404 Gali.in^. hIKU8. — — UmoNiDiD.i!. 
hinder toe. The Crowned Partridge is al)Out ten 
inches in length, and of a green colour, with steel- 
blue and purple tints on the head and lower surlace ; 
the wings are brown, and the crown of the head is 
adorned with an ample crest of orange-red hair-like 
feathers, at the base of which there is a white band. 
This bird inhabits the forests of Java, Sumatra, and 
Malacca, avoiding the plains, and concealing itself in 
the deepest thickets. 
Family V.— PTEROCLIDJU. 
The birds forming the present small family were 
long placed with the Tetraonidae, from which, how- 
ever, they differ in several important particulars. They 
have long pointed wings, indicating a much greater 
power of flight than prevails amongst the Tetraonidae, 
or, indeed, in any other group of gallinaceous birds ; 
their tails are also elongated and pointed, and in some 
species the two middle feathers are much prolonged. 
The bill is nearly straight, the tarsi are elongated and 
clothed in front with short, downy feathers; the hinder 
toe is quite rudimentary, and placed high up on the 
back of the tarsus, and the three anterior toes are short 
and broad. The Pteroclidte live in the sandy deserts 
of the hot regions of Africa and Asia, over which they 
wander to great distances in large flocks. They are 
generally seen in the vicinity of springs and streams, 
and hence their appearance is welcomed by travellers 
in the desert as evidence of the proximity of water. 
Like the partridges, they pair, and the female deposits 
about four or five eggs. 
THE BANDED SAND-GROUSE {Pterocles arenarim), 
which is most abundant in Northern Africa, is also 
met with in the vast plains of the south of Russia, and 
individuals, probably stragglers from either of these 
localities, have been killed in various parts of Southern 
Europe. The general colour of this bird is yellowish- 
brown mixed with gra_y, and banded with brownish- 
black on the upper surface ; the male has the belly, a 
band across the lower part of the breast, and a patch 
on the throat, brownish-black; in the female, the 
plumage is paler beneath, and the throat bears a gray 
patch. The length of the bird is from twelve to four- 
teen inches. The nest of this species is made amongst 
stunted bushes and herbage, and the number of eggs 
is said to be only four or five. Its food consists of 
insects and seeds. 
THE PIN-TAILED SAND-GROUSE {Pterocles alcluita) 
has a much stouter bill than the preceding, and the 
central tail-feathers are greatly elongated. Its plumage 
is variegated with olive, yellowish, and reddish tints, 
and with black; the belly is white, and the breast 
bears a fulvous crescent edged with black ; the tail is 
banded with brown. The length of the bird is about 
fourteen inches. This species is found not only in 
Africa and Asia Minor, but also in Southern Europe, 
principally in Spain and the Landes of France. In its 
habits it resembles the preceding species. 
PALLAS’ SAND-GROUSE {Syrrhaptes paradoxm) is 
a singular species, inhabiting the central parts of Asia, 
where it was discovered by the celebrated traveller, 
Fallas. The structure of the feet is very remarkable; 
the tarsi are short and thick, and entirely clothed with 
minute feathers ; tire hinder toe is entirely wanting, 
and the anterior ones excessively short. The male has 
the two centre feathere of the pointed tail produced and 
filiform, as also the first primary feather in each wing ; 
these peculiarities are absent in the female, which, in 
other respects, closely resembles her partner. The 
length varies from about nine to eleven inches. This 
bird walks very badly, but flies well. It lives on the 
barren steppes of Bucharia and Tartary, where it feeds 
on the seeds which it finds amongst the sand. Its nest 
is placed among stones, or under the shelter of some 
stunted shrub, and composed of a few stalks of grass. 
The eggs are said to be four in number. 
Family VI.— CIIIONlDIDiE. 
This is another family containing a few species 
whose characters are so curious as to have rendered 
their position in the system somewhat doubtful. They 
have a short and stout bill, which is compressed at the 
tip and considerably arched; the nostrils are situated 
at the base of the upper mandible, and protected by a 
more or less inflated cartilaginous plate. Like the 
birds of the preceding family, they have long and 
pointed wings ; their tarsi are of moderate length and 
thickness, naked and reticulated quite up to the articu- 
lation, and terminated by four toes, of which the 
anterior are tolerably long, and the posterior one small, 
and slightly elevated upon the back of the tarsus. 
These singular birds are met with upon the sea 
shores of the southern parts of America, and upon 
those of New Zealand, Australia, and other islands in 
the great southern ocean. 
THE WHITE SHEATHBILL {CMonis alba)—T]ate 
20, fig. 78— has the basal half of the upper mandible 
surrounded by a horny sheath of peculiar construction, 
beneath which the nostrils open ; its cheeks are naked 
and yellowish, and furnished with wattles of the same 
colour; its plumage is white, as is also its bill, and its 
feet are reddish-black. Its length is about fifteen 
inches. This bird is met with upon the shores of 
Patagonia, New Zealand, and Australia, and also upon 
many of the islands of the Antarctic seas. It is a 
solitary and shy bird, which dwells amongst the rocks 
of the sea-shore, and feeds upon the mollusca and 
other small marine animals which it can pick up there. 
According to some writers it also devours carrion, but 
this does not appear to be a general habit with it, and 
several travellers describe its flesh as being very good. 
D’ORBIGNY’S THINOCORE {Thinocoms Orhigny- 
anus). This bird, which with two or three other 
species, resides in the littoral districts of Chili, differa 
from the preceding in the greater comparative length 
and slenderness of the tarsi, and in the absence of the 
peculiar sheath at the base of the bill, and of the naked 
carunculated space on the cheeks. It greatly resem- 
bles a small snipe. These birds live in small troops in 
the valleys between the mountains of Chili, frequent- 
ing the most desert spots, and feeding upon plants, 
roots, and insects. They nidificate on the ground. 
LATREILLE’S ATTAGIS {Aitagis Latreillei), another 
Chilian species, is about the size of a quail, and in its 
