PARTRIDGES. 
411 
neck isabelline, faintly marked and barred with rufous bud, and the dark marking 
on the upper-parts coarser. Bare broken ground is the favourite home of the sisis, 
and they may be met with in suitable localities from sea-level up to about seven 
thousand feet. Unlike most partridges, they care little for concealment, and when 
they wish to hide, the colour of their plumage harmonises so perfectly with the 
sand and stones, that it is only necessary for them to keep still to avoid detection. 
.. We now come to a large group of spur-legged partridges known 
The Francolins. . ® ® 1 r 1 ® 
as francolins, which include more than forty species, the great majority 
of which are natives of Africa. One species, the common francolin ( Francolinus 
vulgaris ), is, however, found in Cyprus, and ranges across South-West Asia to 
Northern India, while the painted francolin (F. pictus ) is peculiar to Western and 
Central India, and the Chinese francolin (F. chinensis) inhabits the Indo-Chinese 
countries. In all, except two, the males are provided with at least one, and in certain 
cases two pairs of sharp spurs, and in some of the African forms the females are 
almost as well armed. The common and painted francolins are exceptions to the 
rule, the male of the former having but one pair of blunt wart-like spurs, while in 
the latter even these are absent. The common francolin or black partridge once 
extended over a wider range and inhabited many of the countries bordering the 
Mediterranean, until recently a few pairs still remaining in Sicily. The male has 
the sides of the head, chin, throat, and under-parts deep black, the sides and flanks 
being more or less spotted with white according to age; there is a white band 
below the eye, and a wide chestnut ring surrounds the neck, while the top of the 
head and wings are dark brown edged with buff, and the lower back and rump 
black narrowly barred with white. The female has the chestnut collar confined to 
the nape, and the general colour of the upper-parts browner, while the sides of the 
head are buff shading into white on the throat, and the under-parts white mixed 
with buff and barred with black. This bird, in common with all the francolins, 
loves valleys where high grass and jungle are interspersed with cultivated ground. 
Although the males and females of this and several other species differ considerably 
in plumage, in the great majority of cases they are very much alike; an instance 
of this occurring in two closely allied African species. Thus, while the male of the 
Natal francolin (F. natalensis ) has the under-parts white with Y-shaped black marks 
on the. feathers, and is similar to the female, in the allied Hildebrand’s francolin 
(P. hildebrandi ) from Kilima Njaro, and the Johnston’s francolin (F. johnstoni) 
from the Shire Highlands, although the males are very similiar to the Natal bird, 
and only differ in the shape of the black marking on the under-parts, the females 
are different, their general colour below being bright rust-colour. One of the 
largest species is Jackson’s francolin (F. jacksoni) from Masailand, which is only 
rivalled in size by Erckell’s francolin (F. erckelli ) from Abyssinia. An allied genus 
includes the bare-throated francolins ( Pternistes) of Africa, of which nine large 
species are known, these being easily recognised by their bare throats covered with 
red or orange skin. In habits they closely resemble the true francolins. 
The next genus is that of the true partridges, which are natives 
True Partridges. ^ ]7 jUr0 p 0 and Asia, where they are represented by four species 
belonging to two distinct types. The common partridge ( Perdix cin erea), and the 
bearded partridge (P. daurica), with a black horse-shoe mark on the breast, have 
