. ; 
3.  Q of  Eur.  pi.  26],  f.  2. 
iii.  p.  54.,  III.  Ind.  Zool. 
j ^ent.  of  R t 'ri  r>\ 
'^ourn.  Lit  q . — Chacura  pugnax  Ilodgs,  Madr. 
Sci.  1837.  p.  305. 
4.  C.  melanocephala  (Riipp.)  Faun.  Abyss,  t.  5. 
5.  C.  petrosa  (Lath.)  Edwards’s  Birds,  pl.  70.,  Gould,  B.  of  Eur. 
pi.  261.  f.  1.  — Type  of  Alectoris  Kaup  (1829). 
6.  C.  7/eyu  (Temra.)  PI.  cl.  328,  329. 
7.  C.  Bonhami  G.  R.  Gray,  Ann.  Nat.  Hist.  1843.  p.  372., 
Fras.  Zool.  Typ.  pt.  3.  pl.  —Perdix  griseogularis  Brandt,  Bull,  des 
Sci.  Petersb.  x.  p.  27- 
Lerwa  Hodgs.* 
cover’  than  the  head,  with  the  culmen  much  arched  to  the  tip ; the  sides  dilated,  and  greatly 
^Vin  ^ lower  mandible ; the  nostrils  lateral,  basal,  small,  and  covei’ed  by  a tumid  hard  scale. 
«iodel^°”^’  longest.  Tail 
the  r • ^°onded.  Tarsi  short,  plumed  below  the  knee,  and  armed  with  a blunt  small  spur,  and 
Ihe  hhX^^^^^  scutellated  with  divided  scales.  Toes  long,  mth  the  lateral  one  nearly  equal,  and 
oe  rather  long  ; the  claws  long,  robust  and  slightly  curved. 
The 
th^htr  found  in  flocks  among  rocks  and  low  bmshwood,  close  to  the  permanent  snowy  range 
insects,  mountains  of  India.  It  sustains  itself  upon  the  buds  and  leaves  of  aromatic  plants,  and  it  also  feeds 
IS  considered  the  most  game-like  of  aU  the  sporting  birds  of  that  region,  even  when  eaten  fresh. 
L.  nivicola  Hodgs.  _ Perdix  Lerwa  Hodgs.  Proc.  Z.  S.  1833.  p.  107.  Hray,  111.  Ind.  Zool.  ii.  pl.  44.  f.  1. 
®^‘-klished  by  Mr.  Hodgson 
in  1837  {Madr.  Journ.  Lit.  c'J-  Sci.  1837,  p.  301.). 
He  also  used  Tetraoperdix  for  the  same  type. 
'January,  1846, 
