-NRLF B ^ SDl 23b ri* B r> c n >v- ■•, \'4>'^ \#A' Jf..A....3,l[lS^ A.; GIFT OF HORACE W. CARPENTIER Pa-sr ^ rx^*-'^^ /^' /i^>>ilZ^/» £Af<> . / /c^^^^-^^ THE EDIBLE AND GAME BIRDS OF BRITISH INDIA WITH ITS DEPENDENCIES AND CEYLON. WITH WOODCUTS, LITHOGRAPHS, AND COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS. BY JAMES A. MURRAY, P.S.A.L., Member of the Natural History and Anthropological Societies of Bombay; Manager, Victoria Natural History Institute; late Curator, Kurrachee Municipal Library and Museum; Author of "A Handbook to the Geology, Botany and Zoology of Sind)" -'The Plants and Drugs of Sind;" "Kurrachee to Kandahar;" "The Vertebrate Zoology of Sind;" "The Reptiles of Sind;" and "THE AVIFAUNA OF BRITISH INDIA AND ITS DEPENDENCIEti." LONDON: — Trubner & Co., 13 Ludgate Hill. BOMBAY : — Education Society's Press, Byculla. 1889. 1) \^^ \^ ^ MT ^ PREFACE. The publication of this work is a fulfilment of the promise held out in the August (1887) number of the Indian Annals and Mazagme of Natural Science (a monthly periodical then conducted by me for the Victoria Natural History Institute) to issue a series of works on the Fauna and Flora of the various Presidencies and Provinces in India. It is the second of the series, and has, owing to the subject falling within the limits of the Avifauna of India, and to the similarity of the labour involved in completing the larger work, taken the place of what was begun in the Annals, vis.^ " The Reptiles of Western India, including Sind," which awaits further materials. It was only at the repeated requests of a number of subscribers to my " Avifauna of British India," as well as of sportsmen and others, that the additional labour was undertaken, it having been shown that volumes of 1,000 and more pages would be an encumbrance to them in their Shikar travels, which now, from the southernmost point of India to the " Abode of Snow," by rail and other facilities, is a pleasure trip of but a few days. At the same time the book furnishes all the necessary information in regard to the " Close season" for Game Birds, and by its study would prevent any infringe- ment of the Game Laws ; and also afford information as to what substitutes could be had during the breeding season of certain species. In these respects it would be a manual for all District Officers. It is not intended that it should supersede or render unnecessary other valuable and costly illustrated works on a larger scale, but on the contrary 446680 4 PREFACE. extend their usefulness by rendering their purpose, In a less expanded form, available to that numerous class of enquirers, adventurers and sportsmen whose incomes are much affected by the rate of exchange ; also to even District Officers and those Indian Princes and Chiefs who are ever seeking hunting or sporting grounds in newly opened-up regions, as a pocket guide, in the hope that they will find it not altogether un- worthy of their kind patronage. It will be found not without some valuable characteristics of its own which is not comprised in its predecessors. First, is the detailed description of each species and of their nests and eggs ; next its more recent information, and in generally giving — after the accessions of country during the past six years — the additions to the Game fauna of those new regions ; again the important Breeding Calendar and table of the distribution of each species ; and lastly, the condensed abridgements of the more elaborate writings of many acknow- ledged authorities (all essential details being added), as it seemed indispensable that there should be an exclusion of all lengthy repetitive disquisitions, notes and notices which form the bulk of the works now extant. Of the 245 birds described in this work, 133 only have been hitherto classed as Game Birds. These are represented as under : — Pteroclidae 8 Perdicinae 34 Pavoninae ., 4 Scolopacidae 7 Megapodldae i Rallinae 8 Galllnae^ 6 Parrldae 3 Otitidse 6 Cygnldae .,,.,..,. i Phaslaninae 16 Anserldae 5 Gruidae 4 Anatidae 30 PREFACE. O Of this number 49 only are known to breed within our limits from the month of February to about the third week of August, during which period there are not less than 76 other edible birds which form excellent substitutes. Chief among these latter are the Treronid(^ and Columbidce or the families of Pigeons, also the Buntings and Doves, besides a few of the Charadrinse. which breed in India and Ceylon, and are found the whole year round. After the third week of August, besides the " Game" which up to then were prohibitive, multifarious hosts of Waders and Swimmers are added to the list of birds sought for by all sportsmen, for which with doubtful footsteps it is necessary to tramp through reeds and rushes and amidst oozing mud and stagnant pools. These are the Herons, Snipe, Curlews, Geese, Ducks, Stone and Sand Plovers, Stints, Quails, Coots, Buntings, Godwits &c., of which there are numerous species and vast numbers of Individuals of each, chiefly migrants which winter in India, leaving again at tolerably fixed periods during the months of March, April and May. During winter, wherever suitable situations are found, as marshes, mudbanks, channels and lakes, or dhunds, formed either by the Inundation of a river or by rain, these places literally teem with Waders and Swimmers. There is abundance of shooting at this period, and In some places, as the Munchur Lake in Sind, wild fowl literally swarm In such large masses, that when disturbed, they form quite a feathered cloud In the air. And this the sportsman may enjoy for fully 8 months in the year. It Is much to be regretted that the Avifauna of Cashmere has not been as fully worked out as either Afghanistan or Persia. An attempt has been made to give the distribution of the Game Birds in Cashmere ; the information Is, however, 6 PREFACE very meagre, and as far as possible only those species have been added of whose occurrence the facts have been well ascertained from the works of standard authors. In com- piling the distribution table, many of the most celebrated standard Zoological works have been consulted, and accurate information has been culled from all. The names of Blyth, Jerdon, Hume, Marshall, Blanford, Gould, Sharpe, and Gates, are among the many from whom these pages have been enriched, and to whom these remarks apply. I must not however omit to mention here the sterling service of Natural- ist-collectors, who have aided much in making the book full of more recent Information In regard to the breeding of species, and their habits and occurrence In the stations they are placed in. Among many are Mr. Mahon Daly, of the Shevaroy Hills ; Mr. P. W. Mackinnon of Mussoorie ; Mr. Charles Wilkinson of Darjeeling; Mr. W. Beckwith in the Sikkim Terai ; Mr. A. G. Cardew of Ootacamund ; Mr. H. Parker and Mr. F. B. Armstrong of Ceylon ; Mr. J. A. Cave Browne of Rangomati in the Chittagong Hill Tracts ; Mr. Ellison of Rangoon ; and Mr. C. Wyeth of Tavoy. The illustrations In the work have been taken chiefly from my " Vertebrate Zoology of Sind." A few of the later wood- cuts are from other sources, with certain necessary alterations and additions to meet their scientific descriptions. These last, together with the coloured plates, including the heads of Grouse taken from Mr. Hume's works, were executed under the supervision of the Education Society's Press. James A. Murray. Ripon Road^ Byculla, Bombay, 6th December 1889. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE 1. Francolinus vulgaris ... 2. Diagram showing the different parts of Birds 3. Sturnus vulgaris ... ... 4. Pastor roseus 5. Palumbus casiotis ... ... 6. Columba livia 7. Turtur risoiius 8. Heads of Pterocles coronatus, senegallus, exustus, alchata, Lichtensteini and fasciatus 9. Pterocles arenarius (Male) ... 10. „ (Female) 11. Head of Crossoptilon thibetanum 12. „ Ceriornis satyra 13. „ Ithaginis cruentus ... 14. „ Pucrasia macrolopha 15. „ *Polyplectron Hardwickii 16. „ Lerwa nivicola 17. ,, Coturnix communis ... 18. Otis tarda ... ... ... 19. Charadrius pluvialis ... ... ... 20. Vanellus cristatus 21. CEdicnemus crepitans 22. Strepsilas interpres 23. Grus cinerea ... ... 24. Scolopax rusticola ... 25. Gallinago scolopacina ... 26. „ gallinula 27. Head of Phalaropus fulicarius 28. Limosa lapponica 29. Numenius arquatus ... 30. Porphyrio poliocephalus ... ... ... ... 31. Head of Fulica atra ... .^ 32. GaUinula chloropus .. 33. Ardea cinerea 34. Cygnus olor ,.. ... * Wrongly Phasianus, under figure. {Plate) >» I {Woodcut) ... 13 »> 14 ,« 25 >) • • • 28 {Plate) ... 34 f> 45 » 40 »> • •• 43 {Woodcut) ... S3 i> ••• 55 »» 57 »> 58 »> .. • 59 i> 71 {Plate) ... 87 {Woodcut) .. 95 » 105 ,, no tt 114 t> IIS »» ••• 116 .) ... 122 >> ••. 125 j» ••• 126 »> 137 II ••• 146 i> 149 1* ... 154 i> 155 » ... 163 >i ... 168 t) ... 170 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 35. Anser albifrons 36. Tadorna cornuta ... 37. Spatula clypeata 38. Anas boscas 39. Chaulelasmus streperus 40. Dafila acuta ... 41. Mareca penelope 42. Querquedula circia ... 43. Querquedula formosa 44. Fuligula cristata 45. Fuligula marila 46. Fuligula ferina 47. Clangula glaucion 48. Mergus merganser ( Woodcu/) PAGE 173 180 181 183 i8s 188 190 192 193 197 198 199 201 205 Edible Birds of British Ijixha.- ' ' '^ ' •' FRANCOLINUS VULGARIS. Table of Contents and Breeding Calendar. ORDER— PASSERIFORMES. Section— FRINGILLIFORMES. Family— FRINGILLID^. Sub-Family— EMBERIZINiE. PAGE Gen. Emberiza. 1. schcEniclus Linn 2 2. pusilla, Pall 2 3. fucata, Pall 3 4. melanocephala, Sco^ 4 5. \\iteo\a., Sparrm 5 6. aureola, Pall 6 7. rutila, Pall 7 8. spodocephala, Pa^Z 8 9. Buchanani, Blyth 8 10. Stracheyi, Moore 9 11. Steward, TJZy^A 9 12. leucocephala, Gm 10 Gen. Galerida. 13. cristata, Linn 11 Family— STURNIDiE. Sub-Family— STURNINiE3. Gen. Sturnus. 14. vulgaris, Xinn 13 Gen. Pastor. 15. roseus, Linn 14 ORDER— GEMIT ORES. Family— TRERONIDiE. Gen. Treron. 16. nipalensis, Hodga 16 Gen. Crocopus. 17. pbceaicopterus, Lath 16 18. chlorigaster, Blyth 16 19. viridifrons, Blyth 17 Gen. Osmotreron. 20. bicincta, Jerd 18 21. vernans, Linn 18 22. malabarica, Jerd 19 23. Phayrii, Blyth 19 24. fulvicoUis, Wagl 20 25. pompadoura, Gmel 20 Breeding Calendar. u ea o Oh < ^ ^ (U •-9 (0 6D C »^ CQ 84a Lafayetti, Less Gen. Galloperc^. 85. spadiceus, Gmel &^ 86. lunulatus, Valenc 68 87. zeylonensis, Gmel 69 Family— TETRAONIDiE. Sub-Family- PERDICIN^. Gen. Tetraogallus. 88. himalayensis, G. R. Gray 70 89. thibetanus, Gould, 70 Gen Lerwa. 90. nivicola, Hodgs 71 Gen. Francolinus. 91. vulgaris, > 'a 1-5 tn be a < (D a o o o : g s « p. © m u XI o « O i a > o i o PAGE Family— HiEMATOPODID^. Sub-Family— STREPSILINiE. Gen. Strepsilas. 143. interpres, it'rtn 115 Gen. Dromas. 144. ardeola, Payk 117 X X X Gen. Hsematopus. 146, ostralegus, Linn. .. '. 117 1 Family— GRUIDiE. Gen. Grus. 146. antigone, ii»« 118 X X 147. leucogeranus, Pall. 148. cinerea, Bechst 119 119 Gen. Anthropoides 149. virgo, Xt'nn 121 TRIBE— LONGIKOSTRES. Family— SCOLOPACIDiE. Gen. Scolopax. 150. rusticola, Ljww 122 X Gen Gallinago. 151. nernoricola, Hodgs 122 152. solitaria, Eodgs. 122 153. stenura, Kuhl 124 ? ... ... ... • ... ... ... ... 154. scolopacina, Bonap. 125 155. gallinula, Lmn 127 Gen. Bhynchsea. 156. capensis, Linn 128 Gen. Limicola. 157. platyrhyncha. Tern, .-. 129 Sub -Family— Gen. Eurynorhynclius. 158. pygmseus, Linn, ... Gen. Tringa. 159. minuta, Leisl TRINGIN^. 129 130 160. subminuta, Mt'dd. ... 131 ... 161. Temmincki, iet«^ 132 162. crassirostris, Tern 132 163, subarquata, Gould 133 ... ...L ... ... ... ... 164. cinclua, Linn 134 ... • tt • •• Vlll CONTENTS AND BREEDING CALENDAR. Breeding Calendar. CD ' CJ 02 I O Gen. Machetes. 165. pugnax, Linn. Gen. Calidris. 166. arenaria, Linn. PAGE 135 136 Sub-Family— PH ALA ROPINiE. Gen. Phalaropus. 167. hyperboreus, Linn. 168. fulicarius, Linn. .... 1.36 137 Sub-Family— TOTANIN^. Gen. Actitis. 169. hypoleucos, itnn 138 170. ochropus, Lmn 138 Gen. Totanus, 171. glareola, Gmel. ....... 139 172. canescens, G^weZ 140 173. stagnatilis, Bechst 140 174. calidris, itwn 141 175. fuscus, itwra 141 176. Haughtoni, Hume 142 177. dubius, Murray 142 Gen. Terekia. 178. cinerea, Linn 143 Sub-Family— LIMOSINiE. Gen. Pseudoscolopax. 179. semipalmatus, Jerd 144 Gen. Limosa. 180. segocephala, Lmn 145 181. lapponica, Linn 146 Sub-Family— NUMENINiE. Gen. Numenius. 182. phceopus, Linn 148 183. arquatus, Linn 149 Gen, Ibidorhynchus. 184. Struthersii, Vigort 150 CONTENTS AND BREEDING' CALENDAR. IX Species. Breeding Calendar. >1 u P a 1-5 cS 42 -0 o 'I <1 ^ a ® a CI 1-5 a (4 a 0) CZJ © -a o o O C O Sub-Family— REC URVIROSTRINyE. PAGE Gen. Becurvirostra. 185. avocetta, Linn 150 Gen. Himantopus. 186. Candidas, Ztww 150 Family— PARRID^. Gen. Metopodius. 187. indicus, ia^ 152 Sub-Family— PARRINiE . Gen. Hydrophasianus. 188. chirurgus, Scop 153 Family— RALLIDiE. Sub-Family—GALLINULIN^. Gen. Porphyrio. 189. poliocephala, Lath 154 Gen. Fulica. 190. Rtrsi, Linn 155 Gen. Podica. 191. personata, G. R. Gray 155 Gen. Hypotsenidia. 192. striata, Linn 156 Geu. Eallus. 193. indicus, Blyth 157 Gen. Rallina. 194. euryzonoides, Lajr 158 195. fasciata, Raffl 159 196. Canningi, Tytler 159 Sub-Family— RAILING. Gen. Porzana. 197. BaiUoni, Fieill 160 198. maruetta, Linn 161 199. fusca, Linn 162 200. minuta, Pall 162 201. akool, Sykes 162 Gen. Gallinula. 202. chloropus, Linn 163 203. phcenicura, Pe/?n ,„. 164 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X CONTENTS AND BREEDING CALENDAR. Species. Breeding Calendar. Gen. Gallicrex. 204. cinereus,, Gtnel. PAGE 165 Family— ARDEID^, Gen. Ardea. 205. goliath, Tem 166 206. sumatrana, Raffles 167 207. insignis, Hodgs 168 208. cinerea, Lm?? 168 209. purpurea, Linn. 169 FamUy— CYGNIDiE. Gen. Cygnus. 210. olor. Cm 170 Family— ANSERID^. sub-Family— ANSERINiE. Gen. Anser. 211. cinereus, Meyer 171 212. brachyrrhvnchus, Baillon 172 213. albifrons, 6'm 173 214. erythropus, Linn 174 215. indicus, Lath 174 Family— ANATID^. Sub-Family— PLECTROPTERINiE. Gen. Sarkidiornis. 216. melanonotus, Penn 175 Gen. Nettapus, 217. coromandelianus, GmeL 176 Gen. Dendrocygna. 218. Javanica, Horsf. 177 219. fulva, Gmel 178 Gen. Casarca. 220. rutila, Pall 178 221. scutulata, P. L. S. Mull 179 Gen. Tadorna. 222. cornuta, Gm 180 CONTENTS AND BREEDING CALENDAR. XI Species. Breeding Calendar. U 01 ^ • -U a ,a ai o u 1 ^ ^ o a a 1-5 1-3 3 3 02 PAGE Gen. Spatula, 223. clypeata, Linn 181 Gen. Anas. 224. boscas, Xmn 183 225. paecilorhyncha, i^or«^ 183 226. caryophyllacea, LatU 184 Gen, Chaulelasmus. 227. streperus, l/inw 185 228. angustirostris, Mewe^ 186 Gen. Dafila. 229. acuta, Linn 188 Gen. Mareea. 230. penelope, itn» 190 Gen. Querquedula. 231. crecca, Linn 191 232. circia, Xmn 192 233. formosa, Geor^t 193 234. falcata, Georgi 194 Gen. Fuligula. 235. rufina, Pall 196 236. cristata, Xtnn, 197 237. marila, Lnn 198 238. ferina, it'nw 199 239. nyroca, Gould. 200 Gen. Clangula. 240. glaucion, Linn 201 Gen. Erismatura. 241. leucocephala, Scop 202 Gen. Mergus. 242. senator, iinn 203 243. merganser, Linn, 204 244. albellus, Linn 204 X X X X X X X a Upper mandible. b Lower mandible. c Nostrils. d Culmen or keel. e Gonys. / Margins of mandibles or commissure. /2 Ophthalmic region, or orbit. g Forehead. h Crown. i Sinciput or hind head. k Nape. ; Ear-coverts. m Chin or mentum. n Throat. o Breast. p The body. q Belly or abdomen. r Vent, s Under-tail coverts. t Interscapularies or back. V Lower back. TO Rump. w2 Upper-tail coverts. X Tail feathers. z Central or median feathers. tail aa Lateral tail feathers. bb Shoulder of wing. cc Shoulder joint (lesser wing coverts). dd Axilla, or edge of wing. ee Spurious wing or primary coverts. ff Scapulars. gg Thigh or tibia. hh Tarsus. a Toes. 1 Lesser coverts. 2 Median coverts. 3 Greater coverts. 4 Primaries. 5 Secondaries. 6 Tertiaries. 7 Festoon. 8 Cere. THE EDIBLE AND GAME BIRDS OF BRITISH INDIA WITH ITS DEPENDENCIES AND CEYLON. ORDER.— PASSERIFORMES. Section— FRINGILLIFORMES. Family— FRINGILLID^. Birds with conical bill, usually entire at the tip, the lower mandible generally of the same proportion as the upper, but in some deeper ; margin of bill not toothed or indented ; wings moderate ; tail moderate or short, even, rounded or emarginated ; feet fitted for walking on- the ground. They are chiefly ground-feeders, and while some may be said to be omnivorous, others feed almost exclusively on grain. They nidificate on trees, holes in rocks, or banks of nullahs and river beds. Plumage generally plain, in some only sandy. They are usually possessed of much intelligence, and there are among them some of the most familiar birds, which are the most appreciable songsters. The gizzard of many is thick and muscular, and in such cases the birds swallow stone, or gravel, to j^ssist the trituration of the seeds they feed on. Sub-Family.— EMBERiziN^. Bill flattened on the sides, smaller and more compressed than in Passer, the edges indented or waved — a palatal knob on upper mandible ; wings pointed ; tarsi moderate, scutate ; hind toe longer than inner ; tail moderate, even, or emarginate. Gen. Emberiza. Bill small; second to 4th quills longest; tail rather forked; outermost feather white of whitish. All the species of this Genus, are snared in great numbers wherever they occur, and brought to market for sale as Ortolan. That they are its allies there can be no doubt, but besides members of the Emberizinae, the common crested and other Larks, Finches, and Sparrows also do duty for it. As in England, dealers keep as many as five or six hundred at a time of all species, including Pyrrhulauda grisea, in large cages and feed them most liberally on 1 B 2 FRINGILLID^. bajree and jowaree and so fatten them for the table ; they are however quite as good on the day they are snared or shot, and make most excellent dishes in the hands of a good chef de cusine. When fattened artificially they are simply masses of fat, andin agastronomical point of view, without exception, all the Emberiziag, as well as larks, are much esteemed. When snared at long distances, a process of pickling with spices, &c., is resorted to. The following are all the species of Emberiza which find their way to the table under the name of Ortolan. 1. Emberiza SChoenicluS, Linn., Syst. Nal. \. p. 31 1; Varrell, Br. B. i. p. 438 ; Hujne, Ibis, 1 869, p. 355 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus. xii. p. 457. Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 326, No. 859. Emberiza schcenicola, Hume, Ibis, 1871, p. 38; C. Swinh,, Ibis, 1882. — The Rosy Ortolan. Adult Male in breeding plumage. — General color above rufous, the feathers margined paler, and those of the mantle and back with broad black centres ; lower back, rump and upper tail coverts ashy grey, mesially centred with black or pale brown ; scapulars and lesser and median wing coverts chestnut, the scapulars centred with black and the latter with black bases ; greater coverts black with chestnut margins and sandy buff outer edges ; bastard wing and primary coverts dusky brown, edged with ashy or pale rufous, which color also fringes the outer webs of the quills, which are blackish ; tail dark brown, mar- gined with whitey brown, the outer pairs of feathers white on the outer web, except a dusky mark at the tip ; the inner web white at the base only ; crown of the head, sides of the face, ear coverts, throat and foreneck black ; sides of the neck, a demi-collar on the neck, cheeks, under tail coverts, axillaries, under wing coverts and under surface of the body white ; the sides of the body streaked with black, also the flanks ; sides of the breast ashy grey with narrow streaks of black ; thighs brown. Length. — 6 inches ; wing 3 ; tail 2*6 ; tarsus 075 ; culmen 0*45. In winter the upper plumage is rufous chestnut with narrow central black streaks, and the black of the head, throat and neck is fringed with sandy brown. The adult female in breeding plumage has the head reddish brown instead of black, the feathers mesially streaked with black like the back ; ear coverts jeddish brown ; above the eye a streak of sandy buff ; cheeks white ; hind neck ashy with central black streaks ; foreneck rufous and also streaked with black ; under surface of body white, the sides streaked with dusky. Length. — 5*2 inches; wing 2*9; tail 2*4 ; tarsus 07; culmen 0*45. Hab. — The whole of Europe extending as far as Kamtschatka, reaching in winter to the N.-W. Provinces of India in the Punjab and S. Afghanistan. 2. Emberiza pUSilla, Pall., Reis. Buss. Reichs, iii. p. 697 ; Blyth, J. A. S. B. xv. p. 40 ; id.. Ibis, 1867, p. 42 ; Gould, B. Asia, v. pi. 7 ; Uume, Sir. F. 1876, p. 279; Anderson, Zool. E.xped. Funan Aves, p. 604; Hume and Dav., Str. F. 1878, p. 407 ; Seebohrn., Ibis, 1882, p. 379; EMBERIZA. 3 Gates, B. Br. Burm. i, p. 343 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus. xii. p. 487 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p 327, No. 860. Ocyris oinops, Hodgs., Icon, ined. in Br. Mus. Passercs, pi. 292.— The Dwarf Bunting. Upper plumage streaked with black, rufous and grey ; forehead to nape over the crown light chestnut and a similar line over the ear coverts ; lores, sides of the face, ear coverts and throat light or vinous chestnut, with a black moustachial line extending behind the ear coverts ; hind neck and sides of the neck pale chestnut streaked with whitish ; chin and upper throat pale chestnut ; lower throat and under surface of the body dull white, streaked with black ; under wing coverts and axillaries white ; wing coverts brown edged with rufous, the median series broadly tipped with rufous forming a wing bar ; bastard wing, primary coverts and quills blackish, fringed on the outer web with brown, the primaries margined with ashy brown and the secondaries with rufous ; tail brown or blackish brown edged with lighter brown, the penultimate feathers with a white diagonal or wedge-shaped bar of white on the inner web, the outer pair with a larger band extending to both webs. In winter the male has the black bands fringed with rufous and the head is not so rufous. The female in summer is similar to the male in winter, but it wants the chestnut on the throat which is white and bounded by a black moustachial line on both sides. Bill horny ; legs pale fleshy ; irides brown. Length. — 5*25 inches; wing 2"8 ; tail 2'4 ; tarsus 0*7 ; culmen 0*4. Hab. — Northern Europe, wintering in the Himalayas, Assam, Burmah and Tenasserim. Recorded from Nepaul, Sikkim, Shillong, Khasia hills, Sylhet, Munipoor and Mooleyit in Tenasserim. It occurs in small flocks in bare spots of ground covered with low bushes. According to Seebohm it breeds in Siberia, building on the ground, amongst dead leaves, a nest made of moss and grass, thickly lined with fine grass. Eggs, 5 in number, pale grey, blotched and spotted with darker and paler grey. 3- Emberiza fucata, Pall., Pels. Puss. Peichs, iii. p. 608 ; Gm., Syst. Nat. i. p. 871 ; Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 375 ; Blyth^ Ibis, 1867, p. 42; Beavan, t. c. p. 41 ; Gould, B. Asia, v. pi. 9 ; Godwin-Austen, jF. A. S. B. 1874, p. 171 ; Blyth and Wald., B. Burm. p. 95 ; Hume and Dav., Str. F. 1878, p. 407 ; Hume, Str. F. 1879, p. 107 ; Oates, B. Br. Burm. i. p. 3S1 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus. xii. p. 493; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 328, No. 861. Euspiza fucata, Blyth, J . A. S. B. xxiii. p. 215. Citrinella fucata, Huvie,Nests and Eggs, Ind. B. p. 465 ; id. and Oates, Str. F. 1875, p. 157. — The Grey-headed Bunting. Male in breeding plumage. — Head, nape and sides of the neck grey, streaked with black ; back and mantle reddish brown, also streaked with black; rump uniform reddish brown; upper tail coverts isabelline with dark shaft streaks ; tail dark brown, with russet edges on the outer webs ; the 4 FRINGILLID^. outer feathers white on the outer web and a diagonal patch of the same on the inner ; the next pair dark brown with a patch of white on the inner web near the tip ; lesser and median wing coverts chestnut, the latter with black shaft stripes, the greater series and inner secondaries dark or dusky brown margined broadly on both webs with reddish brown; primaries and secondaries brown, also margined on the outer webs with reddish brown ; lores and feathers round the eye greyish brown ; ear coverts chestnut ; cheeks and a line below the ears white, below which latter again is a thin black line which widens on the neck and forms an interrupted pectoral gorget, below which again is another of chestnut ; chin and throat white ; under surface of the body isabelline or fawn colour, the flanks streaked with black. In winter the male has an olive brown head, much mixed with grey ; the black gorget line is not so evident and the chestnut streak below is wanting. Bill dark fleshy brown ; iris brown. Length. — 5' IS to 6*5 inches ; tail 27 ; wing 2-8 ; tarsus 0"8 ; culmen 0*5. Hab. — Eastern Siberia and Japan. Resident in the N.-W. Himalayas, migrating to the Burmese countries and the plains of India during winter. According to Gates it is a common winter visitor to Pegu, and is said to be found nearly thioughout British Burmah and parts of Tenasserim. Breeds under tufts of grass, or under a large stone, making a shallow cup lined with grasses and hairs. Eggs, 4 in number, greenish grey, marked with reddish brown. 4. Emberiza melanocephala, Scop., Atm. i. p. 142; Tem. Man. d' Orn. \. p. 393 ; Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 93 ; Gould, B. Eur. iii. pi. 172 ; Jerd., Madr. Journ. xi. p. 29 ; Blyih, J. A. S. B. xiii. p. 957 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus. xii. p. 503 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 329, No. 862. Euspiza melanocephala, Bp., Comp. List B. Eur. and N. Anier. p. 32 ; Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. As, Soc. p. 128; Bp., Consp. i. p. 488 ; Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 378 ; Gould, B. Asia. v. pi. 13 ; James, Str. F. 1871, p. 421 ; Brooks, Ibis, 1873, p. 246; Butler, Str. F. 1875, p. 397; Blanf., E. Pers. ii. p. 260; Fairbk., Str. F. 1876, p. 261 ; James, Str. F. 1877, p. 61 ; Bume, Str. F. 1879, p. 107; Alurray, Vert. Zool., Sind, p. 188; id., Zool. of Beloochistan and Afgh. p. 23 ; Swinhoe and Barnes, Ibis, 18S5, p. 129. Euspiza simillima, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xviii. p. 811 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p. 466. — The Black-headed Corn Bunting. Male. — Whole head, feathers under the eye and ear coverts black ; in winter edged with yellowish or greyish brown ; chin, throat, sides of the neck, and entire under surface bright yellow ; sides of the breast chestnut ; back and scapulars rich chestnut ; rump and upper tail coverts yellowish, with a faint tinge of chestnut on some of the feathers ; wing coverts dark brown, the feathers edged and tipped with fulvous ; primaries, secondaries and terti- aries brown, the primaries and secondaries narrowly, and the tertiaries broadly margined with fulvous ; edge of the wing bright yellow ; tail brown, the feathers EMBERIZA, 5 edged paler. The female is yellowish brown above, the feathers of the head and back with mesial dark streaks ; the chin whitish, and the rest of the under surface very pale yellow ; bill and legs yellowish brown ; irides light brown. Length. — 7*5 to 8 inches ; wing 3-8 to 4 ; tail 3 ; bill at front 05 ; tarsus i"0. In winter plumage the feathers of the male is obscured by ashy margins to the feathers of the head and the back, nearly obscuring the black and chest- nut of these parts. Hab. — Sind, Punjab (at Mooltan and Montgomery), Beloochistan, Persia, Afghanistan, Kutch, Kattiawar, Jodhpore, N. Guzerat, Concan and Deccan. Found outside of India, in Turkey, Asia Minor and S.-E. Europe. Arrives in large flocks in the middle of August, and during their stay till October commit great havoc in the barley and jowaree crops. This species is the most esteemed nearly throughout India, with the next. Only try, grilled Corn-buntings, and it will be found that there could be no better substitute till the snipe and duck came in. 5. Emberiza luteola, Sparrman, Mus. Carls, fasc. iv. Taf. 93 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus. xii. p. 50S ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 329, No. 863. Euspiza luteola, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus, As. Soc. p. 127 ; Bp., Consp. \. p. 469 ; Jerd., B. Ind. ii, p. 378 ; Hume, Str. F. iii. p. 498 ; id., Str. F. 1879, p. 107; Murray, Vert. ZooL, Sind, p. 188. — The Red-headed Bunting. Head, neck, chin, throat and breast rich chestnut ; sides of the breast greenish yellow; back and scapulars greenish yellow, the feathers mesially streaked with dark brown ; the whole under surface including the under tail coverts bright yellow; wing coverts dark brown, broadly edged and tipped with fulvous ; primaries, secondaries and tertiaries brown with fulvous edgings, broader on the tertiaries ; tail brown, the outermost feather on each side much paler, and the rest edged with greenish ; edge of the wing yellow. The female wants the chestnut of the head, chin, throat and breast; the upper surface is olive brown, and the under surface very pale fulvous ; bill and legs yellowish brown. Length. — 675 to 7 ; wing 3-5 ; tail 3; bill at front 0*5. The female in summer plumage is light ashy brown above, streaked with blackish shaft lines, the head like the back and the hind neck more uniform ; wings and tail as in the male. The adult male in winter is not unlike the male in summer, but like the preceding has ashy brown edges to the feathers, which obscure the summer plumage, even the yellow rump. Hab.—'^m^, Beloochistan, Persia, Afghanistan, E. Turkistan, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Oudh, Kutch, Kattiawar, Jodhpore, Jeypore, N. Guzerat, Concan, Deccan and Southern India, also Khandeish and Central India. This species is generally associated with E. melanocephala with which it is netted and snared in abundance. Among the natives, both species are known as Tillur, a name also appUed toStarlings. 6 FRINGILLID^. 6. Emberiza aureola, Pall., Reis. Russ. Reichs, ii. p. 711; Gw., Syst. Nat. i. p. 875 ; Tern., Man. d'Orn. iii. p. 232; Gould, B. Eur, iii. pi. 174; Oaies, B. Br. Burm.^. 355; Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus. xii. p. 510. Emberiza aureola, Bp., Comp. List. B, Eur. and N. Amer. p. 36 ; Jerd., B. hid. ii. p. 380; Hume, Str. F. 1874, pp. 258, 481; Gates, Str. F. 1S75, p. 159; Blyih and Wald., B. Burni. p. 94 ; Godwin-Austen, J , A. S. B. xlv. p. 83; Hume and Dav., Str. F. 18/8, p. 409; Hume, Str. F. 1879, PP- 67, 107; Scully, t. c. p. 334; Bingham, Str. F. ix. p. 193; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 330, No. 864. Emberiza flavogularis, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xviii. pp. 86, 811. — The Yellow-breasted Bunting. Crown of the head, back, rump and scapulars rich chestnut, margined or not with faint yellowish white ; forehead, sides of the head, chin and upper throat black ; lesser wing coverts smoky brown ; the median series white, and the greater ones chestnut, edged with white near the tips ; quills brown, the primaries edged on the outer webs with whitey brown, and the rest with pale chestnut; upper tail coverts pale rufous brown; tail brown, edged paler, the outer web of the outer feathers white for two-thirds of its length from the base, and the inner web with a diagonal streak of white ; the next feather generally with a small obscure mark of white on the inner web ; lower throat, breast and abdomen bright yellow ; a band of chestnut feathers across the breast, slightly fringed with black ; sides of the body yellow with brown streaks ; vent- and under tail coverts pale yellow, with a few obscure streaks. (Oa/es.) During winter the male has no black on the head ; the upper plumage is chestnut with very broad greyish yellow fringes ; the ear coverts are purplish brown marked with yellow ; the chin and throat are deep yellow like the breast and abdomen ; the pectoral band becomes obscure by the yellow fringe to the feathers, and the greater coverts are rufous instead of white. The female at all seasons has the head chestnut brown, streaked with dark brown ; the nape, back of the neck, back and scapulars olive brown, more or less tinged with chestnut brown and with dark brown streaks ; rump pale chestnut edged with grey ; upper tail coverts brown centred darker ; all the wing coverts and quills brown, the median series broadly tipped with white and the greater ones and quills edged on the outer webs with pale rufous brown ; supercilium reaching to the nape yellowish white ; chin and throat whitish ; breast, sides of the neck and abdomen bright yellow ; tinged with brown across the breast ; vent and under tail coverts pale yellow ; iris rich brown ; upper mandible dark brown ; lower fleshy brown ; feet and claws pinkish brown. Length. — 5*75 to 6"2 inches ; wing 3 ,- tail 2*4 ; tarsus 0'85. Hah. — Northern Europe and Siberia, wintering in the Burmese countries. Found in Nepaul, Assam, Sikkim, Cachar, Munipur, Pegu, Bhamo, Johore and the Nicobars. It is a winter visitor to the whole of Burmah, arriving in EMBERIZA. 7 October and leaving in May. Like the last it affects corn crops. The nest is said to be placed on or near the ground in bushes. It is made of dry bents and lined with hair. Eggs, 4—6, greenish, clouded with purplish grey and marked with some dark scrawls. 7. Emberiza rutila, Pall., Reis. Russ. Rekhs. iii. p. 698 ; Blylh, B. Burm. p. 9S ; Dav. et Oust. Ois Chine, p. 331 ; Wardlaw- Ramsay, Ibis, 1877, p. 462 ; Oates, Sir. F. x. p. 234 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus. xii. p. 5 14 5 Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 331, No. 865. Euspiza rutila, Bp,, Consp. i. p. 469 ; Hume and Dav., Str. F. 1878, p. 408 ; Bume, Sir. F. 1879, p. 107. Citrinella rutila, Hume, Str. F. 1875, p. 117. — The Chestnut Bunting. Entire head and upper breast and the whole upper plumage including the wing coverts chestnut,^ the feathers, except those of the rump, fringed with olive greyish ; primaries, secondaries and primary coverts brown, the primaries edged on the outer webs with ashy and the inner secondaries with chestnut ; tail brown, margined with olive or lighter brown, the two outer feathers with a small whitish mark near the tip on the outer web ; foreneck chestnut, rest of under surface of the body sulphur yellow ; the thighs and under tail coverts sulphur yellow ; sides of the body and flanks olive greenish, streaked with dusky ; axillaries and under wing coverts yellowish white, the bases yellow. Legs and feet grey ; iris brownish rufous. Length. — 5 inches; wing 295 ; tail 2"2S ; tarsus 0'7; culmen 0*45. The female has the top of the head, neck, back, and scapulars olive brown, broadly streaked with black on the mantle and back ; hind neck the same but less distinctly streaked ; rump and upper tail coverts chestnut, the latter duller and tinged with grey ; wing coverts and quills dark brown, edged and tipped with dirty white ; lores, feathers round the eye, and a faint eyebrow isibelline ; ear coverts pale ashy brown with a streak of blackish along the upper margin ; cheeks, chin and throat fulvous brown, separated by a dark brown narrow malar line ; under surface of the body pale sulphur yellow, the breast with a few indistinct dusky streaks. Length. — 4'S inches; wing 2*65 ; tail i 85; tarsus 07; culmen 0*45. The young male is not unlike the female except that the head and rump are chestnut. Hab. — E. Siberia and N. and S. China, where as well as in the Indo- Burmese countries and the S.-E. Himalayas it winters. In Burmah it has been got in Pegu and near Rangoon. It is also recorded from Sikkim and the Bhootan Doars. 8- Emberiza SpodOCephala, Pall., Reis. Reichs. iii. p. 698 ; Bp., Consp. i. p. 465 ; Dav. et Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 329 ; Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 374 ; Hume, Str. F. 1879, p. 107; Seebohm, Ibis, 1880, p. 188; Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus. xii. p. 522 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 332, No. 856. Emberiza melanops, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xiv. p. 554. — The Black-faced Bunting. 8 FRINGILLID/E. Head and neck all round, sides of the face, throat and chest olivaceous ashy ; lores, base of cheeks and chin black ; breast pale sulphur yellow ; upper back and scapulars brown washed with rufous, edged with fulvous and broadly streaked mesially with black ; lesser wing coverts uniform rufescent ; median and greater series blackish brown edged with sandy brown and tipped with buffy white ; quills dusky brown, externally washed with rufous, the pri- maries with ashy white ; lower back, rump and upper tail coverts earthy brown ; tail dark brown, edged with lighter brown, the centre tail feathers light brown, the penultimate with a large wedge-shaped spot of white near the end of the outer web, and the outer feathers entirely white except a dusky mark on the inner web, and a spot near the tip of the outer web ; abdomen whitish ; under tail coverts and axillaries pale sulphur yellow ; bill brown ; feet flesh colour. Length. — 475 inches ; wing 27 ; tail 27 ; tarsus 075 ; culmen 0*45. The winter plumage of the male is not unlike that of the summer, except being more olive yellow on the head and neck, and the feathers of the crown tipped with rufous brown. The female is browner on the head than the male, there is no black on the face or chin, the cheek stripe is yellow, and there is a distinct malar streak of dusky blackish spots ; the lores, eyelids and an in- distinct supercilium are yellowish buflf ; sides of the body and flanks reddish brown; lower abdomen and under tail coverts yellowish white. Hah. — Eastern Himalayas, Assam, Bhootan, Nepaul, Cachar and Munipur, where it winters. Breeds in Siberia eastwards from the Yenesai Valley. 9. Emberiza Buchanani, Biyth, J. A. S. B. xiii. p. 957 ; xvi., p. 780 ; Hume, Sir. F. 1878, vol. ii. p. 150 ; td., Sir. F. 1879, p. 107 ; Reid, Sir. F. 1881, p. ^'] \ Murray, Avif. Brii. Ind. ii. p. 333, No. 867. Emberiza huttoni, Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 373 ; Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 42 ; Blan- ford, t. c. p. 463; Hume, Ibis, 187O, p 40O; Blanf., East. Pers. ii, p. 258 ; Murray, Vert. ZooL, Sind, p. 185. — The Grey-necked Bunting. Head, neck, nape, and sides of the neck grey ; from the lower corner of the under mandible on each side is a short streak of buffy, between which and the chin — which is also buff — is a streak of greyish, meeting the grey of the sides of the neck ; orbital feathers whitish ; back grey, with a slight rufescent tinge, the feathers being faintly striated ; rump and upper tail coverts greyish brown, unstriated ; breast and rest of lower surface reddish brown or ferruginous, paler on the abdomen and vent, and nearly buff on the under tail coverts ; lesser coverts ferruginous ; median and greater coverts brown, edged with ferruginous; primaries dull brown, margined narrowly on their outer, and broadly on their inner web with pale white or rufescent white ; secondaries the same, but the feathers also tipped with pale rufous ; edge of the wing fulvous ; tail blackish brown, the outer web of the outermost feather, except at the extreme base, and half of the inner web, white ; the next outermost EMBERIZA. 9 blackish brown on the outer web, and for nearly two-thirds its length on the inner web, blackish brown, the rest white on their inner web only ; centre tail feathers edged with pale rufous ; bill reddish ; legs pale brown. Length. — $75 to 6 inches ; wing 3*5 ; tail 3 ; tarsi 0*75. Hab. — Sind, Punjab, N.-W Provinces, Central India, Beloochistan, Persia and Afghanistan. Occurs also in Kutch, Rajputana, Guzerat, Concan and the Deccan. Everywhere considered with the White-necked Bunting a delicacy. Most people have a slice of ham or bacon dished with them if made into pie. Specimens from Jeempeer and Jacobabad (Sind), and Quetta and Dozan (Beloochistan), have the chin and the streak above the greyish moustachial line unspotted buflf, except in a single specimen from Dozan. 10. Emberiza stracheyi, Moore, P. z. .S". 1855, p. 215, pi. 112 ; Horsf. and Moore, Cat. B. E. I. Co. Mus. ii. p. 483 ; Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 372 ; Brooks, Str. F. 1875, p. 254 ; Hume, Str. F. 1879, p. 107 ; Ward- law- Ramsay, Ibis, 1880, p. 65 ; Biddulph, Ibis, 1 88 1, p. 79 ; Marshall, Ibis, 1884, p. 419; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 333, No. 868. Emberiza Cia (nee. L.), Jerd., B. Ind. ii, p. 371 ; Beavan, Ibis, 1868, p. 175 ; Cock, and Marsh., Str. F. 1873, p. 3S7. — The White-necked Bunting. Above rufescent brown with black mesial streaks ; the rump and upper tail coverts unstreaked ; crown of the head pale bluish grey, with a broad hand of black on either side of the crown ; supercilium ashy white ; lores and eyelids black, continued as a streak over the ear coverts, which are ashy whitish and separated from the throat by a streak of black, which meets the other black line ; median and greater wing coverts tipped with rufous but not forming distinct wing bars as in E. Cia ; quills blackish, the primaries margined with ashy whitish, the secondaries with pale rufous, the inner ones being rufous on the inner webs also ; middle tail feathers pale rufous, black in the centre, the remainder blackish, edged with sandy rufous, the penuUimate feather with a large wedge-shaped mark of white at the tip of the inner web, larger on the outermost, which is also externally margined with white; under surface of the body pale cinnamon rufous washed with isabelline. Bill dark brown or black, the base of the lower mandible bluish ; legs and feet fleshy brownish ; iris dark brown. Length. — 6 to 6*8 inches ; wing 3'i ; tail 2'85 ; tarsus 07 ; culmen 0*5. Hab. — From Eastern Beloochistan and Cashmere eastwards to Kumaon, wintering slightly to the southward. It is found plentifully in Gilgit, also at Dhurmsala, Murree, Kotegurh, Simla, Mussoorie, and Bhawulpoor in Sind, also at Mutiana in the Punjab. 11. Emberiza Stewarti, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xxiii. p. 215,- Horsf. and Moore, Cat. B. E. 1. Co. Mus. \\r p. 485 ; Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 374 ; Hume, Ibis, 1870, p. 40O; Cock and Marsh. ^ Str. F. 1878, p. Ii2; Hume, Str. F. 1879, p. 107; Murray, Str. F. 1878, p. 112 ; id., Vert. Zool. Sind, 2 B 10 FRINGILLID.^. p. 185, Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus. xii. p. S47 ; Murray., Avif. Bril. Ind. ii. P« 334. NO' 869. Citrinella stewarti, Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p, 465. — The Whitecapped Bunting, Male, — Forehead and crown greyish white ; lores and a broad supercilium extending to the nape black ; chin and throat black ; back, scapulars, rump, upper tail coverts, flanks, and a broadband across the chest reddish chestnut; the feathers of the back in some specimens with a mesial dark streak ; cheeks and ear coverts white ; breast, belly and under tail coverts greyish white or rufescent white ; the under tail coverts with dark mesial streaks ; wing coverts dark brown, edged with fulvous or buffy brown ; primaries and secondaries pale brown, the primaries edged whitish, and the secondaries fulvous brown ; tail dark brown, the outermost feather on each side white on the outer web ; the shaft dark brown, the white of the inner web running obliquely from about one-fourth its length at the base ; the next like the outermost, but with the outer web dark brown, and narrowly edged with white. The female is olive brown above, the feathers with dark mesial streaks ; upper tail coverts tinged rufescent ; under surface fulvous or buffy brown, the feathers mesially streaked with dark brown ; bill and legs pale brown. . Length. — 6 inches; wings 3 to 3*1 ; tail 275; tarsus 07. Hab. — Sind, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, N.-W. Himalayas, Beloochistan and Southern Afghanistan. Uncommon in Sind ; occurs less abundantly in the Southern Districts during winter. 12. Emberiza leucocephala, Gm., N. Comm. Acad. Sci. imp. Petrov. XV. p. 480, tab. xxiii. fig. 3 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus xii. p. 549 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 334, No. 870. Emberiza pithyornis Gm., Syst. Nat. p. 875 ; Jlorsf. and Moore, Cat. B. E. I. Co. Mus. ii. p. 482 ; Blyth, Ibis, 1868, p. 355 ; Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 370. Emberiza albida, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xviii. pi. 2. — The White-crowned Bunting. Above cinnamon rufous, the back and mantle streaked with black ; the hind neck and sides of the neck, also the lower back, rump and upper tail coverts unstreaked rufous; crown of the head white, bounded on either side by a broad black band ; base of forehead washed with rufous ; lores and eyebrow chesnut ; chin, throat and a moustachial line rich vinous chesnut, middle of throat with a triangular patch of white ; chest, sides of the body and flanks chestnut, the flanks narrowly streaked with black ; breast, abdomen, thighs and under tail coverts white ; median coverts rufous, their bases black and their margins whitish ; the greater series blackish, edged with whity brown and tipped with whitish ; bastard wing and primary coverts blackish ; quills blackish, edged with ashy white ; the secondaries edged with brown and the innermost rufous on their outer webs; tail feathers blackish, edged with whity brown, the penultimate one with a larger wedge-shaped mark of white at the tip of the inner web, which is much larger on the outermost feather and GALERIDA. 3 1 entirely white on the onter web ; axillaries and nnder wing coverts white, the latter with dusky bases ; upper mandible dark brown, the lower one yellowish brown; feet pale yellowish; iris dark brown. Length.—^ to 65 inches ; wing 375 ; tail 3'i5 ; tarsus 075 • culmen 0-5. i7a<5.— Siberia, extending to the Himalayas. Found in Cashmere, Mus- soorie, Dehra Doon, Simla, and Quetta in Southern Afghanistan. Gen. Galerida.— ^(??>. Bill lengthened, curved slightly ; wings with the first primary partially developed, next four sub-equal ; head crested. 13. Galerida cristata {Limi.), Gould, B. Eur. pi. 165 ; p. e. 503, i. Nativu vogt. t. 99, i. ; Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 437, No. 769; BIf., East Pers. ii. p. 240; Hume, Sir. F. i. 214; vii. p. 185 ; Murray, Hhdk., ZooL, ^-e., Stnd, p, 191 ; Murray, AviJ. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 360, No, 905. — The Large Crested Lark. Head, nape, back, scapulars, rump and upper tail coverts pale sandy or pate rufous brown ; the feathers of the crest, and in some specimens of the fore- head also, with a mesial dark brown streak ; the back and scapulars with dark shaft stripes ; a pale fulvous streak from the nostrils to above the eye as a supercilium ; lores pale fulvous or fulvous white, with, in some specimens, a faint dusky streak in the centre, in front of the eye ; feathers below the eye whitish, followed by curved dusky line, then white, and followed by a dusky streak at the base of the lower mandible on each side ; chin, throat, sides of the neck and breast white ; abdomen, flanks, and under tail coverts sullied while ; breast with longitudinal streaks or oval spots ; ear coverts pale brown • wings pale brown ; the wing coverts edged and tipped pale rufous, also the primaries, secondaries and tertiaries, and all with a broad rufous or pale salmon margin on their inner web, the under wing coverts and wing lining being of this hue ; tail dusky or dark brown, the centre feathers broadly margined with rufescent, or mixed rufescent and dusky, the outermost feather on each side rufescent, or rufescent white, except a dusky wash on the inner web ; the next margined with rufescent white on the outer web, forming a tip of the same colour, and running up and forming a very narrow edge on the inner web for one-half the length of the feathers (this is not constant), rest of the tail feathers very narrowly tipped with rufescent white. Bill yellowish dusky on the ridge of the upper mandible ; legs pale brown ; irides dark brown. Length. — 7 to 7-5 inches; wing 375 to 4-25 ; tail 2-25 to 275 ; bill at front 075. Hab — Universally distributed from sea level to nearly 8,000 feet above the sea; S.-E. Europe, Asia^ Africa, throughout India, Persia, Beloochistan, and Afghanistan. Like A. gulgula it rises in the air to a great height, soaring up to the sun often so high that the eye cannot follow it, all the while singing, 12 STURNID^. as it advances higher, as if springing up into the higher regions. This is chiefly noticed during the breeding season (April and May). It however descends rapidly, but continues its song till within a few feet of the ground. As remarked by Mr. Hume, this species is variable in size and colouration, so much so, that at least half-a-dozen species have been made by Franklin, Sykes, Jerdon and Blyth. "The examination of a large series," Mr. Hume says, "proves that it is impossible to draw aline anywhere between the largest and the smallest examples. A perfect series of the wings occurs, and as for the difference in tone of plumage, big and little examples are alike met with amongst the brown, rufous, sandy, grey or desert colour types." All the varieties are netted in great numbers, and brought for sale in the markets, as Ortolan. The flesh is delicious, and quite equal to that of the true Ortolan and other species of Emheriza. SECTION— OSCINES CULTIROSTRES. Family.— STURNID^.— Starlings. Bill straight or very slightly curved, rather long pointed and compressed, often angulated at the base, the tip entire or slightly notched ; wings long and pointed ; tail moderate ; tarsus strong ; nostrils on each side covered with feathers. They walk freely on the ground, fly well, are gregarious, and live on fruit, insects, and grain. They nidificate under the eaves of roofs or in holes of trees. Some are intelligent and are caged, and taught to utter long and amusing sentences. The Indian species may be said to be divided into Starlings and Mynahs ; Glossy Mynahs or Grakles. In the present work, it is with the first (starlings) only we have to deal. They arrive during winter in large flocks, and at this time are exceedingly plump and fat, and make excellent fricassi; and with proper seasoning stew and pie ; especially with beef steak starlings go well. When jungling during winter, and beefsteaks and the dr)', stringy " moorghi" is not obtainable, the usual method is, when you have brought down a dozen starlings, and got a hare or two, to pluck and nicely clean the starlings, and inside each put some pate de fois gras, and if at hand a thin slice of ham or bacon, then add the hare cut up into quarters, anything iu the way of truffles or mushrooms, or in their absence hard-boiled eggs, condiments and sauces, and you will find that with a good crust over the whole, and properly baked, starlings are not to be despised. \Vhere good flour is not obtainable, the above method will afford an excellent stew. Sub-Family.-STURNIN^. Bill with the sides compressed, tip rather blunt and flattened ; wings long and pointed ; tail rather short ; tarsi strong, scutate in front ; toes long and strong. STURNUS. 13 Gen. Sturnus.— i^/««. Bill sharp, straight, and with a conical groove ; nostrils feathered ; 2nd quill longest. Sturnus vulgaris. 14. Sturnus vulgaris, {Lin,), Gould, B, Eur. pi. 2iO; P. E. 76; 2sauni. vogt. t. 62 ; Jerd., B. hid. ii. p. 32 1, No. 681 ; Murray, Vert, Zoot , Sind, p. 178 ; id., Zool. Bel. and Afgh. ; Murray, Avif. Brit. ind. ii. p. 363, No. 907. — The Common Starling. Head, neck, nape, chin, throat, breast and back black, glossed with purple, bronze, and green in different lights, the latter predominating on the head and neck, each feather tipped with a small brownish white triangular or round spot, which, in very old birds, wear out on the head and neck chiefly. Greater and lesser wing coverts dusky, edged with pale reddish brown ; primaries, secondaries and tertiaries also dusky, their outer webs glossed green, margined with light reddish brown ; tail short, dusky, their outer webs more or less glossed with green and edged with pale reddish brown or buffish ; under tail coverts black, edged with white. Bill black ; legs dark brownish red. Length.— <^ inches ; wing 5 ; tail 3 ; bill at front 1*25. Hah. — Europe, Asia, and India generally during winter, to the Himalayas. INIore common in Sind and the North-West Provinces, associating in large flocks. It is said by Theobald to breed in Cashmere. Eggs, 4 — 6, pale bluish green. See remarks under the head Sturnidas on opposite page. Gen. Pastor.— TV//?. Bill short, compressed, curving from the base, slightly deflected at the tip ; grove of nostril clothed with short plumes ; and quill longest ; 1st spurious ; tarsus scutate ; tail even ; head with an occipital crest. 14 STURMD^. Pastor roseus. 15. Pastor roseus (Zz«.), Gould, Birds of Eur. pi. 212 ; Naum. vogt. t. 63 ; Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 333, No. 690 ; Bl/.y East. Persia ii. p. 267 ; Sir. F. i. p. 208 ; iii. pp. 208, 495 ; Murray, Hdbk., ZooL, ^c, Sind, p. 176 ; Murray, Vert. Zool., Stud ; Murray, Am/. Brit, Ind. ii, p. 372, No. 925. — The Rose-coloured Pastor. Head, crest, crown, neck on the back and nape black, glossed with bluish purple ; chin and throat black $ entire back, breast, rump and upper tail coverts pale salmon or delicate rose colour ; wing coverts black, the lesser series margined with grey, and the greater series glossy black with purple reflections , primaries dark brown, tinged with greenish ; some of the seconda- ries glossy black, also with green reflections, and others only so on the outer web -, tail greenish black ; under tail coverts black. Bill yellowish rose ; legs yellowish brown j irides deep brown. Length. — 9 to 9-5 inches; wing 5*25 ; tail 3 ; bill at front 0'8. Hab. — S.-E. Europe, Asia Minor, India, Ceylon and Assam. In the Deccan and the Carnatic they arrive about November, and it is about this time they come in throughout Western India. A winter visitant in most parts of India ; arrives in Sind about the beginning of April in large flocks; in the Punjab and VV.-N. Provinces in August. Occurs also as a migrant in Beloochistan, Persia, Afghanistan and Eastern Turkistan. They are very voracious feeders, and commit great havoc among the jowaree and bajree crops, and in fact corn of any kiad, flower buds, and small fruits, as mulberries, capers, &c. The Pastor forms excellent flesh food. The remarks undef the heading Sturnidae apply also to the Pastor. TRERON. 15 ORDER, GEMITORES— Pigeons a\d Doves. Bill short, straight, compressed, front half of mandible vaulted and curved at the tip, the base with a soft fleshy membrane, in which are the nostrils ; wings moderate or long; tail variable, of 12, 14, or i6 feathers, even or rounded; tarsi strong. Habits monogamous. Both sexes assist in making the nest, incubating the eggs, and feeding the young. Nests loosely constructed of twigs, straw, and almost any material which could be readily got and built on trees, roof of buildings or ledges and holes in rocks ; eggs two in number, white. They feed on fruit and grain, and in feeding the young disgorge the food from their craw. All Pigeons and Doves are excellent food, and especially the nearly full- grown young of the former, which like the adults make good pie and stew. Adult pigeons however need skinning if required for the table within six hours. If kept above this space of time, properly eviscerated, skinning need not be resorted to. To the Treronidse, Columbidae, and Turturinae also, these remarks apply. Leaving out the Ortolans and perhaps the Jowaree Birds {Pastor roseiis), and Sturnus vulgaris there is nothing I believe so nice and tender as the Doves. In fact all the members of the Order Gemiiores require a connoisseur to estimate their value as flesh food after having left a good cuisine. One important fact remains to be added, and that is, while Ortolans, Pastors, Starlings, and most game birds can only be had at certains seasons, Pigeons and Doves are resident with us throughout the year, and are found in immense numbers. The following arc all the species known in India, and used as food. Family, TRERONID^— Fruit Pigeons. Bill variable, short, thick, or slender ; tip vaulted ; tail of 14 feathers ; tarsi more or less feathered, the bare portion reticulated. Gen. Treron.— F/e?///. Bill strong and deep ; eyes surrounded by a nude space. 16. Treron nipalensis {Hodgs.), Jerd., B. ind. ii. p. 445, No. 771 ; Hume, Sir. F. iii. p. i6o ; Blyth and IVald., B. Burm. p. 163 ; Hume and Dav., Sir, F. vi. p. 410; Hume, Sir. F. viii. p. 109; Bingham, Sir. F. ix. p. 193 ; Oaies, Sir, F. x. 235 ; id., B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 306, Murray, Avif. Br. Ind, ii. p. 497, No. 1 140.— The Thick-billed Green Pigeon. Head and nape ashy, paler on the crown and tinged with greenish on the nape ; rest of the plumage bright green, except the back, scapulars, and most of the wing coverts, which are maroon ; other coverts and tertiaries green, the median series broadly edged with yellow ; greater coverts blackish, edged with yellow ; primaries and their coverts black, the latter narrowly edged with white ; secondaries black, edged externally with yellow ; IG TRERONID^. central feathers of the tail green, the next pair greenish with ashy tips, the rest of tail feathers ashy, tinged with green on the outer webs, and with a black bar across; under tail coverts cinnamon brown. Tht female differs in wanting the ashy head and maroon mantle. Bill red at base ; the culmen yellowish ; corneous portion bluish white; eyelids greenish blue ; irides blue; legs bright red ; corneous portion of bill extending to the forehead. Length. — 1 0*5 to iO-8 inches; tail 3'5 ; wing 5-5 to 57; tarsus 0'9; bill from gape 0*95. Hah. — The hill tracts of Eastern Bengal and S.-E. Himalayas, the hilly parts of Burmah, extending down the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra ; also Siam and Cochin-China. Found in flocks ; feeds on fruits. Breeds in March, Eggs 2, pure white. Gen. CroCOpUS.— -^^wfl^A Characters those of the Sub-Family ; basal portion of bill with the fleshy protuberance occupying one-half its length or nearly as much ; third primary sinuated on its inner web. 17. CrOCOpUS phoeniCOpterUS (Za//^.), Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 447, No. 772; Hume, Sir. F. ii. p. 423. CrOcopus Hardwickii, Gould, Cent. Him. B. pi. 58 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. hid. ii. p. 498, No. 1 141. — The Bengal Green Pigeon. Top of head and demicollar ashy grey ; back of the neck yellowish green ; forehead tinged with greenish ; wing coverts lilac, the greater series margined yellow, forming an oblique bar across the wing ; tail ashy grey above, and for the terminal two-fifths tinged with green ; middle portion blackish ; neck in front and breast bright yellow green ; middle of abdomen ashy grey ; vent white and green ; lower abdomen bright yellowish green ; under tail coverts dull maroon, and with white tips ; bill whitish ; feet yellow ; irides carmine ; eyelids smalt blue. Length. — 12'5 inches ; tail 5 ; wing 7'5 ; bill at gape O'g. ^fl(5.— Bengal and Upper India, extending to Assam, Sylhet and Tipperah. Found in the Eastern portions of Rajpootana, the Punjab, Central and N.-W. Provinces and Oudh ; also in Central India. Breeds from March to June, on trees. Eggs two in number, of an oval shape, white and glossy, varying in length from ri6 to \'i^ inch, and in breadth from 0-9 to i inch. 18. Crocopus chlorigaster, Jiiyth, J. A. s. B. xvii. p. 167 ; Jerd., iii. p. 448, No. 773 ; Sir. F. ii. p. 423; Murray, Hdbk., Zool. ^-c, Sind, p. 193 ; id. Vert. Zool. Sind, p. 200 ; Tem. Pig. t. 2. C. jerdoni, Strickl, Murray, Avif. Brit. hid. ii, p. 498, No. 1 142,— The Southern Green Pigeon. CROCOPUS. 17 Forehead, crown and nape ashy grey, as also are the lores, sides of the face and ear coverts ; neck behind yellowish green, followed on the upper back by a narrow band of ashy grey ; back, scapulars, rump and upper tail coverts green, slightly tinged with yellowish on the scapulars ; primaries dusky brown, margined on their outer web with pale yellow ; the wing coverts broadly margined with the same colour, forming an oblique wing bar ; shoulder of wing lilac ; tail above greenish at base and ashy grey for the terminal half ; under tail coverts dull maroon, the feathers broadly tipped with white ; chin and throat greenish yellow ; neck in front, breast and abdomen bright yellow, tinged greenish on the flanks ; vent mixed green and white ; bill whitish ; legs and feet yellow; irides carmine. Length, — ir75 to 125 inches ; wing 7 ; tail 5 ; bill at front 0*75. Hab. — Nearly throughout the Peninsula of India and Ceylon {Jerd.), Mala- bar Coast, Madras and Southern India generally ; Lower Bengal, Oudh, Central Provinces, Khandeish, the Deccan, Sind, and North Guzerat. Rare in Sind, and has only been found on the frontier, at Jacobabad. Breeds from March to June, nesting on trees. Eggs two in number, pure white and glossy, i'i2 to 1*3 a length by 0*9 to i"0 in breadth. 19. CrocopUS Viridifrons {BIyth), Hume, Str. F. iii. p. 161; Blyth, B. Burm. p. 143 ; Oales, Sir. F. v. p. 163 ; Anders., VuTinan Exped, p. 664; Hume and Dav., Sir. F.\\. p. 41O; Htime, Sir. F. viii. p, 109; Bingham, Sir. F. ix. p. 194; Oaies, Sir. F. x. p. 235; id., B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 307 ; Murray, Avif. Brit, 2nd. ii. p. 499, No. 1 143. — The Yellow-fronted Green Pigeon. 'LoxQS, foreheadt cheeks, throat, breast, sides and back of the neck and thighs deep yellow ; ear coverts, crown, nape, and a band across the nape ashy ; also the abdomen, sides of the body and under wing coverts ; vent mixed yellow and ashy ; under tail coverts maroon, tipped with white ; back, scapulars, tertiaries, rump and lesser wing coverts dull green, a patch of lilac near the bend of the wing ; winglet and primary coverts dark brown ; quills dark brown, edged with yellow ; greater coverts dark brown, broadly edged with yellow ; basal half of tail greenish yellow ; terminal half of tail and upper tail coverts ashy. (Oates.) Irides blue, the outer circle pink; eyelids plumbeous ; legs orange yellow. Length. — 12'5 to i2'8 inches; tail 47; wing 7*5 ; tarsus ri ; bill from gape I. Hab. — British Burmah, where it is said to be extremely common, and spread over the whole Province alike in the hills and plains. It extends through the Indo-Burmese countries to Cachar, and eastwards to Cochin-China. Breeds in April. Nest placed in low trees. Eggs white, two in number. 3 B 18 TRERONID^. Gen. 0%XnoXVQVOTl—Bonap. Genera] characters as in Crocopus ; bill more slender ; legs red ; sexes differ much in plumage. 20. Osmotreron bicincta, Jerd., B. hid. ii. p. 449; Hume, Nests and Eggs hid. B. p. 493 ; Blyth and Wald., B. Burm. p. 144 ; Ar7n- strong, Str. F. iv. p. 337; Gates, Str. F. vi. p. 163 ; Hume and Dav., Str. F. vi. p. 411; Hume, Str. Z'. viii, p. 109 ; Legge, B. Ceylon p. 725; Oates, Str. F. X. p. 235 ; id., B. Br. Burm, ii. p. 308 ; Murray, Avif. Brit, Ind. ii. p. 500, No. 1 144. — The Orange-breasted Green Pigeon. Upper surface of the body, including the lesser wing coverts, tertiaries and greater wing coverts green, the two ktter broadly edged on the external web with yellow ; winglet, primaries, and the primary coverts black ; secondaries also black, narrowly margined with yellow ; occipital region, nape, hind neck, under wing coverts, axillaries, sides of the body, and central tail feathers ashy; other tail feathers dark ashy, all tipped with greyish white; forehead, front of crown, sides of the head and neck, chin, throat, abdomen, and vent yellowish green ; flanks yellow, streaked with dark green ; breast orange, separated from the neck by a lilac band across, forming a collar ; under tail coverts cinnamon. The female has not the lilac and orange breast, and the under tail coverts are pale ashy white, dashed with dull greenish ; bill glaucous green ; legs pinkish red ; irides blue, with an outer circle of red. Length. — 12 inches ; tail 4*2 ; wing 6-3 ; tarsus 0"8 ; bill from gape i. Hah.—T\it more moist and wooded portions of India and Ceylon, and also in the greater part of British Burmah. Extends to Assam, Cachar, and coun- tries to the eastward. Recorded from Lower Bengal and the coasts east and west of India. Occurs abundantly in Nepaul, Sylhet, Tipperah, and Arrakan; also the Sub-Himalayan terais of Behar and Oudh, and the Eastern forest regions of the Central Provinces. Breeds in the Nepaul terai from April to June, making a nest generally on the outer branch of a tree. Eggs two in number, oval, and pure white. 21. Osmotreron VernanS {Linn,), Wald, Trans. Zool, Soc, viii. p. 81 ; Bume and Dav., Str, F. vi, p. 411 ; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. 109; Kelhnm^ Ibis, 1881, p. 526 ; Oates, B . Br, Burm. ii. p. 309. Columba vernans, Linn., Mantissa Plant, p. 526. Columba viridis, Scop., Del. Flor. et Faun. Insub. ii. p. 94- Osmotreron viridis, Hume, Str. F. i. p. 460. Treron vernans, Salvad., Ucc. Born. p. 286 ; Mutray, Avif, Brit, Ind. ii. p. 50O, No. 1145.— The Pink-necked Green Pigeon. Forehead, crown, sides of the head, chin, throat, and sides of the body ashy; nape, hind neck, sides of the neck and breast vinaceous pink ; lower breast orange ; back, rump, scapulars, tertiaries and wing coverts green, the outer, OSMOTRERON. 19 median and greater coverts and some of the tertiaries margined with yellow ; quills blackish, very narrowly margined with yellow ; upper tail coverts rufescent ; abdomen greenish yellow ; vent and flanks mixed green and yellow ; under tail coverts deep chestnut ; tail ashy, with a broad subterminal blackish band, and tipped with paler ashy. The female has not the vinaceous pink breast ; and the whole head, neck, and breast are green ; under tail coverts )'ellowish white, marked with cinnamon and dull ashy green ; legs and feet carnation pink ; bill pale plumbeous ; cere dirty yellowish ; irides Prussian blue, with pink and buff outer circles. Length. — II inches; tail 4; wing 57; tarsus o'8; bill from gape 0*85. ^a5. — Southern Tenasserim, extending down the Malay Peninsula and eastwards to Cochin-China. Found also in Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Celebes and the Phillipine Islands. Breeds in the INIalay Peninsula during March on bushes in swampy places. 22. Osmotreron malabarica, Jerd., III. Ltd. Om. pi. 31 ; id., B. Ind. ii. p. 450 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind, B. p. 493 ; Hume, Sir. F. iii. p. 162; id., Str. F. iv. p. 261; vi. p. 4 14; Murray, Avif. Brit. hid. ix. p. 500, No. 1 146. — The Grey- FRONTED or Malabar Green Pigeon. Forehead greyish white ; mantle and wing coverts maroon ; rest of upper parts, including the lores, face and ear coverts green; wing coverts broadly edged with bright yellow ; quills the same, but narrow; tail green, with a broad medial dark band and broadly tipped with ashy white ; under surface of the body green ; throat and neck yellowish ; vent and thigh coverts mixed green and pale yellow ; under tail coverts cinnamon. 'Y\nt female has not the maroon patch ; bill glaucous green ; legs and feet pinkish red ; irides red, with an outer blue circle. Length. — 10*2 to 10*5 inches; tail 4; wing 575. No nude space round the eye. Hab. — Wooded and hilly tracts of the Indian Peninsula ; abundant in Malabar and South India, also in Central India and the Eastern ghauts. It is also found in Mysore and South Wynaad, as well as in the Assamboo hills. Breeds during April. Eggs pure white, and Hume says, thickly studded with minute pores. 23. Osmotreron Phayrii, Biyth, J. A. S. B. xxxi. p. 344 ; Jerd.i Ji. Ind. ii. p. 451, No. 776 ; Hume, Str.F. iii. p. 162; Blyth, B. Burm. p. 144; Hume and Dav., Str.F. vi. p. 4 12; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. 109; Bingham, Str. F. ix. p. 194; Oates, Str. F. x. p. 235 ; Oates, Br. Burm. ii. p. 310; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. p. 501, No. 1147. — Phayre's Green Pigeon. Very like Osmotreron malabarica, differing only in having the entire cap ashy in both sexes ; breast greenish, tinged with orange. The female has not 20 TRERONID^. the orange breast, and the maroon of the male is replaced by green; the under tail coverts are mixed green, ashy and white ; bill bluish ; legs lake red ; irides blue, with an outer pink circle. Length. — 1 1 to ir5 inches ; tail 4; wing 6' 3 ; tarsus 0*9; bill from gape i. Hab. — Lower Bengal, Assam, Sylhet, and Burmah, where it occurs in all the hilly tracts of the province, as far as Tavoy, and extends to the east as far as Cochin-China. 24. Osmotreron fulviCOUiS (Wagler), Hume and Dav., Sir. F.\i. p. 413; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. 109; Oaies, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 311. Columba fulvicollis, Wagl., Sysl. Av. Columha, No. 8; Wald., Trans. ZooL Soc. ix. p. 213. Treron fulvicollis, Salvad., Ucc.Born., p. 288 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 501, No. 1148. — The Ruddy Green Pigeon. Entire head, neck and upper breast ruddy vinaceous, paling on the lower breast ; abdomen green ; vent and flanks ashy green and yellow ; thighs bright yellow; rump ashy green ; sides of the body greyish white ; under tail coverts cinnamon ; back, scapulars and lesser wing coverts maroon ; upper tail coverts and central tail feathers dull green ; others green at base with a subter- minal dark band and tipped with pale ashy. Legs and feet purplish pink ; bill deep red ; irides buffy pink ; orbital skin plumbeous green. Length. — 10'5 inches; tail 3*5 ; wing 5*5 ; tarsus o'8 ; bill from gape 0'8. Hab. — Tenasserim, in the extreme south, extending down the Malay Penin- sula, and occurring in Sumatra, Borneo, and the Phillipines. 25. Osmotreron pompadOUra (Gmel.), Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 452, No. 777; Hume, Sir, F. iii. p. 162; vi. p. 414. Osmotreron flavogularis, Blyth, J . A. S. B. xxvi. p. 225 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 502, No. 1 149. — The Yellow-fronted Green Pigeon. Like Osmotreron malabarica ; differs in having a yellowish forehead, pure yellow throat, no buff patch on the breast, and the under tail coverts are green in both sexes, with broad whitish tips ; bill glaucous green ; irides red, with an outer blue circle. Length. — 10'5 inches ; tail 4 ; wing 5*75. Hab. — South India and Ceylon. Osmotreron chloroptera is said to occur in the Andamans and Nicobar Islands. Gen. Sphenocercus.— Graj^. Bill moderately slender and lengthened, the basal two-thirds soft and tumid ; corneous extremity feeble ; a small wide space round the eyes ; third primary not sinuated ; tail with the central feathers much elongated and narrow; soles of feet slender. SPHENOCERCUS. 21 26. SphenOCercUS Sphenurus {Vigors), Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p 453; Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p. 494; id., Str. F. iii. p. 163 ; Wald. in Blyth's B. Burnt, p. 144; Hume and Dav., Sir. F. vi. p. 415 ; Hume, Sir. F. vii. p. 109; Scully, Sir. F. viii, p. 339; Oaies, Sir. F. x. p. 235 ; id., B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 3O4. Vinago sphenurus, Vigors, P. Z. S., 1831, p. 173; Murray, Avif. Brii. Ind. ii. p. 502, No. 1150. — Tlie Wedge- tailed Green Pigeon or the Kokla. Plumage green, with a ruddy tinge on the head and breast ; shoulder of wing and mantle maroon ; wing coverts, tertiaries, back, rump and upper tail coverts dark dull green ; upper back slaty green ; quills dusky or dark brown ; tail green, the outer feathers slate colour, and with a dark subterminal band ; greater wing coverts and secondaries narrowly margined with yellow ; under surface of the body green ; part of the throat, and entire breast suffused with orange buff; vent and under tail coverts pale cinnamon. The /emale has not the orange buff colour on the breast, and the under tail coverts are mixed white and green ; bill glaucous blue, albescent at the tip ; irides blue, with an outer circle of red ; orbital skin pale blue ; legs coral red. Lengih. — 13 inches ; tail 5*5 ; wing 7 ; bill at front 075. Hab. — Himalayas, extending into Assam and Sylhet, ascending as high as from 4,000 to 8,000 feet. Found also in Pegu. Jerdon says it is common at Darjeeling, and that at IMussoorie they leave in October and return to breed in April. Nest made on trees, composed of twigs. Eggs two in number, pure white. 27. SphenocerCUS apicaudus (Hodgs.), Jerd., B. ind. iii. p. 454 ; Wald. iti Blylh's B. Burm. p. 144; Hume and Dav., Sir. F. vi. p. 415 ; Hume, Sir. F. viii. p. 109. Treron apicauda, Hodgs., J. A. S. B. xiv. p. 854; Murray, Avif. Brii. Ind.u. p. 503, No. 1151.— The Pin-tailed Green Pigeon. Plumage green ; crown of the head with a yellowish tinge ; upper tail coverts and under surface of the body tinged with yellowish; primaries slate colour ; wing with two narrow conspicuous yellow bars ; breast tinged with russet ; tail with the medial pair of feathers much elongated beyond the rest, green at the base and pale grey at the tips ; the others grey with a medial dark bar. Bill glaucous blue ; legs coral red ; irides dark yellow. Lengih. — 15*5 to 16 inches; tail 6'5, to end of central pair 8-o ; wing 6*5 ; tarsus 0*9 ; bill from gape i. Zr<2(5.—S.-E. Himalayas, in Nepaul and Sikkim ; also British Burmah, in Tenasserim, extending to the hill ranges of Eastern Bengal and Assam. Habits not unlike other pigeons. Jerdon says its not unlike the last species, but its coo is less loud, musical and prolonged. 22 TRERONID.^. Sub-Family CARPOPHAGIN^.— Fruit Pigeons. Bill longer than in TreromncB, more slender and depressed at the base ; the terminal third corneous ; wings long; tail even or rounded, longer than in the Trerojiince. ; feet with broad soles ; tarsus short and well feathered ; under mandible feathered to nearly the tip. Breeds at high altitudes, and lays but one egg- Gen. Carpophaga.— ^ to 20 inches; tail 6*8 to 7 ; wing 9*5 ; tarsus i ; bill from gape 1-4. {Jerd.) Bab. — S.-E. Himalayas; also the Khasia hills, Sikkimand Arrakan. Jerdon adds that it is found in the mountain regions of Malabar, in Coorg, the Wynaad, and the Western slopes of the Neilgherries. Associates in small parties or in pairs, frequenting the loftiest trees and feeding on various fruits. According to Hodgson it breeds in Nepaul from May to July, laying a single white eg^. 30. Carpophaga griseicapilla (Wald.), Dav., Str. F. v. p. 460 ; Hume and Dav., Str. F. vi. p. 418; Eume, Str. F. viii. p. 109; Oates, B. Br. Burnt, ii. p. 302. Ducula griseicapilla, Wald., Ann. Nat. Hist. Ser. iv. xvi., p. 228 ; id., Ibis, 187S, p. 459 ; Hume, Str. F. iii, p. 402 ; Wardlaw- Ramsay, Ibis, 1877, p. 467. Carpophaga insignis, apud. Bl. B. Burm. p. 144; Murray, * AviJ. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 504, No. 1154.— The Grey-headed Imperial Pigeon. Forehead, crown, nape, cheeks and ear coverts pure French grey ; back of neck vinous ; interscapulary region brown, with a vinous tinge ; wing coverts brown like the back, but not so strongly tinged with vinous ; Quills dark brown ; uropygium and upper tail coverts dark ash ; rectrices above dark brown, with a broad grey terminal band ; lower surface of rectrices pale grey ; chin and throat pure white ; remainder of lower surface pale grey, the breast being tinged with lilac; under tail coverts pale cream colour (Walden, ex Oates) ; legs and feet deep lake pink; bill the same but the corneous portion pale whity brown ; irides pearly grey. {Davison.) Length. — 18-5 incites ; tail 8 ; wing 95; tarsus ri ; bill from gape i-6. Hab. — British Burmah on the Karen hills, east of Tounghoo, at from 4,000 to 4,200 feet elevation, also the Mooleyit mountain. Breeds in January. 31. Carpophaga biCOlor {Scop.), Ball, Str. F. i. p. 79; Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p. 496 ; id., Str. F. ii. p. 264 ; Salvad., Ucc. Born. p. 292 ; Blyth, B. Burm. p. I45 ; Hume and Dav., Str. F. vi. p. 418 ; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. 109. Columba bicolor, Scop., Del. Flor. et Faun. Insub. ii. 24 COLUMBID^. p. 94. Myristicivora tricolor, Wald,, Trans. Zool. Soc. ix. p. 217 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 505, No. 1155. — The Red Imperial Pigeon. Winglet, primaries and secondaries black ; terminal portion of tail black, the black occupying about half the feather on the centrals, decreasing in extent towards the outer feathers, and on the outermost pair, occupying merely a small portion of the tip and the outer web; remainder of the plumage white, with a creamy or yellow tinge {Oates) ; legs and feet pale smalt blue ; bill leaden blue ; tip darkish horny or dark plumbeous ; irides dark brown. {Davison^ Length. — 16 inches ; tail S ; wing 9; tarsus 1*2 ; bill from gape 1*3. B-ah. — Mergui Archipelago, according to Blyth. Occurs in the Nicobars and probably also in the Andamans with C. insular is, a large species with darker plumage than C. cBnea, and the under tail coverts dingy brown tinged with chestnut, and the tail blue black. C. palumboides also occurs in the Andamans ; it is characterized by having blackish wings and tail, and dusky slaty blue plumage. Family— COLUMBID^—^/.— Pigeons and Doves. Bill horny at apex only ; tail generally of 12 feathers only ; tarsus length- ened ; plumage sombre ; feet more fitted for walking on the ground. Breeds in holes of rocks, buildings or wells. Sub-Family— PALUMBINiE.— Wood Pigeons. General characters of the family. Gen. Palumbus.— Z/««. Characters those of the sub-family ; the distinguishing feature is the patch on each side of the neck. 32. Palumbus pulchricollis, Hodgs., y. A. S. B. xiv. p. 866; Gould, B, Asia'^^.y'x. pi. 13; Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 465, No. 785 ; Murray, Avi/. Brit. Ind. ii p. $05, No. 1156. --The Darjeeling Wood Pigeon. Above, general colour dusky grey ; head, cheeks, and ear coverts light ashy ; sides of the neck glossed with green and purple ; neck patch black at base and with broad isabelline tips, followed by whitish at the extreme tip ; tail blackish; under surface of the body pale vinous dove grey, albescent towards the vent and under tail coverts ; throat whitish ; breast glossed with green and purple. Bill livid at base, the tip yellow ; irides yellow ; legs dull red. Length. — 13*5 to 14 inches ; tail 475 to S ; wing' 8-5 to 9. Hab. — S.-E. Himalayas, in Nepaul and Sikkim. Not very common at Darjeeling. PALUMBUS. 20 33. PalumbUS casiotiS, Bonap., Ic. Pig. t. 58 ; Jerdon, Birds of Ind. iii. p. 464, No. 784 ; Murray, Edbk., ZooL, ^c, Sind, p. 193; Murray, Avif. BriL Ind. ii, p. 506, No. 11 57. — The Himalayan Cushat. Palumbus casiotis. Head, lores, sides of the face, chin and throat bluish ashy ; nape, hind neck and sides of the neck glossed green and purple, the latter predominating on the upper back and sides of the breast ; neck patch on each side pure fulvous or yellowish clay ; scapulars and tertials dusky or hair brown, lighter on the latter ; breast dull lilac or ruddy vinaceous, paling on the upper abdomen to a vinous ash ; lower abdomen, vent and under tail coverts ashy white ; rump bluish ash ; primaries and their coverts dusky, nearly dark brown ; the primaries and some of their hindmost coverts margined with white on their exterior web ; second- aries bluish ash, the tips dusky ; wing coverts dark ashy ; the lower series white on their outer web, and forming a longitudinal patch ; winglet dark brown ; tail dark ashy grey at the base, followed by a broad light ashy grey band, and a broad black tip; the under surface much darker, and the central band nearly white ; bill orange at the tip, whitish at the base ; legs red. Length. — 17 inches ; wing lo'25 to io'5 ; tail 7. Hab. — This, the largest of the pigeon tribe, is found in Nepaul, N.-W. Plimalayas, Sind, Punjab, Persia, Beloochistan, and S. Afghanistan. Found in Sind on the frontier only, at Jacobabad. Breeds as far as has yet been ascertained only in the extreme N.-W. Himalayas, and Hume adds, perhaps also in the higher fir forests below the snow range in the Western Himalayas. They remain about Simla, Almorah and Mussoorie from November to April, and then are found in forests between the Jumna and the Ganges. Like all 4 26 COLUMBID/^. Others of its tribe it feeds on berries, wild fruits or cherries, grass seeds and corn of all kinds. The flesh is delicious, but like all pigeons though unless skinned or made up into stew or pie, roasted, it is dry, and there is scarcely any flavour. Curried there is nothing better. These remarks apply to all the following pigeons. 34. PalumbUS Elphlnstonei (Sykes), Jerd., B. hid. ii. p. 465, No. 786; id.. III. Ind. Orn. pi. 48; Gould, B. Asia pt. vi. pi. 12; Hume, Str. F. vii. pp 95, 424. Palumbus torringtoni {Kelaari), Blylh^ Ibis, 1867 ; Hume, Sir. F. vii. p. 424. — The Neilgherry Wood Pigeon. Head and neck ashy; nuchal patch black, with small while lips; back of neck and interscapulars cupreous ruddy, slightly glossed with greenish ; rest of upper surface of body ruddy brown, dark ashy on the rump and upper tail coverts ; wings, including the quills, dusky black, narrowly edged with ruddy cupreous ; outer primaries pale edged ; tail dull black ; under surface of the body ashy, albescent on the throat ; neck and breast glossed with green ; vent and lower abdomen albescent ; bill deep red, tipped with yellow ; legs and feet dull red. Length. — 15 to 16 inches ; tail 575 to 6 ; wing 8 to 8'25. Hab. — ^I'he Neilgherries, Ceylon, and the dense woods above the Khandalla ghauts in the Deccan. Breeds from March to July, laying only a single Ggg. Nests placed on high trees in dense woods. Egg spotless glossy white, oval, 1-46 X 1-2. Gen. Palumbsena.— .^Z-. Bill straight, compressed, convex, bent at the tip ; base of upper mandible covered with soft skin, more or less inflated, in which are the nostrils ; hind toe on the same plane with the front ones ; wings ample ; ist quill shorter than the second, which is the longest. Feet fitted for walking, as well as for perching ; habits and colouring inter- mediate to Palumbus and Columba. (Jerd.) 35. Palumbsena Eversmanni, Bp., ic. Pig. t. 6i ; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 467, No. 787 ; Hume, Str. i^. i. p. 217 ; Murray, Hdbk., ZooL, Sfc, Sind, p. 193. — The Indian Stock Pigeon. Dark ashy, with a whitish grey rump ; crown and breast tinged with vina- ceous, two or three black spots on the wings, forming the rudiments of bands, and the end of the tail black; its outermost feather white for the basal two- thirds of its exterior web, or showing a black, and then a narrow grey band towards its tip; beneath the wings whitish, where it is dark ashy in the Euro- COLUMBA. 27 pean bird. Bill yellowish translucent ;; legs v Legge, B, Ceylon p. 698 ; Blf., East Pers. p. 268 ; Murray, Vert. Zool. Sind, p. 202. Columba livia, apud.Bl. B. Burm.,\)^ 145. — The Indian Slue Rock Pigeon. Head, nape, chin, abdomen, vent and upper and under tail coverts dark slaty grey ; back, scapulars,, secondaries,, tertials, inner webs of primaries and rump pale ashy, paler on the rump ; the outer webs of the primaries dusky grey, as are also their tips ; secondaries broadly tipped dusky, the innermost tertials and greater wing coverts with a subterminal black patch on the outer web only, forming two black wing bands ; neck all round and breast glossy, changeable green and amethystine, in varying lights ; throat also slightly tinged with glossy green ; under wing coverts white ; tail like the upper tail coverts, or a little paler for two-thirds its length, then broadly black, with a very narrow terminal ashy tip ; the basal two-thirds or more of the outer web of the outermost feather white. Bill black ; cere whitish ; irides dull orange ; legs pinkish red. Length. — 12 to 13 inches; wing 8 J tog; tail 5 ,- bill at front 075. Hab. — Throughout India to Ceylon, the Himalayas, Assam, Burmah, Persia, Beloochistan and Afghanistan in great abundance, congregating in large flocks. Breeds throughout India. Nesting in mosques, tombs, build- ings, walls, and in holes in rocks, and caverns. Eggs 2 in number, white and glossy, 1*2 X 1-25. This with the next are the pigeons which with their young are brought to the market in immense numbers and are purchased largely for making pie. The flesh is more tender than those of the preceding, excellent, mixed brown and white, succulent and as tasty as that of any Quail. The upper layer of flesh on the breast is a little darker than the lower, and is about the most succulent part if properly cooked. 37. Columba livia, Bp., Ic. \. 62 ; Bodd., Pig. Pi. Enl. 5 10 ; Naum. vogt. t. 150 ; Tem. Pig. t. F2 ; Gould, B. Eur. pi. 245 ; Gray, Handlist Birds, 28 COLUMBID^. No. 9231 ; Blf , East. Pers. p. 268 ; Hume, Sir. F.'\. 218 ; vii. 296 ; Mur- ray, Hdbk. ZooL, ^"c, St'fid, p. 193. — The Rock Dove. Columba livia. Differs from C. inler^nedia in having a pure white instead of an ash coloured rump. Hab. — S.-E. Europe, Sind, Beloochistan, S. Persia, S. Afghanistan, Arrakan, and some parts of Burmah. Breeds in December, laying, like inter- media, two white eggs. 38. Columba rupestris, Tail, Zoogr. Rosso. As. pi. 25 ; Jerd. B Ind. iii. p. 470, No. 789. Columba livia, apud Adams, B. Ind., No. 208. — The Blue Hill Pigeon. Like Columba intermedia, but much paler in colour, the head and sides of the face being ashy grey instead of dark slaty grey ; wing coverts and upper back light grey ; middle of back white ; upper tail coverts dark ashy grey ; quills grey, black shafted and darker at the tips and on the outer webs ; a patch of greyish black on the wing, forming two bands ; tail dark grey at the base, broadly tipped with black and a subterminal broad white stripe ; outer rectrices white, tipped with black ; chin ashy grey ; neck glossed with purple ; upper breast glossed with green ; bill black; cere grey ; irides red. Length. — 127 inches; tail 5 ; wing 8. Hab. — Kumaon and Mussoorie. Habits similar to those of the two preced- ing, is much prized with the next for the table ; found in as considerable number as the Blue Rock. 39. Columba leuconota, Vigors, P. Z. S. 1831, p. 331; Gould, Cent. Ei7u. B. pi. 59; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 471, No. 790; Hume, Sir. F. iii. p. 256. — The White-bellied or Imperial Rock Pigeon. ALSOCOMUS. 29 Crown of the head and ear coverts blackish ash ; neck behind white ; interscapulars light brownish grey ; rump white ; wings light brownish grey, paler on the median coverts ; primaries dull blackish near the tips, the secon- daries broadly tipped with dusky ; tertiaries and their coverts tipped greyish white, and forming 3 — 4 conspicuous bars ; upper tail coverts and tail ashy black, with a broad greyish white curved band, the points of which reach the tips of the outer feathers, which are basally white externally; bill black; irides yellow ; legs red. Letigth. — 13*5 to 14 inches ; tail 5 ; w'ing 95. jjab. — N.-W. Himalayas from iO,000 feet to snow level. Habits similar to those of others of the genus. Gen. AlSOCOmUS.-:7i;V7«;. Bill small, much compressed ; wings long, 2nd quill equal to 4th, the 3rd longest and sinuate on the outer web. 40. AlSOCOmUS puniceuS, Tkkell, y. A. S. B. xi. p. 462 ; Jerd., B. hid. ii. p. 462, No. 782 ; Blyth, B. Burin, p, 145 ; Wardlaw-Ramsay , Ibis, 1877, p. 147; Hume and Davison, Str. F. vi. p. 418; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 698 ; Hut)ie, Sir. F. viii. p. 1O9 ; Oaies, Sir. F. viii. p. 167 ; Bingham, ibid. p. 196; Oales, Sir. F. x. p. 235 ; Oales, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 289. — The Purple Wood Pigeon. Whole plumage vinaceous ruddy, inclining to chestnut on the back and wings, the feathers more or less glossed with metallic green and amethystine, especially on the neck ; head greyish white ; quills blackish, edged slightly with ashy ; rump and upper tail coverts dark ashy ; tail black ; under tail coverts brown ; bill livid at base, yellow at tip ; legs and feet lake pink ; irides orange ; orbital skin purplish pink. Lenglh. — 14*8 to 15 inches; tail 6; wing 8-5; tarsus i; bill from gape PI. Hah. — Tenasserim and Pegu, also in the Eastern portions of Central India, extending to near the sea coast in Midnapoor, and probably outwards towards Cuttack. It has been occasionally met with in Ceylon. To the east of the Bay of Bengal, in Assam, Arrakan, Singhboom and Tenasserim it is more common. Gates says it is sparingly distributed over many parts of Pegu, and that it is more abundant near Kyakpadien than elsewhere. It has also been procured at Tounghoo. Tonka, where Hume records it from, appears to be the southernmost point of its distribution. Eggs similar to those other of pigeons, and one in number only. 41. AlsOCOmuS HodgSOni {Vigors), Jerd. B. Bid. ii. p. 463, No. 783. Columba Hodgsoni, Vigors, P. Z. S. 1832. Dendrotreron Hodgsoni, Hume, Nesls and Eggs hid. B. p. 497. — The Speckled Wood Pigeon. 30 COLUMBID^. Above dark vinaceous ruddy, the median coverts speckled with white ; rump and upper tail coverts dusky ash ; tail ashy black ; head and beneath the throat in front of the neck cinereous tinged with ruddy ; nape vinous grey, the feathers minutely tipped with greyish white ; wing coverts greyish ; quills dusky brown, the first three primaries very narrowly margined externally with whitish, not however present in all specimens ; under surface of the body vinous grey ; the feathers of the neck, breast and upper abdomen mesially streaked with ruddy; lower abdomen dark vinous; flanks speckled with white ; under tail coverts dusky ash ; bill purplish black ; irides hoary ; orbital space livid ; legs and feet blackish green in front, yellow behind . Length. — 15 inches; tail 6; wing 9 to 9*25 ; tarsus i. The female has a duller tinge on the upper and lower parts. Hah. — Himalayas to Nepaul, ranging in the latter to 10,000 feet. In Sikkim, Jerdon says, it keeps to the higher ranges only. It inhabits deep forests in the middle region of the Himalayas. It is not found on the outer range of hills in the North- West Himalayas, but is far from rare on the Tyne range and other mountains, in the interior, where Blyth was informed that it is tolerably common, frequenting the pine forests. Sub-Family— MACROPYGIIN.E. Cuckoo doves with short feet, long and broad tails. The head too is small ; wings rather short. Plumage ruddy brown. Gen. Macropygia— '5"z£'flz«j. Bill long and slender ; tail long, broad and much graduated ; legs and feet fitted for perching ; lateral toes somewhat unequal ; soles flat ; rump feathers more or less spinous. 42. Macropygia leptogrammica {Temm.), Waid., Ibis, 1875, P- 439; Oales, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 2g^. Columba leptogrammica, Temm., PL Col. 560. Coccyzura tusalia, Hodgs, J. A. S. B. xii., p. 937. Macropygia tusalia, Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 473, No. 791 ; Hume, Nesls and JSggs Ind. B- p. 500; Wald., in Blyth's B. Burin, p. 146; Wardlaw-Ramsay, Ibis, 1877, p. 468; Hume and Dav., Sir. F. vi. p. 419; Hume, Sir. F. viii, p. no.— The Bar-tailed Cuckoo Dove. Forehead buff, with a vinous tinge ; crown, nape and sides of the head vina- ceous, glossed with changeable green and amethystine ; hind neck also glossed the same ; back, rump, upper tail coverts and scapulars, also tertiaries and wing coverts, dusky black, barred with numerous narrow deep rufous bars; central tail feathers black, barred with rufous ; the next two pairs ashy at base and barred indistinctly with black and rufous at the end ; the outermost feathers ashy, with a broad subterminal black band ; outer web of the outermost MAGROPYGIA. 31 feathers whitish ; quills dark brown ; chin and throat buff, with a vinous tinge ; breast and sides of the neck vinous brown, with purple and green reflections, each feather with a concealed black bar and lilac tip ; abdomen, vent and under tail coverts buff ; sides of the body tinged with ashy. The female has the breast and upper abdomen barred with brown and the colours are less bright ; bill horny brown ; legs and feet dull lake red ; irides brown, with an outer pink circle ; orbital skin pale livid. Length. — 15 to 16 inches; tail 7-5; wing 7*2; tarsus 0"9; bill from gape I. Hah. — S.-E. Himalayas, from Nepaul to Bhootan, extending to the Khasia hills. In Sikkim, according to Jerdon, it frequents the zone from 3000 to nearly 7000 feet. Hodgson says it lays in the Central forests of Nepaul in May and June. At Darjeeling, according to Theobald, during July. It also occurs along the hill tracts of Eastern Bengal ; in the north-eastern portion of Pegu on the Karin hills at 4000 feet elevation and on the Tounghoo hills at an altitude of 3S00 feet. Gates adds, that Mr. Davison obtained it in Tenasserim on the Mooleyit mountain and at Kollidoo further north. They are shy birds and keep to thick forests, associating in small flocks. They breed on trees, making a nest of twigs and laying two eggs. Breeding season March and April. Macropygia rufipenniSy Blyth, an allied species, is found in the Nicobar Islands. Nothing appears to have been noticed by late observers of M. riificeps, Temm., a Javan species which Jerdon notices as occurring also in Tenasserim. 43. Macropygia assimiliS, Hume, Str. F. ii. p. 441 ; Wald. in Blyth's B. JBurm. ^. 146; W ardlaw- Ramsay , Ibis, 1877, p. 468; Hume and Dav., Sir. F. vi. p. 420 ; Hume, Sir. F. viii. p. 1 10 ; Oaies, B. Br. Btirm. ii. p. 296. — The Tenasserim Cuckoo Dove. Forehead and crown chestnut; sides of the head and neck, also hind neck and back, minutely freckled with greyish white ; rump and upper tail coverts brown, suffused with rufous at the edges ; wing coverts, scapulars and tertiaries dark brown, tipped with chestnut ; quills dark brown ; chin and throat fulvous ; lower plumage rufous, blotched with black on the breast ; under wing coverts chestnut; four central tail feathers brown, the others brown at the base and chestnut, with a subterminal dusky bar. {Oaies.) Legs and feet dark brownish red ; bill pinkish red or pale purplish brown ; irides sometimes grey with an inner ring of blue or grey only, or pearly white ; orbital skin pale blue. (^Davison.) Lengih. — 1 3 inches; tail 6*5 ; wing 5"6; tarsus 07; bill from gape O'g. Hab. — Tenasserim on the Mooleyit mountain, and further north at Kollidoo ; also on the Karin hills east of Tounghoo at an elevation of 3000 feet. Extends down the Malay Peninsula. Nothing is known of its nidiiication. 32 COLUMBID^. Sub-Family.— TURTURIN^.-^/.. Habits terrestrial and arboreal ; tail somewhat long, with pale tips to the outer feathers ; neck usually adorned with a ring or spot. Sub-Family, TURTURIN^.— ^^«a/.. Bill lengthened, slender, the base soft and tumid ; wings long; feet short; feathers of the rump rather rigid. Gen. TurtllV.—Seliy. Bill slender; wings long, 2nd and 3rd quills longest; tail moderate, rounded or graduated ; tarsi scutellated in front, naked ; outer toe shorter than the inner. 44. Turtur pulchratus, ffodgs., J. A. S. B. xiii. Turtur rupicolus, apud Jerd,, B. hid. ii. p. 476, No. 792 ; Hume and Dav., Sir. F. vi. p. 421. — The Ashy Turtle Dove. Forehead pale isabelline ; top of head bluish ashy, nape with a vinous tinge ; upper back, cheeks, sides of the face and sides of the body, also the upper breast, vinous ; chin and a small gular streak pale isabelline ; neck patch black, each feather tipped with paler bluish white ; loiver back atid rump bluish ash ; also the upper tail coverts, which in some are edged with pale rufous ; central tail feathers dusky black, the others black and tipped broadly with greyish white, the outermost feather on each side' white on the outer web and at tip ; scapulars, tertiaries, lesser and median coverts dark brown, margined with rufous ; greater coverts dusky on the inner web and ashy on outer; primaries and secondaries dusky brown ; darker on their outer web and very narrowly edged with dirty white ; innermost secondaries edged and tipped with rufous ; lower breast vinous, becoming albescent or ashy white on the middle of the belly, and pure white on the vent and tinder tail coverts ,• flanks and under wing coverts bluish ash. Bill brown, vinous on the basal half ; irides orange ; legs vinous red. Length. — 14 to i4'5 inches; tail 5*5; wing 8; tarsus I'l ; bill from gape ri. Hab. — The Himalayas from Afghanistan to Sikkim at elevations of from 4,000 to 8,000 feet, also the Central Provinces, Central India, the N.-W. Pro- vinces, and Nepaul. Breeds on the lower ranges of the Himalayas during May and June. At Mussooree and Murree it is said to lay in May two pure white eggs, which Hume adds are glossy and regular ovals, varying in length from n to 134, and in breadth from 0-85 to i. 45. Turtur meena {Sykes), Jerd., B. Ind.w. p. 476, No. 793; Hume, Nests and Eggs p. 501 ; id., Str. F. iii. p, 163 ; Bl. B. Burm. p. 146; Hume and Vav., Str. F. vi. p. 420 ; Hume, Str. F. viii^ p. no, TURTUR. 33 Scully, Sir. F. viii. p. 340 ; Oaies, Sir. F. x. p. 235 ; id., B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 292; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 513, No. 1169. Columba meena, Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 140. Turtur rupicolus {Pall.), Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 476, No. 792. — The Rufous Turtle Dove. Forehead, crown, nape, hind neck and back ashy brown, suffused with vinous, and the feathers indistinctly edged with rufous ; a patch on the neck black with greyish tips ; lower back and rump dark ashy, edged paler ; upper tail coverts brown, edged with pale rufous ; scapulars, tertiaries, lesser and median coverts brown, broadly edged with rufous ; greater coverts and secon- daries edged with ashy, the innermost ones edged with rufous ; primaries dark brown edged with rufous ; lower plumage vinous red, tinged with purplish in some, paler on the chin and throat ; sides of the body, under wing coverts, vent and under tail coverts ashy ; central tail feathers ashy brown, the others ashy brown, tipped with grey ( Oates) ; bill brown, with a tinge of ashy on the basal half; iris orange-red ; legs vinous red. Length — 13 inches ; tail 5 ; wing 7; tarsus it ; bill from gape i. Hab. — The Himalayas to Nepaul and Ceylon. It is a permanent resident of the hilly portions of Southern India, and of the broken belt of hills that stretch across the continent of India from the northern portions of the Western Ghauts to Cuttack ; thence it extends into Eastern Bengal, Khasia hills, Cachar, Assam and along the bases of the Himalayas as far west as the Sikkim and Nepaul Terais, and again southwards into Arrakan, Pegu and Northern Tenasserim. {Hume.) Breeds from December to April, but the majority lay in March, April and May. The number of eggs is two, and like all doves, pure glossy white. 46. Turtur senegalensis {Linn.), Lev. 0. A. t. 270; Tem. Pig., t. 45; id., Descr. Egypt, t. 9, 3; Gray, Handlist Birds, No. 9317; Bl/., East. Pers. p. 27O; Hume, Str. F. vii. 463; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 514, No. 1 170. Turtur cambayensis {Gm.), Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 478, No. 794 ; Murray, Hdbk. ZooL, S^c., Sind. p. 193 ; id., Vert. Zool., Sind, p. 203. — The Little Brown Dove. Head, nape, lores and sides of the face pinkish vinaceous, as are also the sides of the neck, throat and breast, gradually shading to paler on the upper abdomen, and white or fulvous white on the lower abdomen, vent and under tail coverts ; chin white, sides with a patch of black and dark rufous feathers ; back and scapulars brown, the latter with a slight rufous tinge ; primaries and their coverts dusky brown, first three quills edged with fulvous white ; secondaries darker brown than the primaries, slightly edged and tipped with pale grey ; wing coverts pale grey, the edges of the feathers lighter ; rump, upper tail coverts and central tail feathers like the back, the others black at the base and white for nearly their terminal half ; edge of the wing and 5 34 COLUMBIDi^- under wing coverts dark ashy. Bill black ; irides dark brown with a white inner circle ; legs lake red. Length. — loS ) wing 5 ; tail 4-5. Hab. — Nearly throughout India, Sind, Kutch, Rajputana, Deccan, Concan, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Southern India generally, Beloochistan, Persia and Afghanistan. In Central and Western India specially abundant. Breeds all over the plains of India during March and April. During the scarcity of mutton in the plains of Mach in Beloochistan in the last Kandahar campaign, this little Dove, Turtur risorius Q^o. 1173) ^"^^ Columba livia et intermedia formed the only flesh food (with now and again a Porcupine) of the Com- missariat and Transport European staffs. 47. Turtur SUratensiS, Gm., Tem. Pig. t. 43; Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 479, No. 795; Sir. F. v. pp. 231, 409; Gray, Handlist No. 9315 ; Murray, Hdbk., Zool., &c., Sind, p. 194 ; id., Vert. Zool. Sind, p. 203 ; Murray, Avif, Brit. Ind. ii. p. 514, No. 1171. — The Spotted Dove. Forehead greyish white ; crown, nape, breast and upper abdomen pale vinaceous, darker on the breast, paling on the lower abdomen and flanks, and albescent on the under tail coverts ; chin and throat white ; patch on the neck black with narrow rufous tips ; back and scapulars isabelline brown, or rufous brown, the feathers with dark shaft-stripes, broadening into a nearly triangular spot at the tip, on each side of which, especially on the scapulars and wing coverts, is a pale rufous or vinaceous spot ; in some specimens scarcely a spot, but with this colour edging the feathers ; edge of the wing, and the lower series of wing coverts near it greyish white, with faint dark shaft-stripes ; primaries and secondaries dusky brown, the first three quills, and some of the seconda- ries edged with pale or greyish white ; primary coverts dark brown; tail with the central feathers brown, the outermost black at the base, and tipped white for the terminal half, and the others with the white tips decreasing in extent ; bill blackish ; irides hazel, surrounded by a reddish sclerotic membrane ; legs reddish. Length. — 12 inches ; wing 5*5 to 5*75 ; tail 5*5, graduated. Hab. — Throughout India nearly, to Ceylon and the Himalayas. Replaces the last on the Malabar Coast and in Lower Bengal. Jerdon says it is rare in the bare Carnatic land, the Deccan, and N.-W. Provinces. Uncommon in Upper Sind, but less so in Lower Sind. Breeds in April and May. It occurs, but less abundantly, in Rajputana and N. Guzerat. 48. Turtur tigrinus (Tm.), Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p. 506; id., Str. F. i. p. 461 ; iii. p. 164 ; Blyih, B. Burnt, p. 145 ; Armstrong, Sir. F. iv. p. 337 ; Oates, Str. F v. p. 164 ; Anders., Yunnan Exped. p. 665 ; Hume and Dav., Str F. vi. p. 422 ; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. iiO; Bingham, Str. F. ix. p. 194 ; Oates, Sir. F. x. p. 235 ; id,, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 290 ; Edible. 'Awr.' Game Bii^ds of British India, TURTUR RISORIUS. TURTUR. 35 Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind.W. p, 515, No. 1172. Columba tigrina, Temm., Knip. Pig. I. p. 94, pi. xliii. Spilopelia tigrina, Salvad., Ucc. Born. p. 296. — The Malayan Spotted Dove. Forehead and cheeks grey ; crown, nape, breast and upper abdomen vina- ceous, paling on the chin, vent and under tail coverts ; patch on the neck and hind neck black, each feather with two white spots at the tip ; back, scapulars, wing coverts and rump brown, each feather blackish along the shaft and tipped on both webs with lighter brown ; outermost wing coverts pure grey on the outer webs ; quills dark brown, some of the tertiaries with blackish shaft streaks and tipped paler ; tail brown, the outer feathers broadly tipped with white, the white decreasing in extent on each inner feather on each side till it disappears on the fifth or central pair of feathers, which are dark brown ; bill bluish black ; irides reddish. Length. — 12*4 inches; tail 6 ; wing 5*5 ; tarsus i ; bill from gape 0*9. Hab. — The whole province of British Burmah, extending northwards through the Indo-Burmese Countries to Cachar and eastwards to Cochin- China. Ranges down the Malay Peniusula to Sumatra, Java, Borneo and Celebes. Breeds from August to March in low trees and bushes, laying two eggs. 49. Turtur risorius {Linn.\ Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 481 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p. 506 ; id.. Sir. F. iii. p. 165 ; Wald. in Blyth's B. Burm. p. 146 ; Dresser, B, Eur. vii. p. 5 1 ; Dav. et Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 387 ; Cripps, Str. F. vii. p. 297 ; Legge, B. Ceylon p. 702 ; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. no; Oates, Str. F. x. p. 235 ; Oates, B. Br. Burmah ii. p 293 ; Blanf., East Pers. p. 270 ; Murray, Hdbk. Zool. 8fc., Sind, p. 194 ; id.. Vert, Zool., Sind,p. 204; Murray, Avif, Brit. Ind. ii. p, 515, No. 1173. Columba risoria, Linn., Syt. Nat. i. p. 285. — The Indian Ring Dove. Head pale greyish brown, with a vinous tinge ; the forehead albescent ; nape and neck pale vinaceous ; collar black, a narrow line of white before and behind it ; back, scapulars and innermost tertiaries grey brown, as also are the rump and upper tail coverts ; primaries and their coverts dusky brown; the primaries margined narrowly with whitish, and their coverts tinged with greyish ; edge of the wing, lower series of the median coverts and greater series also pale grey ; under wing coverts greyish white ; chin and throat albescent ; breast and upper abdomen, also the sides of the neck and breast pale vinaceous ; flanks, lower abdomen, vent, thighs and under tail coverts ashy grey, the latter with whitish tips ; tail with the central feathers like the back ; outermost feathers on each side narrowly margined with greyish white on their outer web, with a broad black band about the middle, greyish at base, and broadly terminated with white, which on the others increase in extent. Bill black ; irides crimson ; orbital skin whitish ; legs pinkish. Length. — 12 to 13 inches ; wing 6-5 ; tail 5 ; bill at front o'8i. 36 GOURID^. Hah, — India generally, and Ceylon, except the more moist regions, as the Malabar Coast ; abundant in Sind, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Oudh, Bengal, Rajputana, Kutch, Guzerat, Concan, Deccan, Central and South India, also Beloochistan and Southern Afghanistan. Rare in Burmah. Breeds through- out the year. 50. Turtur humiliS {Temm.), Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 482; Hume, JNesls and Eggs Ind. B. p. 507; id.. Sir. F. ii. p. 269; iii. p 165; iv. p. 292 ; Armstrong, Sir. F. iv. p. 338 ; Wald., Trans. Zool. Soc. ix. p. 219 ; David et. Ousi. Ois. Chine, p. 388; Hume and Dav., Sir. F. vi. p. 423; Hume, Sir. F. viii. p. no; Oates, Sir. F. x. p. 235 ; id., B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 294 ; Murray, Hdbk., Zool., ^c, Sind, p. 194 ; id., Veri. Zool., Sind, p. 204; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind, ii. p. 516, No. 1174. Turtur tranquebaricus, Herm., Obs. Zool. p. 200 ; Bly., B. Burm. p. 145. Turtur humilior, Proc. As. Soc. Beng. 1874, p. 241; id., Sir. F. iii. p 279. — The Red Turtle Dove. Male. — Head and nape ashy grey, also the lores and sides of the face, slightly paler on the forehead ; collar black, set off by whitish before and behind it ; back, scapulars and wing coverts brick red, slightly paler behind the black collar ; chin whitish ; throat, breast and entire lower surface pale vinous red, white on the vent and lower tail coverts ; rump and upper tail coverts deep slaty; primaries, their coverts and secondaries dusky brown; the margin of the primaries, as also the margins and tips of the secondaries, whitish ; primary coverts slightly tinged with vinous red on their outer webs ; edge of the wing greyish, some of the dark bases of the median coverts showing through ; tail with the middle feathers ashy brown, the others greyish black at the base, and broadly tipped with white ; outermost feathers on each side white on the exterior web ; bill black ; irides dark brown ; legs purplish red. Length.— g inches ; wing 5*5 to 575 ; tail 3 to 3-25. The /emale is duller in colour on the back, being more of an earthy brown and much paler below. Had. — The drier regions in India, to Ceylon and the foot of the Himalayas. Common in the Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Oudh, Bengal, Rajpu- tana, Kutch, Guzerat, Concan and Deccan, but less so in Sind. Occurs also in Assam and Northern Burmah. In Sind it affects the northern districts chiefly seldom seen below Sukkur. It is not known from S, Afghanistan, where T. senegalensis replaces it. Family, GOURID^.— Ground-Doves. Wings moderate ; tarsus longer than in the Turf urines, as are also all the toes ; wings shorter and less pointed. The Indian representatives of the family belong to the Phapidina and Calcenince. Sub-Pamily, PHAPIDIN^. General characters as of the family; tarsus not feathered; tail of 12, 14 or 16 feathers. CHALCOPHAPS. 37 Gen. Chalcophaps— GottW. Bill slender ; wings moderately long ; 2nd and 3rd quills nearly equal and longest ; tail rather short and rounded ; tarsus not feathered ; plumage rich glossy metallic green. 51. ChalCOphapS indica {Linn?), Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 484, No. 798 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p. 509 ; id., Str. F. ii. p. 269 ; iii. p. 165 ; Salvad., Ucc. Born. p. 299; Bourdillon, Str. F. iv. p. 404; Blyth, B. Burnt, p. 147 ; Dav. ei Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 384 ; Hume and Dav., Str. F. vi. p. 424; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. IIO; Legge, B. Ceylon p. 714; Oates, Str. F. X. p. 23s ; Kelham, Ibis, 1881, p. 528; Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 297 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Lid. ii. p. 5 17, No. 1 175. — The Emerald Dove. Forehead white, continued as a supercilium over the eye ; crown, nape, a narrow band down the hind neck and another across the upper back ashy- grey; back and wings shining dark emerald green ; quills dark brown, the secondaries metallic green on the external web ; tertiaries bright metallic green ; smaller coverts near the edge of the wing white ; on the lower back a narrow band of ashy, followed by a broad black one, then a second ashy one, and lastly a broad band, which with the upper tail coverts is dark ashy brown, tipped darker; sides of the head and neck and the whole under surface of the body deep vinaceous, rather duller on the abdomen ; under tail coverts ashy ; three central pairs of tail feathers dark brown, tipped paler, the others banded with black and ashy ; under wing coverts chestnut ; bill red; irides dark brown ; eyeUds plumbeous; legs dusky red. Length. — io"5 inches ; tail 4; wing 5'8; tarsus I ; bill from gape Og. Hab. — Throughout India in forest countries and well wooded districts ; not in the drier regions, as Sind, Rajputana, Kattyawar, &c. It is abundant in Lower Bengal ; extends to Assam and all the countries on the east of the Bay of Bengal as far as Tenasserim. It also occurs in Ceylon, the Andamans, Nicobars, the Indo-Burmese Countries, South China, Siam,the Malay Peninsula, and all the islands nearly down to Australia. Frequents thick forests, and is met with in small parties or in pairs. Breeds from March to July in suitable localities. The nests, according to Hume, are placed in some dense bush or low thick-foliaged tree. They are more regular saucers than those of other doves, composed of roots, grass, or twigs, but comparatively neat and with a central depression. Eggs two in number, pure white, from i to ri inch in length and from 0-82 to 0'86 in breadth. Gen. QcQG^Q\i2i'— Swains. General characters of Turlur ; tail of 12 feathers only. 52. Geopelia striata {Linn.), Salvad., Ucc. Born. p. 298 ; Hume and Dav,, Str. F. vi. p. 423 ; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. iiO; Kelham, Ibis, 1881, 38 GOURID^. p. S2S i Murray, Avi/. Bri'L Ind.ii. p. 518, No. 11 76. Columba striata, Lt'nn., SysL Nat. i. p. 282. — The Barred Ground Dove. Forehead and crown, as far as the eyes, also the cheeks, chin, and throat pure grey ; upper part of the ear coverts grey ; lower part brown ; remainder of the crown and nape vinous brown ; sides of the neck, whole hind neck and upper back, sides of the breast and of the body white, closely and finely barred with black; centre of the breast and abdomen vinaceous; vent and under tail coverts white ; lower back, rump, upper tail coverts, scapulars, wing coverts and tertiaries brown, each feather with a terminal black bar ; primaries and secondaries dark brown, the latter broadly edged with the colour of the back ; central tail feathers pale brown, the others dark brown, the four outer pairs broadly tipped with white; under wing coverts chestnut. {Oaies.) Front of tarsus and toes pinkish purple, with the scutation divided by pink lines ; back of tarsus and soles fleshy pink ; bill blue at base, bluish white terminally ; irides white or grey, brown. {Davison.') Hah. — Tenasserim, in the extreme south, extending down the Malay Penin- sula ; is also found in Sumatra and Java. According to Davison its habits are like those of Turtur tigrinus. Sub-Family, CALCENIN.E. Bill strong with a tubercle at base ; legs and feet stout ; head with long crest ; plumage metallic. 53. Caloenas nicobarica {Linn.), Hume, Sir. F. ii. p. 271 ; id.. Nests and Eggs p. 510 ; Blyth, B. Burm. p. 147 ; Hume a?td Dav., Sir. F. vi. p. 425 ; Hume, Str. F. viii. pp. 68, 1 10 ; Uates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 299 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. hid. ii. p. 518, No. 1177. Columba nicobarica, Linn., Syst. Nat. i. p. 283. — The Hackled Ground-Pigeon. Entire head and neck from deep slaty grey to blackish brown ; a long and thick bunch of narrow hackles from the base of the occiput hairlike and slaty grey and from the back of the neck metallic green, shot with gold and copper and margined with slaty grey ; rest of upper plumage except the tail and longer and upper tail coverts which are white —refulgent with metallic reflections ; lesser wing coverts, outer webs of primaries, winglet, greater coverts, and earlier secondaries glossed with deep blue ; other portion of secondaries and their coverts, most of the median coverts, rump and shorter upper tail coverts brilliant green ; scapulars adjoining the wing coverts the same, but with a coppery glow ; upper breast like the head ; lower breast, abdomen, sides, flanks, vent and shorter under tail coverts variegated deep metallic green and dark slaty, the latter forming a fringe to the feathers ; first two primaries unglossed ; inner webs of the primaries and secondaries and their under surface blackish brown ; wing lining and axillaries brighter or duller metallic PTEROCLES. 39 green or deep blackish slaty with a tinge of gloss ; lower breast deep metallic green, the feathers tipped purplish ; tibial plumes rich purplish blue. The young want the metallic gloss and protuberance at base of bill, and is duller everywhere ; bill dark blackish grey ; irides deep brown ; legs dull purplish lilac. Length. — 16 inches; tail 3"5 ; wing lO; tarsus 17; bill from gape 1*5. Hab. — This, the most lovely species of the Pigeon group, inhabits the Mergui Archipelago and the Nicobars, and extends to the Malay Peninsula. Feeds on fruit ; nests on trees only as far as has yet been ascertained on the Island of Battye Malve in the Nicobars. The nests are like those of other pigeons. Egg, one only, spotless white ; 1*84 x 1-27. Mr. Walsingham in epist says its flesh is excellent food, and in his opinion superior to that of the Rock Pigeon, and less tough. Order, Rasores, — Gallinaceous or Game Bikds. Bill usually short, vaulted, more or less arched and bent down at the tip -, nostrils situated in a membrane at the base of the bill ; wings usually short ; tail variable in length and form ; tarsi long and strong, often spurred ; hinder toe short and elevated from the ground. Family, PTEROCLID^,— Sand or Rock-Grouse. Bill short, curved to the tip and compressed at the sides ; wings and tail long and pointed ; tarsi feathered ; hind toe small. Gen. Pterocles.— T'^w. Bill small, rather stout ; culmen cur^'ed, sides compressed ; nostrils at base partly covered by membrane; wings long, ist and 2nd primaries longest; tail with the median rectrices sometimes lengthened beyond the rest ; tarsi short, feathered in front and on the inner side. INIr. D. G. Elliott has a very clear and exhaustive paper on the Pteroclidce Family in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1878, pp. 233, 264, giving the literature of the Family, its classification and a review of the geographical distribution, as well as a key and descriptions, with the synonomy of each species. The following key is extracted from the paper referred to, and will be found most useful. A. " Without pectoral band. {a) Stripe on each side of forehead from nostril to above the eye; chin and centre of throat black.../*, coronatus, (b) Lores and band encircling back of head pearly grey ; cheeks, ear-coverts and throat orange yellow ; centre of abdomen black P. senegallus. 40 PTEROCLID^. B. With pectoral band. (a) Without black bar on forehead. (a') Median rectrices not lengthened beyond rest ; upper part of throat and sides of neck rufous ; lower portion of throat black ; band on lower part of breast, abdomen and flanks black P. arenarius. (i') Median rectrices greatly lengthened beyond the rest. (a") Throat yellow ; black band across breast ; abdomen and flanks chestnut P. exustus. {b") Throat and stripe behind the eye black ; sides of throat rufous ; centre of breast chestnut, bordered above and below with black; rest of under parts white P. alchata, (b) With black bar on forehead. (a) Breast uniform greenish buff. (a") Throat pale buff ; upper part of breast buff, crossed with numerous narrow black bars ; middle of breast uniform buff, crossed in the centre by a narrow black bar and another of the same hue on its lower edge ; rest of under parts yellowish white, barred narrowly with black P. lichtensteini. (J)") Throat and breast buff ; triple band separates the fulvous breast from the abdomen, the first maroon, the second creamy white, and the 3rd unspotted chocolate brown .P./asctaius. 54. PterOCleS COronatuS. Lichl, Verz. d Doubl. p. 65 ; Tem. PL Col. No. 339, 340 ; Heugl. Syst. Ueber. N. O. Afr. p. 3O4 ; Ibis, 1864, pp. 27, 240 ; id., 1870, pp. 9, 16; 1871, p. 144; Sir. F. i. p. 224; id. (1876) ; iv. p. 230; Bl/., East. Pers. ii. p. 272 ; Murray, Hdbk., ZooL, 8fc., Sind, p. 200 ; Elliott, P. Z. S. 1878, No. 282. Murray, Avif. Brit. hid. ii. p. 520, No. 1 178. — The Coronated Sand Grouse. PLATE, fig. Male.—h. Hne on each side of the forehead from the nostrils to above the eye black, and a pale fulvous one between these from the point of the forehead. Crown of the head pale chestnut, vinous or rufescent fawn. A pearly grey band from the anterior angle of the eye, continued as a supercilium and extending round to the nape ;* lores and a narrow band edging the black chin and throat stripe white ; sides of the face, ear coverts and the neck all round orange buff ; base of the neck and upper back isabelline, the feathers edged dusky grey ; interscapulars the same, with median buffy spots at the * In two specimens I possess there is a distinct pearly grey band across the forehead immediately behind the termination of the black forehead stripes. Edible Biros of British. I "d^*- PTEROCLES ARENARIUS (male) PTEROCLES. 41 tips ; rump and upper tail-coverts a dark or dirty grey, mixed with the fulvous of the base of the feathers ; tail with the median rectrices of a pale vinous colour, dark shafted, with a subterminal dark spot, and very narrowly tipped with white ; lateral feathers deeper vinous with also a subterminal dark bar, and broadly tipped with white ; all the feathers with a few dusky sprinkles behind the dark band ; primaries and their coverts dull grey or dusky brown ; all the primaries, except the first three, broadly margined with fulvous white obliquely towards the tips on their inner webs, and also slightly tipped the same ; secondaries hair brown ; tertiaries vinous on- their inner webs and edged on the outer with huffish ; scapulars vinous at the base, dark shafted, with a subterminal dark band, and mesially tipped with a nearly oval buff spot ; median wing coverts the same ; the greater series greyish buff or buffy isabelline ; abdomen, flanks, under wing- coverts, vent and lower tail coverts w'hite, slightly soiled on the middle of the abdomen, and in some specimens a pale isabelline ; tarsal plumes white. The female has the throat and sides of the neck orange buff ; the chin paler and nearly albescent ; the crown very pale cinnamon ; entire upper surface buff, with, in some specimens, a vinous tinge and barred with numerous crescentic and broken bands of dark browaj breast and under parts paler buff, also with crescentic bands ; the flanks albescent ; scapulars largely blotched with dusky, and with buff tips ; primaries and secondaries as in the male, but very pale or hair brown. Length. — 1 17S to 12 inches ; wing 7 to 77S; tail 37s ; bill at front 0'4S. Hah. — Sind, Persia, Beloochistan, Afghanistan, N.-W. Arabia, Egypt and Nubia. Breeds in the southern portions of the Sahara, wliere it is said to replace P. arenarius. 55. PterOCles SenegallUS, Lin. Mantissa. 1771, p. 526; Lath., Ind. (7/-«. vol. ii. p. 642 ; Gray, Gen. B. vol. fii. p. 519; Tristram, Ibis, i860 ; Str. F. i. p 221 ; iii. pp. 418, 4 ; v. 231 ; Murray, Hdbk., Zool,, 8^c., Sind, p. 197. Pteroeles guttatus, Licht. Verz. Votibl. Pterocles senegalensis, Shaw, Nat. Misc. vol. iv, pi. 933; Shelley, Ibis, 187 1, p. 144. — The Spotted Sand Grouse. PLATE, fig. r. " The male has the whole chin and throat with a patch extending upwards from the throat, towards, but not quite meeting on the back of the neck, bright buffy yellow or orange buff ; lores, forehead, a broad stripe over the eye continued round the nape and the back of the neck, pale blue grey, dull and tinged fawny in some specimens ; crown, occiput, and nape, a sort of dove colour or pale, slightly rufous fawn ; back and rump a somewhat similar, but more sandy colour, in many specimens more tinged with fawn ; 6 B 42 PTEROCLlDi*;. the upper tail coverts buffy yellow, all but the longest obscurely lipped with a somewhat pinkish mouse colour. They are more or less pale dove colour -at their bases, which colour however is not seen till the feathers are lifted. The central tail feathers have the pointed tips black, in many specimens more or less tinged hoary buffy, and the rest of the visible portion yellowish buff, but the bases, a§ may be seen on lifting the feathers, are greyish ; the lateral tail feathers are a greyish brown at base, dark-shafted, with conspicuous white tips, and broad blackish brown subterminal bands ; the primaries are pale isabelline, the shafts conspicuous and black ; they have broad ill-defined subterminal brown bands, beyond which there is a narrow paler tipping, and they are pretty conspicuously margined on their inner webs towards the tips with still paler isabelline. The first primary has the outer web browner, the others have the outer webs, especially toward the bases, a brighter isabelline. The whole visible portions of the lesser coverts and of the primary greater coverts are yellowish fawn, or isabelline, varying much in shade in different specimens ; these greater coverts are dark shafted, and with a brownish tinge next the shafts on the inner webs ; the scapulars bluish grey at the bases, tipped broadly, but chiefly on the outer webs, with buffy yellow, and the lesser ones tinged immediately above the yellow with a somewhat brownish purple, or dull greyish vinaceous. The secondary, median, and greater coverts like the lesser scapulars, but showing more of the vinaceous hue. The secon- daries are brown, lighter towards their bases. The lower part of the neck in front and upper breast are nearly the same blue grey or greyish fawn as the back of the neck ; the lower breast, abdomen, sides, flanks, axillaries, and wing lining isabelline or desert colour ; the upper abdomen often with a faint orange buffy tinge. A broad irregular deep brown patch runs down the centre of the abdomen to the vent ; the lower tail-coverts are greyish brown at their bases, but are broadly tipped with white (often tinged buffy or isabel- line) which is the only colour visible until the feathers are lifted. The lower surfaces of the quill shafts are white. "The female has the yellow chin and throat patch like the male, but paler ; the lores and feathers immediately encircling the eye pale isabelline white ; the whole upper parts and the neck all round pure isabelline, tinged slightly rufous on the occiput, nape, and back, and conspicuously spotted with dull, somewhat greyish, black ; the spots on the forehead and front part of the head are small and irregular ; on the nape and occiput they are more or less arranged in rows (so as to produce more of a striated appearance) and in a band running from behind the eye round the nape, they are very much more densely set ; on the upper tail coverts they are larger ; while on the scapulars they take the form of double spots or irregular bars. The primaries and their greater coverts are much as in the male, but paler ; the central tail feathers are isabelline, dark shafted, the point greyish black, and the rest of the feather with narrow, transverse, irregular bars of the same colour on both Edible BmoS' of British iMDii, PTEROCLES ARENARIUS (female) I PTEROCLES. 43 webs ; the lateral tail feathers are much as in the male, but have the basal portions more tinged with isabelline, and more or less imperfectly barred. The breast, abdomen, and wing lining are as in the male, but somewhat purer and paler ; the abdominal patch is narrower and perhaps also some- what paler. " Irides bro\Mi, bare ; orbital skin yellowish ; bill pale plumbeous, bluish grey, or bluish white, always somewhat more dusky towards the tip; feet pale plumbeous or bluish white, paler towards the tips of the toes; weight 8 to 12 ounces, but averaging about 10 ounces. **Male, length. — 13-4 to 147 inches ; expanse 23 to 237 ; tail from vent 5-3 to 6 ; wing 7-5 to 79, the wings when closed reach to within from 2*3 to 2*8 of the end of the longest tail feathers, viz., the central ones, which exceed the others by from 175 to 2 ; bill at front 0*44 to 0*47 ; tarsus i to 1-05. " Female, length. — 12-4 to 13*1 inches ; expanse 22 to 22-6 ; tail from vent 4 to 4*6; the central tail feathers only extending from 075 to i'2 beyond the rest ; wing 7 3 to 7-5 ; bill at front 0*4 to 0-44." — Hume., Sir. F. i. p. 219. Common throughout Rajputana, Kutch, Kattiawar, Guzerat and the Punjab. Breeds in Sind. Like the preceding species it is found in N. Africa, also in N.-W. Arabia, and in Beloochlstan. 56- Pterocles arenarius, Pall., Nov. Comm. Petrop. vol. xix. p. 4 18; id., Rosso. As. ii. p. 73; Lath., Ind. Orn ii. p. 642. Pterocles arenarius, Tern. Pig. et. Gallin. vol. iii. p. 24O; id., PL Co/. Nos. 52, 53 ; Gray, Gen. B. iii. p. 518; P. Z. S. 1858, p. 501 ; Ibis, 1859, p. 352; i860, p 69; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 496; Str. F. i. p. 219; iii. 418; iv. 179; Bl/., East. Pers. ii. 271 ; Murray, Hdbk., Zool., 8fc., Sind, p. 194. — The Large Saxd Grouse. PLATE. " Forehead and crown greyish brown, with a faint pearly tinge, in some specimens with a buffy tinge ; lores behind the eye and ear coverts light grey, in some specimens, especially old males, the dark shafts of the feathers of the lores, under the eye, and of the ear coverts are distinctly visible and end in bristles ; nape and base of the neck, like the crown ; back, scapulars, upper tail and wing coverts rich buff or orange buff with a subterminal dark bar, the bases of the feathers paler buff, with waved barrings and vermicula- tions ; primaries greyish and black shafted, the outer web of the outermost quill dark brown, and with the two following tipped blackish, the rest the same, but edged on the tip and the outer edge of the inner web near the tip, with whitish, the under surface black; the secondaries basally white or fulvous white, with faint vermiculations on the exterior webs, all broadly tipped dusky 44 PTEROCLID^. and the margin of the exterior web blackish ; tertiaries dusky grey, or huffish, with vermiculalions basally, and margined at the tips on the exterior web with rich buff or orange buff ; the visible portion of the lower series of the median and greater coverts rich buff or orange, forming in the closed wing, with the outer edges of the tertiaries, an oblique bar of rich buff ; edge of the wing fulvous white ; under wing coverts pure white ; chin, upper throat, sides of the neck to behind the ear coverts and nape deep chestnut; middle of the throat with a large triangular patch of black ; breast dull ashy or pearly grey, crossed on the lower part by a broad black band, succeeded by a broad buft'y one, about four times the width of the black band ; abdomen, vent and thigh coverts deep black ; under tail coverts black, tipped with white ; tail with the central tail feathers like the back, or orange buff, with numerous dark bands, and slightly elongated beyond the others ; lateral feathers dusky rufescent, with darker narrow bars, tipped white, and with a subterm.inal black band ; tarsal feathers fulvous white ; bill bluish ; feet dull yellowish brown ; irides dark brown. ^^ Length. — 1175 to 12*5 ; wings 9-25 ; tail 4 to 4*25 ; tarsus \'i. *' The female differs in having the whole head and upper parts, and also the breast narrowly barred with brown. The pectoral band is narrower and the chin fulvous with a narrow black edge." Hah. — The desert regions of Asia, Southern Europe and North Africa ; Asia Minor and Palestine. Everywhere common in Sind, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Oudh and Bengal ; Kutch, throughout Rajputana, Kattiawar and North Guzerat ; Beloochistan, Persia, Afghanistan and Eastern Turkistan. 57. Pterocles exustus, Te7ti. Pi. C^?/. Nos. 354, 360 ; Rupp. Les. Trait. Orn. p. 517; Sykes, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 154; Gray, Gen. B. iii. P 5 '9 ; y^f'd; Madras your, xii, p. 3 ; Handlist, Syst. Orn. W . Afr. p. 205 ; Jerd., B. hid. iii. p. 502; Hume, Str. F. vii. p. 160; Elliott, P. Z. S. 1878, p. 248 ; Murray, Hdhk., Zool., 8fc., Sind, p. 202. — The Common Sand Grouse. PLATE, fig. 5. Head, nape, sides of the neck and breast isabelline with a faint fulvous tinge ; lores, sides of the face, chin and throat yellowish or light orange buff ; back and rump like the breast, the feathers with darker tips; scapulars tipped greyish fulvous ; upper tail coverts with a greenish cast ; primaries dusky brown, all, except the four outermost broadly white on their inner margins near the tip, the innermost also tipped white ; secondaries hair brown, their terminal third with buffy edges on their exterior webs ; tertiaries the same, but with narrower buff edgings ; wing coverts buff, the feathers tipped narrowly with blackish chestnut ; tail with the central feathers much elongated beyond the rest, slightly darker buff than the wing coverts, black-shafted and the length- ened narrow portion black ; lateral feathers dusky rufescent, with pale rufous PTEROCLES. 45 bars on their exterior webs, tipped white and with a subterminal dark band ; a narrow black pectoral band, occasionally edged on its upper side with fulvous white followed by a broad band of isabelline ; rest of the under parts' choco- late brown, paler on the vent ; flanks and thigh coverts chestnut ; lower tail coverts creamy or fulvous white ; tarsal plumes fulvous or yellowish white. The female has the entire upper plumage, as also the space between the pectoral band and abdomen, fulvous, closely barred with deep brown ; breast unspotted isabelline, like the male. Length. — lO to 1 1*5 inches ; wings 7 ; tail 3"5. The males average from 9-5 to 10 inches in length ; bill leaden brown; legs brown ; irides dark brown. Hab. — N.-E. Africa, Arabia, Nubia, Egypt, Abyssinia and Palestine; Sind, Kutch, Rajputana, Kattiawar, N. Guzerat and Deccan ; Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Bengal, Sylhet, Burmah, Beloochistan, Quetta and Afghanistan. Breeds almost everywhere from February to August according to locality, laying 2 — 3 eggs of a fine smooth texture and gloss, rather long and cylindrical, of a pinkish stony colour, thickly spotted and streaked or irregularly blotched with dark and light shades of olive brown and inky purple, varying in length from 1*32 to f6 inches and in breadth from o'95 to ri i. 58. PterOCleS alchata, Linji., Syst. Nat.'x. p. 276; Gmel, Syst. Nat. i. 754; Lath., hid. Orn. ii. p. 641 ; Licht., Verz. Doubl. p. 64 ; Jerd.^ B. Ind. iii. p. 5OO, No. 801 ; Hume, Str. F. i. p. 221 ; Blf., East. Persia ii. p. 271 ; 3ftirray, Hdbk., ZooL, S,'c., Sind, p. 197; Elliot, P. Z. S. 1878, p. 251. Pterocles setarius, Tem., Pig. et GallincB iii. pp. 256, 714. — The Pin -TAILED Sand Grouse. PLATE, fig. 6. Male. — Forehead and crown, also the nape and sides of the face yellowish buff with a ferruginous tinge ; the crown with some nearly obsolete dark bars ; chin, throat and a streak behind each eye black ; neck in front and upper breast greenish buff, the feathers above pale chestnut, those of the breast with a dark brown transverse band forming a bar across ; lower breast pale chestnut, the feathers ashy white at base, with a subterminal dark or dusky bar, and broadly terminated with chestnut ; a black band separates the chestnut breast from the white of the abdomen ; hind neck olive brown ; upper back the same, each feather tipped with yellow ; lower back, rump and upper tail coverts pale buff, with, in some, a rufescent tinge, barred trans- versely with black ; scapulars rufescent or orange buff, the feathers barred with black and tipped with yellow ; on some feathers this yellow tip is sub- terminal, with a very narrow black margin at the extreme tip ; shoulder of wing olive brown; lesser, median and greater coverts broadly maroon, bounded above and below with a narrow white line, and tipped narrowly with black, the bases of the feathers being brownish ash ; upper series of the median 46 PTEROCLID^. and greater coverts olive brown at base, then broadly greenish yellow and margined with black at the tips ; primary coverts brownish ash, black-shafted ; primaries black-shafted, all (except the outer web of the first which is black) with their outer webs ashy grey, their inner webs rufescent grey near the shaft (not extending to the tip), then broadly dusky brown, and narrowly margined to the tip with white ; secondaries with the outer webs and tips of the inner webs dusky brown, rest of the inner web and edging to the outer web white ; tertiaries greenish olive on their outer web and rufescent grey on their inner, the uppermost with a yellow spot terminally ; abdomen, flanks and axillaries white, the shafts of the feathers, except those of the axillaries, black basally ; a large white patch on the under surface of the wing, formed by the white bases of the inner webs of the secondaries and their coverts ; the edge of the wing inside dusky brown ; tarsal plumes whitish ; tail with the lateral feathers white on their outer webs, their inner webs grey brown, margined with narrow, nearly obsolete dusky and buff bars, the tips of the feathers broadly white ; rest of the tail feathers barred buff and dark brown, plain grey brown near the shaft, and all (except the longest rectrices, which are black) tipped with white; bill horny ; orbits dark plumbeous ; irides dark brown. Length. — To end of longest rectrices 13 inches; wing 8; tail 6 to end of longest rectrices. Female. — Top of head and back deep buff, barred with black ; sides of face and neck orange yellow ; throat and chin white ; a dark band on the lower neck, another on the upper breast, and a third on the lower breast separating the white of the abdomen. Upper plumage barred black and buff ; seconda- ries the same, with a subterminal grey bar. Length. — 13 inches; wing 775 ; tail 5*37; irides and orbits as in the male. Bab. — Sind, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces and Rajputana ; Beloochistan (in the Bolan, Quetta and at Khelat), Persia, at Bushire, Southern and Eastern Afghanistan and Eastern Turkestan. It also inhabits N. Africa, Palestine, Spain and Portugal, and is said to breed in parts of Western Asia. In Sind, especially in the Northern districts, the Pintail is found in flocks, and some- times in countless numbers ; in the southern parts it is also found, but evi- dently only as stragglers. 57. Pterocles Lichtensteinii, Tem. Planch. Col. 3S5-361; Heugltn, Syst. Ueber. Vog. N. A/r. p 304; Speke, Ibis, p. 247 ; ffume/Str. F. i. p. 219; Murray, Hdbk., Zooh, Sfc, Sind, ^.i^S- Butbur^ Sind.— The Close- BARRED Sand Grouse. PLATE, fig. 4- JT/aZs. 2. Tterocles coronatus 3. PterocUs Jxtsciaius. 4i Ft^odes Lichte-nsteini^. 5. FCerocles &ooustus. 6. Fterocles cilchoUa/. PTEROCLES. 47 of which are buffy white and mesially dark brown ; a buff spot above the hinder angle of each eye ; chin and throat pale buff, their sides the same, with minute black spots ; upper breast, hind neck and back pale or fulvous white, with regular and close barrings of black ; scapulars, wing coverts and tertia- ries the same, the black transverse bars rather broader and deeper in colour, the tips of the feathers broadly yellowish buff ; upper tail coverts fulvous white, the black bars more distant and as wide as the fulvous interspaces ; pri- maries and their coverts hair brown, the outer web of the first margined with dull white, more conspicuous basally, and some of the inner ones with white margins to the tips ; secondaries dark brown ; lower breast yellowish buff with a narrow black band crossing it in the middle and another on the lower part of the breast, formed by the dark termination of the lowest breast fea- thers ; below this the abdomen, flanks, vent and under tail coverts are white, with transverse brown bars ; tarsal plumes buffy white ; tail barred buff and black, the terminal black bar broadest, with a streak running up the shaft of the feathers and partially dividing the broad buffy tips. The female wants the frontal patch and the semicircular band behind it, also the buff breast and band crossing it in the middle ; the chin and throat are pale buffy, minutely spotted with dark brown ; the upper surface of the body finely, closely and narrowly barred with pale fulvous and dark brown ; the lower surface the same, but the fulvous interspaces are broader and the dark bars narrower ; bill horny ; feet yellow ; irides brown ; orbits lemon yellow. Length . — 10 inches ; wing 7*25 ; tail 3-25 ; bill 0"62. Hab. — Sind, Punjab, Arabia, N.-E. Africa. 60. Pterocles faSCiatUS {Scop.), Gould, B. Asia, pt. ii. pi. 14; Jerd., III. Ind. Orn. pi. lO and 36; id., B. Ind. ii. p. 498, No. 800 ; Hume, Nesls and Eggs Ind. B. p. 511 ; id.. Sir. F. i. p. 391 ; vii. p. 160.— The Fainted Sand Grouse. PLATE fig. 3. A narrow white band on the forehead followed by a broad black one and succeeded by a narrow white one, and another black one which widens behind the eye and ends in a white spot ; occiput and nape streaked with black and fulvous; sides of the head, neck, breast and shoulder of wing fulvous yellow or buff ; back, scapulars, tertiaries and tail fulvous yellow banded with deep brown ; quills, brownish black with narrow pale edging ; median and greater coverts and some of the secondaries broadly banded with black and edged with white, ; a triple band— a maroon, a creamy white and a chocolate brown one — separates the fulvous breast from the abdomen, which with the vent and under tail coverts are also chocolate brown, the feathers tipped with white. The female has not the bars on the occiput and nape, nor the pectoral bands and the wing bars ; the sides of the neck, breast, wings, and tail are mixed fulvous 48 PTEROCLID/R. and rufous and finely barred with black ; lower breast and abdominal region finely barred with blackish and creamy or fulvous white ; bill red ; irides dark brown ; feet dull yellow. Length. — lO inches; wing 7; tail 3*25; tarsus I'l. Hub. — The greater part of India, except in the very moist countries. It is recorded from the Deccan, Carnatic and Central India, also from Sind, Punjab, and the N.-W. Provinces, and from Delhi to Mount Aboo in Guzerat, Jodhpore, and Sambhur. Affects the low ranges of rocky and more or less barren hills. They breed almost everywhere they occur, making a depression in the soil and laying 2 — 3 eggs, a delicate pinkish fawn or pale salmon colour, here and there finely speckled, spotted and streaked with brownish red and numerous spots of pale pinky purple underlying as if it were the primary marking. In shape and markings the eggs vary a good deal. In length they vary from i'3 to i'62, and in breadth from 0*93 to ro5. Gen. Syrrhaptes— Z/«. Feet smaller than in Pterocles, and feathered to the claws ; hind toe wanting; ist and 2nd primaries lengthened and attenuated. 61. Syrrhaptes thibetanus, Gould, Cent. Him. B. pi. ; id. Birds Asia. p. ii. pi. 69 ; jferd., B. Ind. iii. p. 504 {jiote and descr.) ; Hume and Marsh., Ga?ne Birds Ind. i. p. 43, pi. — The Thibetan Sand Grouse. Male. — Forehead and lores whitish, faintly tinged with buffy, the feathers dark shafted ; crown, occiput and nape white, closely and narrowly barred transversely with dark brown ; chin, throat, cheeks, ear coverts, sides and front of neck huffish yellow during the breeding season ; and huffish white during winter ; back of the neck, upper back and lower breast whitish, tinged with vinaceous, and transversely barred narrowly with brown ; scapulars and tertials vinaceous fawn, the inner webs of the scapulars with large black blotches, and everywhere excessively finely vermiculated with blackish brown ; lower back and rump white, vermiculated with greyish brown ; upper tail coverts fawn colour, also vermiculated with greyish brown ; central tail feathers fawn colour, the attenuated portion slaty black; lateral tail feathers rufous buff, tipped with white and barred widely with black ; primaries and their coverts slaty black, with a white patch near the tip on the inner web ; secondaries black ; lower breast grey ; rest of under surface white, the feathers of the leg tinged with fulvous. Length. — 18 to 20 inches ; wing 9-9 to io"S ; tail 7-5 to 9-5 ; bill at front 074 to 078. Hab. — The semi-desert plains of Ladak and the upper portions of the Sutlej Valley. Hume adds that he saw numbers on the Roopshoo plains about the head of the Pangong Lake. It has also been got by Wilson on the water shed range crossing from the Mussoorie hills into Thibet. PAVO. 49 Fa mily .— PH ASI ANID^ . Bill moderate, strong, vaulted, the tip of the upper mandible hooked over the lower; nostrils apert. Wings moderate or short; tail of from 12 to 18 feathers, long and broad ; tarsus moderate or long, spurred in the males ; toes long ; hind toe raised. This family includes the Peafowls, also the Jungle and Spur fowls and Pheasants. Wherever the different species are found, they are sought for eagerly by all sportsmen, especially the Phasianince, first, owing to the brilliancy of their plumage, and next because they may be said to be the mainstay of one's larder in the hills. As flesh food, even the Pavonince are excellent eating, and may be compared to an English pheasant. Whether Monaul, the Kalijes, Silver Pheasants, Koklass, or Fireback, all can be kept hung up in the larder, for often more than a week, during the time of the year they are permitted to be bagged as game. Sub-Family— PA VONINiE— Peafowl. Plumage brilliant green, shot with gold, and ocellated. 62. PavO cristatUS, Lmn,, Syst. Nat. i. p. 267 ; Elliot, Mon. Phas. i. pi. v. ; jferd,, B. Ind. iii. p. 506 ; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds p. 83; Murray, Vert. ZooL, Sind, p. 212; id., Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 529, No. 1 186. — The Common Peacock. Crest with bare shafts, except at the tip. Whole head, neck, and breast rich purplish blue with gold and green reflections ; scapulars, tertiaries and lesser wing coverts rufescent, barred with black ; facial skin greyish white ; back green, the feathers scale-like in appearance with coppery edges ; median coverts deep blue ; primaries and tail chestnut ; abdomen and under surface black ; train green, ocellated. Bill horny brown ; irides dark brown. Z^«^M.— Without train, 42 to 48 inches ; with train, more than double the length of head to true tail ; wing 18. The pea hen is chestnut brown on the head and nape ; neck greenish, edged with whitish brown ; upper surface of the body hair brown with undulations ; quills brown ; tail deep brown, tipped with white : chin and throat white ; breast greenish, like the neck ; abdomen white ; under tail coverts brown. Length. — 38 to 40 inches; wing 16; tail 14. Crest feathers with bare shafts except at the tip. ffab. — Throughout India proper, extending into Ceylon and Assam. This lovely bird is so well known that any account of its habits would be superfluous. They generally roost at night on high trees, seldom, if ever, on the ground, except perhaps when disturbed at night and are forced to fly down. They pair in the early part of the hot weather, when the peacock has then his full train of upper tail coverts to display to his wives. They lay in July and August. Eggs, pure white, a rich cafe au lait or reddish buff, with strong glossy shells pitted all over with minute pores. Size 2*55 to 3 X 1-92 to 2*2 inches. 7 B 50 PHASIANIDi^. 63. PavO mutiCUS, Li7in., Syst. Nat, i. p. 268 ; Elliot, Mon. Phas. i. pi. S; Hume, Str. F, iii. p. 165; Blyt/i and Wald., B. Biirm. p. 1 47; Dav. et Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 4O2 ; Anders., Yunnan Exped. p 668 ; Hume and Dav., Str. F. vi. pp. 425, 520 ; Hume, Str. F. vii. p. 455 ; viii. p. nO ; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds p. 94, pi.; Binghain, Str. F. ix. p. 195 ; Oates, Str. F. X. p. 235 ; Kelham, Ibis, 1881, p. 529 ^ Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 312 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 529, No. 1 187. — The Burmese Peafowl. Crest of feathers webbed throughout their whole length ; head, neck and breast brilliant green ; scapulars, tertiaries and lesser wing coverts uniform and unbarred rufescent ; facial skin blue above and round the eyes ; deep yellow on the remainder of the face ; wing coverts violet blue, edged with pale greenish yellow ; quills rufescent. Legs and feet dark horny brown ; irides dark brown. Length. — To end of true tail 40 to 48 inches ; train projects beyond end of tail from 24 to 44 ; wing 1675 to 1975 ; tail from vent i5'5 to I7'S ; tarsus 5*5 ; bill from gape 1*95 to 2-5. Hab. — British Burmah, extending north as far as Chittagong; east through Siam to Cochin-China, and south down the Malay Peninsula. Gen. Argusianus.— ^«/«. Bill short and strong ; upper mandible deflected at the tip, convex ; nostrils basal, lateral ; head naked ; tail long. 64. ArgUSianuS argUS {Linn.), Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 313. Phasianus argus, Linn., Syst. Nat. i. p. 272. Argusianus giganteus, BL, B. Burm. p. I4S. Argus giganteus, Elliot, Mon. Phas. i. pi. ii ; Hume and Dav., Str, F. vi. p. 427 ; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. I lO ; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds i. p. 99, pi. Argusa giganteus, Kelham, Ibis, 1 88 1, p. 53O; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 50, No. 11 88.— The Argus Pheasant. Head, cheeks, chin, and gular region naked and slaty blue ; some bristly feathers on the occiput black, forming ear -like tufts ; back of neck huffish, minutely spotted with black ; lower neck, breast and upper back reddish chestnut, also minutely streaked and speckled with black ; lower back and rump bullish, lighter on the rump ; upper tail coverts dark vinaceous, thickly and closely variegated with ocelli. Wing coverts huffish, thickly freckled and speckled with dark brown ; tertiaries longer than the primaries and beautifully ocellated ; tail with the centre feathers much elongated ; breast and upper abdo- men ferruginous, finely vermiculated with ziz-zag lines. The female is duller in colour and wants_ the elongated tertials and tail feathers, otherwise as in the male. Legs and feet from pale to bright red. Length of the Male. — 68 to 70 inches ; tail about 50; wing to end of pri- maries 18 ; tarsus 47 ; bill from gape up to 2. Length of Female. — ^About 30 inches ; tail 12 ; wing 17 ; tarsus 3 '6 ; bill from gape up to 17. POLYPLECTRON. 51 Hah. — Tenasserim in the extreme south, where it was observed by Mr. Davison in the forests about INIalewoon and Bankasoon and the higher portions of Pakchan. It extends down the Malay Peninsula, and is found in Sumatra. According to Davison they are confined entirely to he evergreen forests. The male and female live quite solitarily. The males, INIr. Davison says, have a peculiar habit of selecting a piece of ground some six or eight yards square, thoroughly cleaning it from all vegetation and rubbish, and taking up their quarters there. They, however, roost on trees at night. Food — fruit, ants, slugs, and insects generally. Gen. Polyplectron.— TVw. Head sub-crested ; bill less large and convex, more compressed, the tip deflected over the lower mandible ; wing short; tail long ; tarsus spurred. 65. Polyplectron thibetanum ^Gm'), Elliot, Mon. Phas. i. pi. vi. ; Hume and Dav , Sir. F. vi. pp. 432, 521 ; Hume, Str, F. viii. p. I lO; Hume and Marsh, Game Birds i. p. 105 pi. ; Bingham, Str. F. ix. p. 195 ; Oales, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 315. Pavo tibetanus, Gmel., Syst. Nat. i. p. 731. Polyplectron chinquis, Temm., Pig. et Gall. ii. p. 363 ; iii. p. 675; Blyth and Wald., B. Burm. p. 148 ; Jnglis and Hume, Str. F. v. p. 40 ; Murray, Avif. Brit, Ind. ii. p. 531, No. 1189. — The Grey Peacock-Pheasant. Crown of head subcrested, the feathers thick set; whole head and neck greyish brown, minutely freckled and stippled with brown ; rest of upper plumage including the wings and tail dark brown, minutely freckled all over with greyish white ; the feathers of the back, scapulars, tertiaries and wing coverts tipped with pale buff and each having near the tip a large roundish violet-blue spot, tinged with a coppery gloss next the buff tip. Each tail feather with a large oval metallic-green patch on each web, surrounded by a blackish and a buff ring; lower plumage pale ochraceous barred with brown. The female is similar, but duller in colour, the spots on the tail are small and inconspicuous, and those on the tail coverts altogether absent. (JJates^ Bill with the upper mandible and the tip of the lower one black.; rest of the bill and facial skin pale yellow ; irides white ; legs and feet blackish ; in the female dark plumbeous ; the bill horny brown; and the facial skin pale dingy fleshy yellow. {Davison.) Hah. — The dense hill forests of the Indo-Burmese region, its furthest limits northwards and westwards being the Buxa Doars and the outer slopes of the Bhootanese Himalayas. Eastwards it is not rare in suitable localities in the Eastern Doars, northern portions of Goalpara, Kamrup, and Durrang, and Hume adds possibly, further east. South of the Brahmaputra it occurs in the Garo, Khasia and Naga hills, in Sylhet, Cachar, Hill Tipperah, Chittagong, Arrakan, Pegu and Tenasserim as far south as Tavoy. A closely allied species, P. bicalcaratum, is said to have occurred at Mergui, but this requires confirmation. Hume, however, says that from the southern boundary of Tenasserim to the extreme south of the IMalay Peninsula it certainly occurs, and that it may yet prove to occur in the higher hills of Southern Tenasserim. 52 MEGAPODID.E. Pamily.-MEGAPODID^. Birds with large legs and feet, commonly known as Mound-birds ; facial skin nude ; head crestless ; tail short ; tarsi thick and strong ; hind toe on the same plane as the anterior one. Eggs large, laid in a mound of earth, heaped up by the parent birds. Gen. Megapodius.— Zm. Characters the same as those of the family. 66. Megapodius nicobariensis, Biyth, J. A. S. Beng.xv.Y).-, I/ume, Str. F. i. p. 82 ; iii. pp. 276, 499 ; t'd., Nesis and Eggs Ltd. B. iii. p. 517; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds Ind. i. p. i lO ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 532, No. 1 190. — The Nicobar Mound Bird or Megapode. Upper and lower surface of the body dull chocolate brown, darker on the back and lower abdomen, slightly tinged with rufescent on the lesser, median and greater wing coverts, and greyer on the breast ; all the feathers margined Innately with black ; primaries (3 — 4) yellowish, edged with black ; top of head greenish brown ; lores, orbital and aural region and visible portions of the skin of the neck from a light somewhat dull cherry red to a bright brick red . Legs and feet dark greenish horny ; scuta somewhat paler ; soles of the feet pale carneous ; knee brick red ; bill light greenish horny. Length. — 14'5 to 17 inches; wing 8-5 to 9*5 ; tail 275 to 3*5; tarsus 2*6 to 275 ; bill at front 0*94 to ri. Hah. — ^The central and southern portions of the Nicobar Islands. Accord- ing to Hume, the Nicobar Megapode never wanders far from the seashore, and throughout the day keeps in thickish jungle a hundred yards or so above water mark. They come out generally at dusk and in the early dawn. Generally met with in pairs, coveys and flocks of from thirty to fifty, and Mr. Hume adds that they are unsurpassed. " The flesh is white, very sweet and juicy, loaded with fat, is delicious, a sort of juste milieu between that of a fat Norfolk turkey and a fat Norfolk pheasant." The eggs too, he says, are quite equal if not superior to those of the Peafowl. Eggs, 10 — 18 in number, elongated ovals, pointed towards one end, whitish, of a chalky texture, varying in size from 3*01 to 3*4 in length and from 1*9 to 2*25 in breadth. Sub-Family.— PHASIANIN^.. Tail typically long, with the central feathers of great length ; plumage rarely ocellated ; head more or less crested. Includes (Monaul), the Horned, Gold and Silver, Snow and Blood pheasants, Firebacks and Jungle fowl. Gen. CrOSSOptilon.— H^ud'^f. Bill strong, broadly convex ; upper mandible longer than and overlaying the lower mandible ; cere and facial skin nude ; nares basal ; wing with the 6th LOPHOPHORUS. 53 quill longest ; tail ample, of i8 feathers ; upper tail coverts long, and covering the tail feathers ; tarsi nude, scutate before and behind ; males only with a spur. 67. Crossoptilon thibetanum, Hodgson, y. A. S. B. 1849; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds Ind, p. 115, pi.; Tickell, Field \\\., 1886, p. 170. Crossoptilon drouyni, Verr., Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 533, No. 1 191. — Hodgson's Eared Pheasant. Head of Crossoptilon thibetanum. Top of the head black, the feathers narrow, short, erect, velvetty and thick set ; cheeks and facial skin nude and red ; wings short, stiff, bowed and rounded ; quills blackish on their outer webs ; lesser and median wing coverts greyish ash, tinged with blue ; upper plumage bluish hoary, paler and tinged with yellowish on the lower surface; alar and caudal plumes dusky or black, glossed more or less with changeable blue; bill dull ochreous red. {^Hodgson^ Length. — 38 to 40 inches; tail 19 to 20 ; wings 12*5 ; tarsus 4*12 ; bill 1*62. Hah. — Nepaul. Mr. Hume figures this bird in his "Game Birds of India," and though he says it could hardly claim to be included in the Indian Avifauna, I have (owing to the rarity of the species, and the remarks of Colonel Tickell in a note by Mr. Hume,) given a description of it in the event of the bird being found, as Colonel Tickell surmises, nearer Nepaul. Gen. Lophophorus, Tevim. Head crested, the shafts of the feathers bare except at the tip ; orbits bare ; bill somewhat lengthened, the tip deflected ; tarsus spurred ; tail short. Plumage rich metallic green and gold. 68. Lophophorus Impeyanus {Lath.), Gould, Cent. Him. Birds, pis. 60, 61 ; id., B. Asia pt. ii. pi. 7; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 510, No. 804; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds 0/ Ind. i. p. 125; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 533, No. 1192. — The Monaul Pheasant. Head, including the crest, also the throat, brilliant metallic green ; back of the neck brilliant iridescent purple, passing into bronzy green, and all with a golden gloss ; upper back and wing coverts, also the rump and upper tail coverts richly glossed with purple and green, the latter colour prevailing on the wings and furthest tail coverts. Middle of back white ; quills black ; tail cinnamon rufous ; whole lower surface black, glossed on the throat with green and 54 PHASIANIN^. purple, dull and unglossed elsewhere. Bill dark horny ; naked orbits blue ; irides brown ; legs dull ashy green. {Jerd.) Length. — 27 to 29 inches ; wing 1 1 to 12-2 ; tail from vent 9*5 to io'5 ; tarsus 2*7 to 3 ; bill from gape i'9 to 2. Females are smaller. The female has the chin and throat white, the rest of the body pale buffy brown, with dark brown spots, bars and undulations ; secondaries barred black and rufous ; tip of tail and external margin of tail coverts whitish. Bill blackish ; legs dusky greenish. Length. — 24 to 26 inches; wing i0'3 to 1 1 ; tarsus 265 to 27 ; bill Vt^. Hab. — The western borders of Cashmere to the more western portions of Bhootan, and throughout the Himalayas, as far east as Sikkim. Jerdon says in Sikkim it is not found at a lower elevation than 10,000 feet. Common about Mussoorie at one time, and also about Simla. Breeds throughout the forest- clad ranges of the Himalayas during May and June. The eggs are laid in a bare depression in the ground under the shelter of some overhanging rock, or the massive root of some large tree. The eggs, 4 to 6 in number, are long ovals, a good deal compressed at one end ; the ground colour is buffjsh white thickly and coarsely freckled all over, especially in the middle, with deep reddish brown. Size from 2*41 to 2*69 in length by 17 to 1-89 in breadth. 69. Lophophorus Sclateri, Jerd,, ibis, 1870, p. 147; jV., y. A. S. Beng. 1870, p. 61 ; Sclater, P. Z. S. 1870, p. 162, pi. xiv. ; Elliot, Mon. Phas. i. pi. xx. ; Hume, Game Birds, p. 135, pi. Lophophorus (Chal- cophasis) Sclateri, G. R. Gray, Hand List B. ii. p. 26 [. Chalcophasis Sclateri, Gould, B. Asia vi. pi. 70 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 534, No. 1 193. — Sclater's Crestless Monaul. Top of head covered by a short recurved green crest ; occiput, cheeks, throat and entire under parts deep velvetty black ; back of neck red, becoming orange yellow on the lower part; back and wings metallic green, with blue and purple reflections ; shoulders reddish bronze ; primaries brownish black ; rump white with mesial black lines ; upper tail coverts white ; tail deep chest- nut tipped broadly with white ; facial skin deep blue, with short, black hair- like feathers ; legs and feet brown ; bill greenish horn. Length. — 27 inches ; wing I2'4; tail 9*0 ; bill at front r3 ; from gape 1*95 ; tarsus 3*2; irides brown. }jab. — East and South-East of Sadiya, Nothing is known of its habits. Gen. CeriorniS- — Swainson. Bill rather short ; head with two small erectile fleshy horns behind the nude orbits ; crown crested ; throat with extensile gular wattles ; tail short, broad, of 18 feathers ; tarsi short. 70. CeriorniS Satyra {Linn.), Gonld, Cent. Him. B. pi, 62 ; Jerd., B. hid. iii. p. 516, No. 805 ; Hutne and Marsh., Game Birds \. p. 137. CERIORNIS. 55 Meleagris satyra, Linn., Syst. Nat. i. p. 717. Satyra Lathami {Gray), Hard- ivick, III. Ind. ZooL, pis. 49, 51 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. hid. ii. p. 535, No. 1 194. — The SiKKiM Horned Pheasant or Indian Crimson Tragopan. Forecrown, nape, and sides bordering the nude parts black ; crest formed of slender hair-like feathers black basally and red terminally ; back, rump, wings and upper tail coverts brown, finely barred with black and with white ocelli ; wing coverts and sides of the rump brown, the ocelli on a maronne-red spot at the tip of each feather ; shoulder of wing bright fiery red ; tail black, barred narrowly with rufous ; sides and back of the neck, the breast, and under surface of the body rich crimson red, with white, black-edged spots. Bill brown ; orbits, horns and nude parts fine blue ; wattles blue, with crimson bars when excited ; irides deep brown ; legs yellowish brown. Length of Males. — 26-5 to 28-5 ; wing 10 to io-6 ; tail 10 to 11-5 ; tarsus 3*25 to 375 ; bill from gape i"4 to 1-5. Females — 21-5 to 2375 ; wing 8-5 to 9; tail 8 to 10; tarsus 3 to 3*25 ; bill from gape 1*25 to 1*45. Mab. — The higher wooded ranges of the Central and Eastern Himalayas, westwards to Kumaon and the western portions of Garhwal. Found in suitable localities throughout Nepaul and Sikkim and well into Bhootan. Occurs also in the Dafla Hills and in the vicinity of Darjeeling. Breeds at elevations of from 9,000 to 1 2,000 feet in the forests that lie below the snow. Eggs, in size, are like large hen's eggs, white, freckled with dull lilac. 71. Ceriornis melanocephalus {Gray\ Gould, Cent. mm. B. pis. 63, 64, 65 ; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 517, No. 806; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds i. p. I43. Phasianus nipalensis {Gray, the female), Hardw., III. hid. ZooL i. pis. 46, 47, 48 and 2 pi. 40 ; Elliot, Mon. Phas. i. pi. ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 535, No. 1195. — The Simla Horned Pheasant or the Western Tragopan. Head of Ceriornis melanocephalus. Head black, crest tipped with red ; nape, the back and sides of neck dark red ; back and upper parts dark brown, minutely barred irregularly with black, each feather with a round white spot on a black ground : shoulder of wing dark red ; quills blackish, mottled and barred with brown ; some of the wing ■coverts with dusky olive spots ; tertiaries mottled like the back and like the scapulars have a large white spot ; upper tail coverts lengthened, the lateral 56 PHASIANIN/E. feathers with a large fulvous tip edged with dull black and white spotted ; tail black, unspotted towards the tip, but barred with white, brown for the greater part of its length ; beneath, the throat and neck below the wattle vivid scarlet, passing into flame colour and yellow on the lower part of the neck ; breast and lower parts black, dashed with dull red, and each feather with a round white spot ; thigh coverts mottled black and brown, paler and yellowish near the joint. Bill blackish ; irides hazel brown ; orbits bright red ; fleshy horns pale blue ; gular wattles purple in the middle, spotted and edged with pale blue and fleshy on the sides ; legs and feet fleshy. Length. — 27 to 29 inches ; wing i r25 ; tail lo'S to II; tarsus 3, The female has the head and all the upper parts mottled with dark and light brown and blackish w'ith small pointed streaks of pale yellow ; quills and tail dark brown, minutely mottled and barred ; under surface light ashy brown, powdered with blackish and marked with irregular spots of white ; fleshy horns and wattles absent. Hah, — Western borders of Nepaul to the extreme N.-W. Himalayas. It is found about Simla and Mussoorie, but more abundant near Almora. It is not a very rare species, and is very easily reared in captivity, as well as easy to shoot. They feed chiefly on berries, but insects also form part of their food. They begin to pair in April. Eggs have been obtained in May at from 8,000 to 1 1,000 feet elevation. They are, according to Hume, elongated ovals considerably compressed towards the small end, and about the size of the ^%% of the Monaul. The shell is devoid of gloss, and vary in colour from a pale cafe, au lait to a dull reddish buff. Size from 2'4 to 2' 55 by i-68 to 172. Ceriornts Blythi, Jerd., J. A. S. Beng., 1870, p. 60 ; Gould, B. Asia vii. pi. 47, is another species of which much is not known. It is said to occur in the Naga and Assam hills : the forecrown and occiput is black ; lores, orbital region, cheeks, chin, throat and nude parts adjoining golden yellow ; back of the head, neck all round and breast bright brick red or lake ; a black post orbital and gular band ; upper surface of the body rich maroon red, with white ocelli on a black ground at the tip of each feather ; flanks more yellowish ; belly grey ; tail dark brown. Gen. Ithaginis— JFtf^//^. Bill very slightly curved at tip ; tail of fourteen feathers, even or rounded ; tarsi of male with blunt spurs. 91. Prancolinus vulgaris (Stepk.), Gould, B. Etir. pi. 259; Jerd.^ B. Ind. iii. p. 558, No. 818 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p. 537; id., Str. F. iv. p. 5 ; id. and Marsh., Game Birds ii. p. 9, pi. ; Murray, Hbdk., Zool., ^c, Sind, p. 202 ; id.. Vert. Zool., Sind, p. 213; id., Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 550, No. 1 2 14. — The Black Partridge. 72 TETRAONlDiB. PLATE. Male. — Top of head black, the feathers behind edged with rufescent brown ; lores, chin, throat and neck in front black ; nape and hind neck black, each feather with four white spots, two on each side of the shaft, the lower of which near the tip showing through ; a streak under the eye to the ear coverts white ; a chestnut red collar round the neck ; upper part of the back black, also the scapulars, the smaller feathers with four roundish spots, two on each side of the shaft, and the longer ones with six rufescent marks, two transverse and a longitudinal streak on each side of the shaft, the longitudinal ones only showing from under the feathers ; middle and lower back, rump and upper tail coverts barred with black and white ; wing coverts black, edged with rufescent ; quills barred with rufous and black ; tail black, the middle feathers barred like the back with black and white, the rest barred at the bases only ; breast, abdomen and flanks deep black, the feathers of the flanks with 3 — 4 white spots, the hinder ones near the vent with broad white tips ; thigh and under tail coverts and feathers round the vent chestnut ; bill black ; irides brown; legs reddish. Length. — 13 to 14 inches; wing 5-5 to 575 ; tail 3-5. The female wants the black head and neck of the male and the rufous collar. It is generally much browner in colour. Hab. — The whole of Northern India from the Himalayas to the valley of the Ganges ; also the Punjab. Southwards, through Rajpootana to Sind. East- wards, through Dacca to Assam, Sylhet and Tipperah. Breeds in suitable localities, wherever it occurs, during July and August, laying from six to ten eggs, unspotted fawn brown in colour, varying in size from 1-42 to r8 in length and r22 to i'38 in breadth. It frequents, by preference, grass meadows near water ; also cultivated fields of corn, mustard or pulse, and any patch of mode- rately high green herbage. In Sind it affects low tamarisk jungle and wheat fields. Its call in the early mornings is unmistakable, and is always made from some little eminence, as an ant hill or the stump of a tree. It affords good sport with a pointer, and is tolerably good eating, but, like all the TetraonidcE, is best cold, and after at least 36 hours. 92. PranCOlinUS pictUS (ya/-*/. and Selby), Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 561, No. 819 ; Hume, Sir. F. v. p. 211 ; id., Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p. 538 ; id. and Marsh., Game Birds p. 19 pi.; Murray, Avif, Brit. Ind. ii. p. 551, No. 1 2 15. Perdix pictus, Jard. and Selby, III. Orn. pi. 50. — The Painted Partridge. Crown of the head dark brown, the feathers edged paler ; forehead and lores, also the cheeks and ear coverts, chestnut ; back and scapulars deep brown, the feathers margined with white ; wings chestnut, banded with black ; lower back, rump, and upper tail coverts with wavy bars of black and white ; tail deep brown, the feathers narrowly barred across ; chin white ; neck all round pale ferruginous ; breast and abdomen variegated black and white, each CACCABIS. 73 feather being white with two dark bands, and the shafts and tip black ; under tail coverts chestnut. Bill blackish ; irides dark brown ; legs yellowish red. Leng//i.— 12 inches; wing 6 ; tail 2*75 ; tarsus 175. Hab. — Centra! and Southern India, where it replaces F. vulgaris. Found throughout Bundelkund and the Saugor'ani Nerbudda territories, thence south to Nagpore and the Deccan ; west it extends into Khandesh and perhaps Guzerat, and eastwards to the Northern Circars. Like its northern congener, Jsrdon adds that it delights in grassy plains and fields, but affects more the open, dry and raised plains with scattered bushes. It breeds during the monsoon (July to September), laying 7 — 8 eggs, rather of a peg-top shape, broad and obtuse at the large end, and much pointed towards the small end ; the colour may be said to be a pale cafeau lait. Size i'3 to i'4S by ri to i-22. 93. FrancolinUS Chinensis {OsbX Hume, Nests mid Eggs Ind. B. p. 539; id.. Sir. F. iii. p. 171 ; War dlaiv- Ramsay , Ibis, 1877, p. 468 ; Oates, Sir. F. v. p. 164 ; Dav. et Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 4OO ; Htime and Dav., Str. F. vi. p. 443 ; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. 1 1 1 ; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds ii. p. 27, pi. ; Oates, Str. F. x. p, 236 ; id., B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 323. Tetrao chinensis, Osb., Voy. ii. p. 326. Tetrao perlatus, Gm., Syst. Nat. i. p. 758. Francolinus Phayrei, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xii. p. loii ; xxiv. p. 480; id,, B. Burm. p. 149. Francolinus perlatus, Anders., Yumian Expei. p. 672. — The Chinese Francolix. Crown of the head black, each feather edged with chestnut ; a band from the bill over the eyes and ear coverts black ; space between this and the crown chestnut, a dark band from the bill on each side down the sides of the throat ; space between these and the superciliary streak white ; chin and throat white. Neck, back, breast, abdomen and sides of ihe body black, ocellated with fulvous white; under tail coverts chestnut; rump and upper tail coverts barred black and white ; scapulars and tertiaries chestnut ; coverts and wings blackish, ocellated and barred with white ; tail black, barred with white, except at the tip. The/emale has the whole lower plumage barred with black ; the chin white, and wants the superciliary and coronal band, and there are no ocellations on the wings; irides hazel , bill dusky, paler at tip of upper mandible ; legs orange. Length.— I}, inches; tail 3*3 ; wing 57; tarsus 17; bill from gape I. Hub — ^British Burmah, confined to the upper portion of the Irrawaddy valley above Prome. Habits same as its other congeners. Breeds in June and July. Eggs 8 in number, pale buff. Size — 1*45 to 1*51 by 12. Gen. Caccabis.— ^««/. Bill red, slightly longer than in Francolinus ; tar.si of male with a blunt spur ; a small bare patch behind the eye. 10 B 74 TETRAONID^. 94. CaCCabiS Chukor, Gray, in. Lid. Zoo], pi. 54 ; Jerd., B. Jnd. iii. p. 564, No. 820; Hume, Nests and Eggs, Ind. B.p. 139; Murray, JIdbk., Zool., S)'c.y Sind, p. 203 ; id., Vert; Zool., Sind, p. 213; Hume and ]\Iarsh., Game Birds ii. p. 33, pi. ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 553, No. 12 17. —The Chukor Partridge. Above pale bluish or olive ashy, with a rufescent tinge on the back ; sides of the face, chin and throat fulvous, pale chestnut or rufescent, encircled by a broad black band from the forehead through the eye along the side of the neck on to the breast, meeting its fellow from the other side and forming a large pale chestnut or rufous pectoral gorget ; a pafe white line behind the eye; ear coverts chestnut; sides of the lower mandible and chin with a black spot ; breast bluish ashy, slightly tinged with rufescent ; abdomen and under tail coverts buff, the flanks from the axil deeper buff, each feather ashy at the base with two dark bands, the interspace of which is buff and terminated broadly with chestnut ; wings concolorous with the back, the ends of all the primaries, except the first, margined to nearly the tip on their outer webs with buff, some of the secondaries also ; axillaries buff. Tail rufous, except the central feathers, which are concolorous with the back. Length. — 14 to 15*75 inches ; expanse 21 to 23"25 ; wing 6 25 to6"8 ; tail 4 to 4'8. The female is -slightly smaller. Length — 13 to 14*25; resembles the male, and wants the spur. Hab. — Throughout the Himalayas to Afghanistan. Common also in Beloochistan, Sind, Punjab Salt Range, Persia and along the Arabian Coast. Breeds from INIay to July in Chaman (S. Afghanistan), making a nest composed of a little grass under the shelter of grass tufts or bushes. The normal number of eggs is 12, but as many as 14 and 16 have been taken from a single nest, all varying in size and shape, from peg-tops to elongated ovals. The colour is also variable, but typically is a pale cafe, au lait ground colour, with brick- red specklings. The Chukor Partridge is very pugnacious, especially during spring time, when two fighting cocks may be almost knocked over w-ith a stick. They are much prized for their fighting propensities, and in Beloochis- tan and Afghanistan the men have a number trained for the purpose, on which large bettings are made. Wherever Chukor are found, September and October are certainly the best months for shooting them. The young of the year are then fatter than the old ones, much more tender, and better eating, though the old ones are not to be despised when "hungup till gamey." Chukor eggs and those of the Common Grey make excellent omelette ; hard boiled, they curry well. Gen. Ammoperdix.— <7r<2r. Bill reddish ; wings long ; tarsi not spurred. 95. Ammoperdix bonhami, Gray, Des. Murs. I. 0. t. 29; Gould, B. As. pt. ii. pi. 4 ; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 567 ; Hume, Str. F. i. 226 ORTVGORNIS. 75 Murray, Ildbk., ZooL, S^'c, SiJid, p. 203 ; Iliune, Nesls and Eggs Ind B. p. 540 ; Humt and Marsh., Game Birds p. 4S pi. ; Murray^ Avif. Brit, Ind, "• P- 553. No. 12 18. — The Seesee Partridge. J/a/f. — Head and cheeks dull grey; forehead, a streak above and below the eye and a border to the ear coverts black ; lores, a band behind the eye and ear coverts silky white, rufous behind ; throat greyish white ; breast vinaceous or vinous fawn ; sides of the neck spotted with white ; upper parts isabelline or pale brownish, freckled with dusky ; rump and upper tail coverts like the back, with darker markings ; primaries isabelline on their outer webs, finely pencilled with dusky, and all, except the first, with broad whitish bands or bars; tail brownish, tinged with chestnut, the tips of the feathers freckled with dark brown ; legs and feet dingy yellow ; irides bright or orange yellow; bill orange; cere orange red. Length, — 9 to i[ inches; wing 475 to 575; tail 2-5. Female slightly smaller, has not the dull grey crown of the male, and in general is more brownish throughout; the black markings on the head are replaced by freckles of dusky or black and white, and the entire upper and lower surface of the body is mottled. Hah. — Sind, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Beloochistan and Afghanistan, also Persia. Numerous throughout Upper Sind, also in Beloochistan, where in the early morning, especially on broken ground and on the road in the Bolan, as many as two or three hundred may be met with, feeding on the droppings of cattle, or, in its absence, on grass seeds along the hill sides. Breeds in the Punjab, Beloochistan and Afghanistan in April and May, nesting in a slight depression in the ground under some thick bush or jutting rock. Eggs 10 — 12 in number, rather lengthened ovals, more or less compressed or pointed towards one end ; in colour from pure white to a pale cafe, au lait. They vary in size from 1-3 to i 5 inches in length X 0*98 to i*i in breadth. It is very fair eaiing, and superior to the Chukor, though not equal to the Francolin, Cen. Ortygornis. — -^^vc//. 96. Ortygornis ponticeriana, Gmei., Syst. Nat. i. p. ; Gray, III. Ind. ZooL, pi. 56, fig. 2 ; jferd., B. Ind. iii. p. 569, No. 822 ; Murray, Hbdk., Zool., ^-c, Sind, p. 203 ; id,, Vert. ZooL, Sind, p, 214 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, Ind. B. p. S42 ; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds p. 51, pi.; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 553, No. 12 19. — The Common Grey Partridge. Forehead, over the eyes, lores, .nape and face rufous, the face with dusky freckles ; top of the head olive brown ; ear coverts rufescent brown ; back, scapulars and wing coverts dark chestnut, each feather with two or three transverse buffy bars, bordered with black on both sides ; feathers of the rump 76 TETRAONID.^. and upper tail coverts similar, but olive brown instea 1 of chestnut ; tail feathers rich chestnut or deep feiruginous, ^Yilh a broad subterminal dark brown nearly black band, tipped with pale or yellowish white ; central tail feathers like the back; beneath the chin and throat are white or creamy, encircled from the base of the lower mandible with dark spots, forming a gular patch ; breast and entire lower parts creamy white, or very pale buff, the feathers with transverse dark bars; lower tail coverts ferruginous. The female is like the male, but paler in colour, and wants the spur. Length. — 1 1*5 to 13*5 inches ; wing 5'5 to 6; tail 3*35 to 4 ; legs bright red ; irides brown ; the orbital ring with a row of minute white feathers ; bill dusky brown. Ilab. — Throughout India, Ceylon, Eeloochistan and S. Persia. Affects dry, scrubby or bare stony tracts. Delights among ^^z/j/i/ztTi^/tz bushes. In the morning they are generally found in fields or on the edges of cultivation, where they pick up seeds and corn, also insects of all kinds. They afford fair sport with one or two good men, or a good dog and one's wits against the birds. Breeds from February to May, and from July to November. In Bengal, either in the deltaic district or in the Eastern Provinces, it does not occur, nor in Assam or Burmah. In the Deccan it ascends to 2,500 feet or more ; in the Himalayas and Southern India not above i,000 feet. Both birds and their eggs are capital caling, especially birds of the year. 97. Ortygornis gularis {Temm.), Jerd., B. Iml iii. p. S72, No. 823 ; Hume, Nesls and Eggs Ind. B. p. 544 ; id. and Marsh., Game, Birds p. 59, pi. Perdix gularis, Hardiv., III. Jnd. Zool. i. pi. 56, fig. i ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 554, No. 1220. — The Kyah Partridge. Crown olive brown ; lores, a streak below the eye and supercilium pale buff; a line through the eye to the ear coverts dusky brown ; back brown, barred with buff; wing coverts the same ; primaries brown on the outer web, ferruginous on the inner ; tail ferruginous, central feathers brown ; chin and throat rusty ferruginous; breast and abdomen brown with broa^ white streaks edged with black ; under tail coverts ferruginous ; under wing coverts ferru- ginous. Bill blackish ; irides dark brown ; legs litharge or dull red. Length. — 15 to 15-5 inches; wing 7-1 to 7-25; tail 45 ; tarsus 2-5; bill from gape roi. Hah — Bengal from Tirhoot and Goruckpoor to the Sunderbuns, extending eastwards into Assam, Sylhet, Cachar, and Tipperah. In the Western Pro- vinces of Bengal, it is found on the north bank of the Ganges, crossing in a few suitable localities from Monghyr to Rajmahal. It is also found up to the base of the Himalayas and in the Oudh Terai. Jerdon adds that its favourite grounds are thick beds of reeds and long grass, along the banks of rivers, jheels and water-ccuri:es, and especially in those swampy patches of ARBORICOLA, 77 reeds where the creeping rose bushes form thickets impenetrable to aught but an elephant. It is said to breed from [March to May. The eggs, S in number, are, it is said, laid under some thick bush in a dry spot, and to be white, like those of the Grey Partridge. Hume, quoting Tickell, says that for the table the "Kyah" is not in much repute. The young, like the young of the Grey Partridge, are tolerably good, but old ones are dry and hard, A writer however in the Bengal Sporiing Magazine, quoted by Jerdon, eulogises the bird as " bearing the palm for delicacy of flavour and texture in the meat of all the game birds of India," During the months of November and December, the writer says it forms an unrivalled dish for the epicure in gamey flavour, and an additional inducement to sportsmen to fag and find. Hume says he suspects that the bagging and finding are very necessary ingredients to furnish that lenowned sauce of Spartan origin, without which the "Kyah" would be little esteemed. Personally I know nothing oi: the bird and cannot offer an opinion. Perdix Hodgsonice, Gould, figured by Gould in his "Birds of Asia," pt, ix., pi. 2, does not appear to have been yet obtained within our limits. The upper plumage is ohve brown, and the lower parts buff ; sides and back of the neck and wings chestnut red ; head red, speckled with white ; line from the forehead round the ear coverts and throat black. {jFerd.) Gen. AvhOYiCOiai,.—Hodgs. Tarsus not spurred ; toes long with long claws ; tail short, of 12 feathers. Sexes similar in plumage ; flesh dry and tasteless. 98. Arboricola torqueola (Va/enc), Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 577, No. 824 ; Hume, Sir. F. ii. p. 449; id.. Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p. 544; id. and Alarsh., Game Birds ii. p. 65, pi. Perdix megapodioe, Tern., PI. C Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 563, No 1232. — The Rock Bush Quail. Upper plumage brownish rufous, the feathers minutely freckled and lineated with black and tawny ; feathers of the head and neck tipped with black ; some of the scapulars and wing coverts with irregular black blotches j OPHRYSIA. 85 primaries dark brown, with tawny bars on their outer webs ; tail with the lateral feathers also barred ; superciliutn from the base of the bill over the eye bordered by dusky, and another shorter one from the gape ; cheeks, sides of the face, chin and throat bright rufous ; under surface of the body, including the sides of the neck white, with numerous cross bars of black ; flanks tinged with rufous ; also the lower belly and thigh coverts. Bill dark slaty ; irides brown ; orbits pale ; legs red. Length, — 67 to 7-25 inches; wing3-i to 3'5 ; tail 1*5 to rg; tarsus 075 to rO; bill from gape 0*5 to 0-67. Hab.—'Y\iQ Punjab, N.-W. and Central Provinces, Central India, Raj- pootana, Eastern Madras districts, Coimbatore, Mysore, throughout the Deccan, in Bundelkund, Deesa, the Panch Mahals, Kutch, Sambhur Lake, Jodhpore, and Mount Abu, but not in Sind nor anywhere in Lower Bengal. Affects rocky hills with low scrub jungle. Though very difficult to shoot, either with or without dogs, the Rock Bush Quail affords excellent practice both for the eye, and precision of firing at rapid short flight birds. Like other Bush Quails, the flesh is white, but insipid. Jerdon's recipe is to get " one to two pounds of the best beefsteak, then take twelve Bush Quails nicely plucked and cleaned, cram a dessert spoonful oi pate de foie gras vasidQ each bird, and wrap each up in a thin slice of bacon, add a small tin of truffles, half a bottle of button Mushrooms, six hard-boiled eggs, each cut in half, sauces, con- diments, &c., selon le gotit, and fill in with rich stock (a couple of hares boiled down with a shin bone will do famously) ; then, if your cook makes a good crust and the pie is baked slowly and properly, you will find, as Jerdon says, that Bush Quail are very good in a pie. Breeds from August to December and again in March. Eggs. 6 — 7, of the type of the Jungle Bush Quail. Gen. Ophrysia-— G^^qy. General characters the same as those of Perdicula. 110. Ophrysia SUperciliOSa (7- E. Gray), Hume, Str. F. vii. p. 434; id. and Man^h^, Game Birds ii. p. 105 ; Gould, B. Asia, pi.; Murray t Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 563, No. 1233. — The Mountain Quail. Lores, chin, throat and sides of the face and ear coverts deep black ; fore- head and a broad stripe above and behind the eye silvery grey, the feathers of the forehead paler shafted at base, and darker on the shaft towards the tip ; hind head and nape light greyish brown ; upper surface of the body, tail and under surface olive, tinged with grey on the breast and abdomen ; all the feathers of both surfaces margined on each side with a line of black ; under tail coverts black, every feather with a small tooth-like mark of white on each side near the base, a similar but larger mark about two-thirds from the base, and two coalescing oval spots of white at the tips ; bill reddish ; tarsi brown. Total length 9 inches ; bill 062 ; wing 3-5 ; tail 275 ; tarsi 1*33. 86 TETRAONID^. Female. — General tint cinnamon brown, with a rufous edging to each feather ; those of the upper surface with light coloured shafts and triangular mark of dull black on the inner web near the tip, preceded by a small mark of the same hue as the shafts; on the under surface the dark mark occupies the centre of the tip of each feather, and is of a lanceolate form ; the throat is pale greyish cinnamon, as is also the head, where there is an indication of the superciliary stripe seen in the male ; the feathers of the crov^'n and behind the eye being somewhat greyer than the others, and having polished shafts ; on each side of the nape a dark stripe as in the male ; tail irregularly barred with black ; under tail coverts dark cinnamon, with a stripe of black in the centre, between which and the margin is a stripe on each side, which unites with a large patch of the same hue near the tip. {Gould, B. of Asia.) Bill coral red ; legs and feet pinkish. Length.— \0 inches; wing 3-6; tail 3-3 ; tarsus I ; bill from gape 0-58. Hab. — Only known from Mussoorie in the neighbourhood of Naini Tal. Gen. Microperdix, Gould. Bill red, slender, no tarsal tubercle in the male, otherwise as in Perdicula. 111. Microperdix erythrorhyncha {Sykes), Hardw., Ill Ind. Zool. 2, pi. 44, f. 2 ; Gould, B. Asia pt. xiv. pi. xvi. ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 564, No. 1234. Coturnix erythrorhyncha, Sykes., Trans. Zool. Soc. vol. ii. pi. i. Perdicula erythrorhyncha, iii. p. 584, No. 828.— The Painted or Red-billed Bush Quail. Forehead, lores and crown of the head black ; a white frontal band con- tinued as a supercilium over each eye ; upper plumage rich olive brown with black lunules ; scapulars, wing coverts and secondaries with large patches of black, the shafts pale yellow and some faint cross lines of the same ; primaries brown, the outer webs barred with dark rufous ; tail brown, with black spots, and barred with narrow pale lines ; beneath the chin is pure white bordered by black ; rest of lower parts rufous, passing into olive brown on the sides of the neck and with a few spots of black on the breast and side of the neck ; flanks with large spots of deep black tipped with white. Bill and legs fine red ; irides yellow brown. Length. — 6*5 inches; wing 3 ; tail 1*5 ; tarsus I. The female has the head brown, and the white parts rufous. Hab. — Southern India, from the Wynaad to the Deccan in Poona Has also been obtained in Coorg and on the Neilgherries ; also at Karlee above the Khandalla Ghauts, and near Dharwar. Habits the same as Bush Quails, living in small bevies. Breeds in the Neilgherries from August to November. According to Mr. Mahon Daly, it is very common amongst the coffee on the Shevaroys, and often in rocky ground with low jungle. They go about nearly always in pairs, and not in large bevies as stated by Jerdon. They lay from Edible and Game Bii^ds of British India. COTURNIX COMMUNIS. COTURNIX. 87 6 to 8 eggs on the ground, with just a few leaves placed around the nest. It is very daring. Mr. Daly adds that he has seen it fly at a dog in defending its brood. January to March, and again September and October, are the months in which this species breeds. The eggs are long ovals, pointed towards one end, rather glossy and spotless ca/e au lait^ varying in length from 1*35 to r45 inches, and in breadth from 0*87 to 0"95. 112. Microperdix Blewitti, Hume, Sir. F. ii. p. 512; id. and Marsh., Game Birds ii. p. 129, pi, Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii, p. 565, No, 1235. — The Eastern Painted Bush Quail. Very similar to M. erythrorhyncha, but differs in the male having the black frontal band much narrower, and the white band surmounting it, also the supercilium, broader ; the chestnut of the lower surface is much paler ; the feathers of the upper breast, sides of the breast, part of the upper mandible fringed with greyish pink, with black subterminal spots much larger and more widely spread ; upper surface paler brown ; chin very narrowly black, or pure white. Irides brown ; bill, legs and feet coral red. Length. — 5-9 to 6*5 ; wing 2'8 to 3'i5 ; tail 1-4 to r6 ; tarsus 0-87 to 091 ; bill from gape 05 to 0'6, 'H.ab. — Chota Nagpur, in the Raipur, Sambulpoor, Bhandara, Mandla and Seoni districts of the Central Provinces; affects grass patches and fields in fairly large bevies. Breeds during June and July, The flesh like that of all the PerdicincB is delicate and well flavoured. Sub- Family.—COTURNICIN^.— Quails. Wings long, rather pointed ; bill moderate ; tarsus not spurred ; tail short, covered by the upper tail coverts. Gen. Coturnix. — Brisson. Bill short, straight, very slightly curved at the tip ; tarsi not spurred ; tail short ; wings long and pointed ; 1st and 2nd quills longest. 113. Coturnix communis {Li?tn.), Bonn., Tahl. Enc. Meth. p. 217 ; Bodd, PI. Enl. 170; Jerd., B. Ind.\\\. p. 586, No. 829; Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind. B, p, 549; Blyth, B. Burm. p, 151 ; Dav. et Oust, Ois. Chine, p, 396 ; Dresser, B. Eur. vii. p. 298 ; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. ill; Scully, Str. F. viii. p. 350 ; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds ii. p. 133, pi. ; Hume, Str. F. x. p. 236 {note') ; Murray, Hdbk., ZooL, Sfc, Sind, p. 203 ; id.. Vert. ZooL, Sind, p. 215 ; Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 331 ; Murray, Avif, Brit. Ind. ii. p. 565, No. 1236. — The Common European or Large Grey Quail. PLATE. The following synopsis of the two known species will suffice to identify them : — 88 TETRAONID/E. Primaries ivith pale rufous bars on their outer webs. — C. communis. Primaries without pale rufous bars on their outer webs. — C. coromandelica. Top of head brown, the feathers edged paler ; a mesial buffy line on the crown ; supercilium pale yellowish white, reaching above the ear coverts, which are partially brown ; lores and a line below the eye white ; sides of the neck white ; two narrow blackish lines from the sides of the neck to below the throat, the interspace being white ; the upper black band not always perfect; chin and throat patch dark brown ; breast pale buff, buffy white or rufous, with pale shafts to the feathers ; sides of the breast and flanks similar or deeper in colour, with pale shafts ; abdomen white, pale rufous, or buff ; back, scapulars and upper tail coverts from brown to a rich dark brown, each feather shafted a rich rufous, or buff, with three transverse bars or bands of the same colour on each side, the tips being pale buff ; primaries dusky brown with pale rufous bars 07i their outer webs ; the secondaries with pale tips, and the tertials barred buffy on both webs, the. borders of the buffy bars darker than the ground colour of the feathers. The female is like the male, but wants the central throat patch, and the breast is spotted with brown or dark brown. She is also much larger. Length. — 7 to 8 inches; wing 4 to 4*5 ; tail r6 to 2-25 ; irides brown or hazel ; legs pale fleshy ; bill blackish with a brownish horny tinge above and at the tip. Hab. — Sind, Punjab, Beloochistan, Afghanistan, Persia, Arabia, theDeccan, N. Guzerat, Rajputana, Kutch, Kattiawar and Southern and Central India generally to Nepaul. A rare visitor to Burmah and in the countries S.-E. of the mouths of the Ganges, Chittagong, Arracan and Pegu, where it may be considered a straggler. It is found throughout Europe and nearly the whole of Asia. The greater bulk of these which come into India, Hume says, are migratory. They arrive from the North from Central Asia across the Himalayas, and from the west from Persia, Beloochistan, &c. Hume adds, that arrived within our boundaries, while a certain number remain scattered about, some remaining in the lower ranges and valleys of the Himalayas up to an elevation of 4000 to 5000 feet, the greater bulk move forward, southwards and eastwards, and arrive about the middle of October in Sylhet, Bengal, and the Deccan, and frequent the crops of peas, millet, &c., to the end of March ; their stay, however, depends much on the supply of food. They migrate invariably at night, and evidently in large numbers at a time. Numbers are netted throughout India, for the table, for quaileries, and the cock-birds for fighting purposes, — a favourite pastime nearly throughout India amongst Mahomedans. Breeds generally in the N.-W. and Upper Provinces of India, laying six eggs, from February to April. Eggs broad ovals, a good deal pointed towards one end. The ground colour is a clear yellowish or reddish buff, thickly speckled and freckled and thinly blotched with reddish brown. EXCALFACTORIA. 89 114. Coturnixcoromandelica(<>''«^/.).7^''^" ^•^«'^- i"- P- 5^^' No. 830 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p, 550 ; id., Str. F. iii. p. 178 ; .Blylh, B. Burnt, ^. 157; Hujne, Sir. F. viii. p. 11 1; Hume and Marsh.,^ Game Birds ii. p. 15 1, pi.; Oates., Str. F. x, p. 236; id., B. Br. Burni. ii. P- 333 ; Murray, Hdbk., ZooL, ^c, Sind, p. 203 ; id.. Vert. ZooL, Sind, p. 2i6; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 566, No. 1237. Tetrao coromandelica, Gmel., Syst. Nat. i. p. 764. — The Black-breasted Rain Quail^ Male. — Top of head brown, with a longitudinal pale stripe on the crown ; supercilium white, extending above and beyond the ear coverts ; a white streak under the eye, followed by a dark brown one, which meets the first dark brown stripe running below the throat, and forming with its fellow on the other side a triangle, from the middle of which to the chin runs a broad throat stripe; a triangular patch of white on each side of the throat; there is also on the throat a second dark stripe behind the first, running down to the breast, the interspace between both being white ; breast with a large jet black patch, some of the feathers of the lower part of which are edged with pale buff or white ; sides of the breast dark rufous, the feathers pale shafted, and a few with dark spots on both webs ; flanks and abdomen pale buff and white intermixed, the feathers black shafted ; lower tail coverts and vent rufous ; back, scapulars and upper tail coverts same as in the large grey quail, from \thich it may be readily distinguished hy the absence of rufous bars on the first two primaries, the first primary having a pale outer edge, and by the well-defined lines on the chin and throat, and the patch on the breast, also by its much smaller size. Length, — 6-25 to 7 inches; wing 3-43 to 37; tail I to 1*5; irides dark brown ; legs and feet pale fleshy 5 bill dusky black. ^(i3.— Sind, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Oudh, Bengal, Beloochistan, Persian Gulf, Rajputana, N. Guzerat, Kutch, J«///. Bill moderately long; tarsi long and slender, scutellated ; 1st and 2nd quills longest ; tail short. 127. Cursorius coromandelieus, Gmel, Syst. Nai. i. p. 781 ; Bodd., PL EnU 892; Gould, B. As. pi. 37; Jerdon, B. Bid. in. p. 626, No. 840; Hume, Sir. F. iv. p. 19 ; id., Ncsls and Eggs Ind. B . iii. p. 564 ; Murray, Udhk., Zool., ^-c, Stud, p. 207; z'd., Vert. Zool. Sind. p. 221 ; id.,Avif. Brit, Ind, ii. p. 579, No 1250. — The Indian Courier Plover. Forehead and top of head bright chestnut, a small patch of black on the nape ; supercilium white, extending to and meeting behind the nape ; a black streak from the base of the nostril and through the eye, also extending and meeting behind ; chin and throat white or pale buffy white ; neck all round pale ferruginous, darkening into deep ferruginous on the breast and upper abdomen ; a dark patch in the middle of the abdomen ; primaries and their coverts black ; under tail coverts white ; back, scapulars and wing coverts earthy brown ; upper tail coverts the same ; tail with the outer feathers on each side white, with a black edge subterminally on the inner web ; rest, except the middle tail feathers, ashy brown at base, with a subterminal dark band and a white tip; bill black ; iridcs brown; legs creamy white. Length. — 9 to lO inches; wings 6; tail 2*37; tarsus 2"25. Z^rt:3.~Sind, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Oudh, Bengal, Beloochistan, N. Guzerat, Rajputana, Kutch, Kattiawar, Concan and Deccan, also Southern India, affecting open grassy plains, feeding on grass seeds, insects, &c. They are extremely shy, and run with great speed, now and again stopping dead to look back, and when pressed do not fly far. Breeds from IMarch to July, under some tuft of grass or bush, laying 3 —4 eggs of a cream or bright buff colour with patches, spots, blotches and smears of pale inky grey either all over or on only some portion of the ^gg ; the markings above this are narrow scratches and streaks of blackish brown. There are but few sportsmen who consider the Courier Plovers worth shooting for their flesh. The fact is, the species are not so numerous at any one time and place to make a large bag, butall who would do so may try a couple of brace done up in the most simple way, and it would be found that the flesh is quite equal to that of any partridge, in fact much richer and as tender as a chicken, while in flavour it may be said to be as good as any of the Florikens. 128. Cursorius galliCUS, Gmel, Syst. Nat. i. p. 784; Naum., vogt. t. 171 ; Gould, B. Eur. pi. 266; Jerd., B. Ind. App. vol. iii. p. 874; Hume, Sir. F. i. p. 228 ; iv. ii ; id., Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p. 566; Murray, Hdbk. Zool.,Sfc., Sind, p. 207 ; id., Vert. Zool., Sind, p. 221; id., Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 562, No. 1251. — The Cream-coloured Courier Plover. SQUATAROLA. 103 Forehead and crown rufescent or pale orange buff, shading on to the back of head into grey or ashy grey, below which, on the nape, is a small black patch ; supercilium white, extending to and meeting behind the nape, also a black streak from behind the eye ; lores pale white ; chin and throat pale white breast isabelline brown, fading on the abdomen to albescent, and white on the under tail coverts; back, scapulars, tertials and wing coverts warm rufous buif, brighter on the tail, the outer feathers of which on each side have a subterminal black band on the inner web only ; the others on both webs, and all, except the central tail feathers, broadly tipped white ; primaries black ; secondaries with their outer webs concolorous with the back, the inner web, and subterminally on both webs also black, the edges of the tips white. Length.— 10-^ to II inches; wing 6-5 to 7; bill black, i'o6in length in front ; irides brown. jjab. — Sind, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Oudh, Beloochistan, Persia, Afghan- istan, Kutch, Guzerat and Rajputana. Breeds in similar situations as C. coroinandelicus from May to July. Eggs broad ovals, slightly compressed towards one end. In colour they are not unlike those of C. coromandelicus. In size they vary from ri to 1*28 in length and from O'Q to vo\ in breadth. Extremely common on bare or open grassy plains. Sub-Family. CHARADRIN^.— Plovers. Bill slender, straight, flattened at the base, compressed and grooved; wings long and pointed; tarsi moderate, ist quill usually longest ; hind toe small or wanting. In India, all the members of the Charadrmce sub-family are numerous, and occur generally associated together in moderately-sized flocks during winter, either near the sea coast, on the banks of large rivers, on mud flats, open plains, edges of rivers and lakes, or on grassy downs and ploughed fields, Some remain and breed in the country, as some of the y^gialitid(V, and all, in smaller or greater numbers, are snared and brought in to the various town and mofussil markets and sold as snipe. During the season they are much sought after by all classes for their flesh, which is reckoned equally as good as some of the ScolopacidcB, Gen. Sqiiatarola.— C?/z;. Nasal groove short ; bill bulged at the tip ; a very minute clawed hind toe present. 129. Squatarola helvetica {Linn.), Jcrd., B. Lid, m. p. 635, No. 144; Dresser, B. Eur. vii. p. 455 ; Salvad., C/cc.Born.p. 313; B/y/k, B. Biirm. p. 153; Scully, S/r. F. iv. p. 184; Armstrong, Str. F. iv. p. 338; David et Oust. Ois Chine, p. 424 ; Hume and Dav.^ Str. F, vi. p. 455 ; Hume 104 CURSORID^. S/r. F. viii. p. Ii2 ; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 929; Oates, Sir. F. x, p. 237 ; id., Br. Burm. ii. p. 365 ; Murray, Vert. ZooL, Sind, p. 224; id., Avif. Brit. /wrt'. ii. p. 583, No. 1256. Tringa helvetica, Z?««., Syst. Nat. i,p. 250. — The Grey Plover. Winter Plumage. — Forehead, lores, supercilia, chin, abdomen and entire lower surface, including the under tail coverts, white ; foreneck, sides of the breast and flanks white, the feathers with sub-triangular or sub-quadrate brownish markings ; feathers below the wing from the axilla long and black ; head dusky brown, the feathers with narrow tips ; rest of the upper plumage dusky brown, the feathers edged and tipped with white or greyish white ; tail basally white, with a slightly rufescent tinge terminally, and with 6 — 7 trans- verse brown bands or bars. In summer the entire lower surface from the chin, except the vent and under tail coverts, is black, also the lores and sides of the neck ; forehead, supercilia and sides of the breast white ; back and rump, scapulars and wing coverts black, broadly tipped with brown and white ; top of head and nape grey brown, the feathers tipped with white ; tail while, banded dark brown ; primaries dark brown, their inner webs white. Length. — ii to 12 inches ; wing 8 ; tail 3*25; bill at front r25, black; irides dusky ; feet dark brown, or dusky brown ; weight 7-5 oz. Hab. — Sind, Beloochistan Coast, Kutch, Kattiawar, and nearly all over the Indian Coast ; also Burmah. Occurs in flocks along the Sind sea-coast during winter, especially on the mud flats. In the Kurrachee harbour it is numerous on the large island-like flats, especially about Baba Island, associated with the larger and smaller Kentish Plovers. Gen. Charadrius — G'?«^Z. Bill short and strong ; first quill longest ; hind toe wanting ; other characters as in the sub-family. 130. CharadriUS fulvUS, Gm., Syst. Nat. I, p. 687 ; Dresser, B. Eur. vii. p. 443, pi. ; Hume, Str.F. i. p. 228 ; ii.p. 287; id.. Nests and Eggs p. 570; id.. Sir, F. iii. p. 179; Blyth, B. Burm. p. 153 ; Salvad., Ucc. Born. p. 313 ; David et Oust. Ois Chine, p. 424 ; Hume and Vav., Sir. F. vi. p. 455 ; Hume, Sir. F. vii. p. 482 ; Scully, Sir. F. viii. p. 350 ; Legge, Ii. Ceylon, p. 934 ; Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 364 ; Murray, Avif, Brit. hid. ii. p. 584, No. 1257. Charadrius longipes (7<:';«w.), Bonap., Rev. Crit., 1850, p. 180; Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 636, No. 845 ; Murray, Vert. ZooL, Sind, p. 224 The Eastern Golden Plover. Winter Plumage. — Head dark brown, the tips of the feathers yellow ; fore- head white or yellowish white, as are also the lores, supercilia, chin, foreneck and the under tail coverts ; back, scapulars, rump, upper tail coverts and wing coverts dusky brown, the edges of the feathers with triangular or sub-triangular yellow spots ; tail lighter in colour, the feathers also similarly edged with CHARADRIUS. 105 yellow spots ; the neck behind, on the sides, and in front buffy, with a dusky tinge and yellow edgings and spots to the feathers ; flanks pale brown, spotted with soiled white. In the summer plumage, the upper plumage is much darker, nearly black, the yellow spots less numerous and smaller, the forehead is white, and the cheeks, throat, neck, and entire under parts are black ; primaries black, shafts of the first three white; secondaries tipped with white ; also the median wing coverts ; tail brownish with transverse bands of black. Length. — 10 to iO'5 inches; wing 675; tail 275; bill at front 0*87; tarsus 175 ; bill dusky at base, black at the tip ; irides deep brown. Hab.—'$AnA, Punjab, Kutch, Kattiawar, Deccan and India generally, also Burmah, in open plains or in the vicinity of rivers and ploughed fields. 131. CharadriuS pluvialiS. Linn., Syst. Nat. i. p. 25 l ; Dresser, ^. ^«;'. vii. p. 460 ; Hume, Str. F. v. p. 247; id.^ vii, pp. 186; Murray, Vert. ZooL, Si'nd, p. 225 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 584, No. 1258.— The European Golden Plover. 'uS^ Charadrius pluvialis. Winter Plumage. — Forehead yellowish white, streaked and spotted with pale brown and grey ; head on the sides greyish brown ; the crown, back of neck and nape greyish brown with purple reflections and yellow angular spots on the edges and tips of the feathers ; chin and throat whitish ; breast dusky greyish white, tinged yellow, and spotted with darker grey; axillary plumes white ; greater and lesser wing coverts greyish black, the spots paler and the feathers of the greater coverts tipped with white ; the tail is deep brown, and barred obliquely with yellowish or yellowish white ; upper tail coverts like the back. In summer it undergoes the same change as longipes, but the yellow becomes brighter, and the lower parts intense black, except the sides of the neck, breast and body, which are yellowish white, with dark and dusky 14 B 106 CHARADRIN/E. patches or marblings ; primaries and secondaries dusky brown, the shafts of the first five white anteriorly. Length. — io*5 to ir5 inches; wing 7-5 ; bill black ; irides deep brown. Hab. — Sind, Punjab, and Beloochistan. This species was first entered in the Sind list by Mr. Hume with a query. Since then all the specimens obtained by myself and others were longipes. In my Handbook mention was made that pluvialis would be found to occur, Mr. Blanford having recorded it from only 200 miles further west at Gwadur. Mr. Brooks, Stray Feathers, viii., 489, has since then recorded it from near Sehwan. Mr. Hume, in vol.i.,p. 2.2(^oi Stray Feathers, points out the difference between_/M/z'«i' = longipes and virginicus from America. He says, " pluvialis is at once distinguished by its pure white axillary plumes, \i\\\c\\m fulvits are brownish or smoke grey. Fulvus and virginicus differ chiefly in their relative proportions, the former being always smaller." The following are the dimen- sions of the three given by Harting : — Bill. Wing. Tarsus. C virginicus l"0 7 to 7*4 i*6 C. fulvus o"8 to 0-9 6-4 to 6-6 1-5 C. pluvialis 09 7*5. 1-4 Gen. .ffigialitis.— -C^zV. Bill slender, grooved on upper mandible for two-thirds its length ; front of bill raised; upper mandible slightly the longer; ist quill longest. All the Sand Plovers are more or less gregarious in their habits, and feed either on ploughed lands, meadows, edges of marshes and ponds, sandbanks, mud lagoons and banks of rivers and tanks. They run with some speed, making a dead stop now and again to pick up a worm, mollusc, small Crustacea or other insects on which they feed. Nearly all are migratory. Eggs, generally 4 in number, are of a stone yellow or greenish colour, richly blotched. 132. iEgialitiS Geoffroyi, Wagl., Syst. Av. Ckaradrius sp. 19 ; Jerd.y B. Ind. iii. p. 638 ; Harting, Ibis, 1870, p. 378, pi. xi. ; Salvad., Ucc. Born. p. 318; David et Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 426; Dresser, B. Eur. vii. p. 475, pi. ; Hume atid Dav., Str. F. vi. p. 455 ; Hume, Str. F. viii. pp 1 12, 200; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 939; Dates, B, Br. Burtn. ii. p. 366; Kelham, Ibis, 1882, p. 9 ; Murray, Vert. ZooL, Sind, p. 226 ; id., Avif. Brit. Ind. i- P' 585, No. 1259. Cirrepidesmus Geoffroyi, Hume, Str. F. i. p. 229; ii. p. 288 ; id.. Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p. 571. — The Large Sand Plover. In winter plumage, head, neck, nape, back, sides of the breast, scapulars and wing coverts greyish brown ; a streak from the base of the mandible under the eye to the ear coverts slightly darker ; forehead, a streak above the eye, chin, throat, sides of the neck and rest of the lower parts white ; upper /^GIALITIS. 107 tall coverts dull white or pale grey brown ; primaries and their coverts dark brown ; outer web near the tips and the tips of the secondaries white ; longest tertial reaches to between the 3rd and 4th primaries. In summer plumage, the forehead, lores, ear coverts and beneath the eye are black ; on each side of the forehead is a white spot ; the neck and breast rufous ; the throat and chin white ; head tinged with rufescent, and the upper parts margined with the same ; the shafts of the feathers of the back, scapulars and wing coverts in both stages are dark ; primaries dark brown ; the outer webs of the inner ones white, also the tips of the secondaries. Length, — 8 to 9*25 inches ; expanse 17 to 19 inches; wing 5*4 to 5*98 ; tail 2 ; bill at front i ; tarsus 1*5 ; legs greenish ; bill black; irides brown. //«(5.— Sind, Beloochistan Coast, Persian Gulf, Bengal, Rajputana, Kutch, Kattiawar and India generally during winter ; also Burmah. Extremely com- mon along the sea coast and at the mouths of the Indus in large flocks, where they may be seen running along the sandbanks for small Crustacea, insects, molluscs, &c. Eudroviius veredus, Gould, and /Egialitis placida, G. R. Gray, also yE". nigrt/rons, Cuv., are species entered in the Avifauna of India of which there is no precise information or corroboration of the fact of their having been found in India. I have therefore not included them in this work. 133. -aSgialitiS mongolica (PalL), Harting, Ibis, 1B70, p. 384; Salvad., Ucc. Born. p. 316; Hume^ Str. F. iii. p. 170; BIyih, B. Burnt. p. 153 ; Arms/rong, Str. F. iv. p. 339. Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 942 ; Kelham, Ibis, 1882, p. 10. Charadrius mongolus, PalL, Reis.Russ. Reichs. iii. p. 700. Charadrius mongolicus, PalL, Zoogf. Rosso- Asiat. ii. p, 136. Charadrius pyrrhothorax, Teimn. in Gould, B. Fur. pi. 299. ^gialitis pyrrhothorax, Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p 639, No. 847 ; Murray^ Hdbk., ZooL, Sfc, Sind, p. 209 ; id.. Vert. ZooL, Sind, p. 226 ; id., Avif. Brit. hid. ii. p. 586, No. 1260. Cirrepidesmus mongolicus, Hume, Str. F. i. p. 230; ii. p. 289; id.. Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p. 571. .^gialitis mongolus, Hume and Dav., Str. F. vi. p. 455 ; Oates, Str. F. x. p. 237.— The Lesser Sand Plover. In both winter and summer plumage similar to ^. Geofroyi, but smaller in all measurements. Length — 7 to 7'25 inches; expanse 15 inches; wing 5 inches; tail 1-87 ; bill at front 075 ; tarsus i'25. The tertials reach to between the first and second primaries ; bill black ; irides brown ; legs dusky plumbeous. Hab. — Sind, Beloochistan Coast, Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and India generally, also Burmah, along the sea shore and banks of rivers, not far inland. 134. -ffigialitiS Cantiana (Lath.), Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 647, No. 848; Armstrong, Sir. F. iv. p. 340; Dresser, B. Eur. vii. p. 483, pi. ; Hunic andVav., Str. F. vi. p. 456; Legge ^ B. Ceylon, p. 947; Gates, Str. F. x. 108 GHARADRIN/E. p. 237; id., B. Br. Bur?n. ii. p. 368; Murray, Vert. ZooL, Sind, p. 226; id., Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 587, No. 1 26 1. Charadrius cantianus, Lath., Ind. Orn. Suppl. pi. Ixvi. ^gialophilus cantianus, Utime, Str. F. i. p. 230 ; id.. Nests and -Eggs, p. 571. — The Kentish Plover. Male in Winter Plumage. — Forehead, streak over the eye, extending to the ear coverts, chin, throat, ring round the neck, breast, abdomen and under tail coverts white ; outer tail feathers on each side also white, with a subterminal dusky spot on the inner web ; crown, nape, neck behind, a streak from the base of the bill under the eye, cheeks, back, scapulars, sides of breast and tertials earthy or greyish brown, the feathers with darker shafts ; in some (February specimens) the feathers are tinged with rufous, and those on the fore part of the crown, very slightly (absent in most) white tipped ; tail earthy or grey brown, darker subterminally, and all, except the central feathers, tipped pale fulvous or white ; primaries dusky brown, 4th, 5th and 6th with a patch of white on their outer webs ; secondaries edged and tipped terminally with white ; edge of the wing and under wing coverts white. In nuptial plumage, the white of the forehead extends broadly over the eye and beyond it, behind which on the forecrown is a patch of black followed by a reddish or reddish brown patch, tinged with grey. The streak from the base of the bill through the eye to the ear coverts is black, and there is a large patch of black on each side of the breast ; back, scapulars and tertials greyish brown ; the 1st primary is the longest ; primaries dusky brown ; wing coverts grey brown, the greater series tipped with white ; secondaries white at their base and tips ; under wing coverts, chin, throat and under parts white ; the tail is like the back, the middle feathers longest and dusky brown near the tip, the outer ones on each side white. Length. — 675 inches ; wing 4* 3 ; tail 2 ; bill at front 75 ; bill black ; irides brown ; feet dusky greenish. Hab. — Sind, Beloochistan, Persia, Afghanistan, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Oudh, Bengal, Rajputana, Kutch, Guzerat, South India and Ceylon. Abundant along the coast about the Delta of the Irrawaddy, and also at various points in Tenasserim. It is also recorded from Arracan. In Ceylon, Major Legge found it breeding in June and July on the banks of salt lagoons, in the south-east portion of the Island. 135. jSEgialitiS dubia {Scop.), Salvad., Ucc. Born. p. 316; Blyth, B. Bum. p. 153; David et Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 429; Anderson, Yunnan Exped. p. 676; Hume, Str. F. vii. p. 227 (note) ; Oaies, Sir. F. x, p. 237 ; id., B. Br. liurm. ii. p. 370. Charadrius dubius, Scop., Del. Flor. et Faun. Insub. ii. p. 93. Charadrius curonicus, Gm., Syst. Nat. i. p. 692. Charadrius phillipinus. Lath., Ind. Orn. ii. p. 745. Charadrius fluviatilis, Bechst., Gemeinn Naturg. DeutschL iv. p. 422, ^gialitis phillipensis {Scop.), apud. Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 64O, No. 849; Murray, Vert. Zool., Sind, p. 227; /EGIALITIS. 109 id., Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 588, No. 1262. ^gialitis fluviatilis, Hume, Sir. F. i. p 230 ; ii. p. 289 ; id.., Nests and £ggs Ind. B. p. 572, ^gialitis curonica, WaJd. in Blyth's B. Burm. p. 154; Dresser, B. Eur. vii. p. 491 ; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 952 — The Lesser Ringed Plover. A narrow streak above the base of the bill continued behind, under, and through the eye to the ear coverts black ; crown of head and ring round the neck black ; a patch of white on the forehead above the black frontal streak ; chin, throat, and under parts from below the black collar, including the under coverts, white ; nape and upper plumage cinereous or greyish brown ; prima- ries dusky brown ; tail with the middle feathers paler than the lateral ones, except the outermost on each side, which are white, with a dusky spot on the inner web ; under wing coverts white. Length. — 7 to 7-25 inches; wing 4*5; tail 2*5; bill at front 0*56; bill black ; irides brown ; legs yellowish. Hab. — Sind, Beloochistan, Persia, Aghanistan, E. Turkestan, Nepaul, Cashmere, and throughout India, also throughout Burmah. Extremely com- mon in rice fields and along the banks of the Indus. Breeds in the Ueccan and Central Provinces during April and May. Eggs, three in number, broad ovals, elongated and pointed towards one end ; of a fawn, drab or buffy stone colour, speckled and spotted with hieroglyphic-like lines and figures of brownish purple, blackish brown or black. Size I'l to i"23 x o"8 to 0*87. 136. -ffigialitis Jerdoni, Legge, p. Z. S. 1880, p, 39; id., Birds, Ceylon, p. 956. ^gialitis minutus (Pall.), apiid. Jerd., B. hid. ii. p. 641 ; Legge, Str. F. iii., p. 372 ; Hume and Davison, Sir, F. vi. p. 456; Hume, Str. F. viii. pp. 112, 199; Oates, Str. F. x. p. 238; id., B. Br. Burmah, ii. p. 371 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. hid. ii, p. 588, No. 1263. ^gialitis phillipi- nus (Lath.), apud. Hume, Str. F. p. 179. — The Little Indian Ringed Plover. Similar to jE. diibia, from which it differs in being smaller, in having the edges of the eyelids swollen and protuberant, and in having the basal half of the lower mandible yellow. Another point of difference, according to Mr. Hume, is that in summer the legs of ^. Jerdoni do not become yellow as in yE". dubia. Length. — 6 inches; tail 2-2 ; wing 4-1; tarsus 9; bill from gape 5-5. The female is rather larger, approaching in size the male of ^. dubia. The Little Indian Ringed Plover is generally distributed over Burmah, but is nowhere very abundant. Oates procured it near Thayetmyo and also in Southern Pegu, along the banks of the canal. Capt. Wardlaw-Ramsay got itat Tounghoo, and Mr. Davison observed it in Tenasserim about the latitude of Moulmein. It occurs in suitable localities over the whole of India and Ceylon, the Indo-Burmese Countries, and Cochin-China, where Dr. Tiraud procured many specimens near Saigon. Oates says it is probably a constant resi* 110 CHARADRIN/E. dent in Burmah, notwithstanding the fact that all his specimens were pro- cured in the winter season. In the rains, when sandbanks are submerged, its area of distribution must become very restricted, and it is likely at this time of the year to escape observation. Major Legge found it breeding in Ceylon, Sub-Family, VANELLIN^.— Lapwings. Bill rather compressed, straight, convex at the tip ; nostril in a long lateral groove ; wings pointed and long ; tail broad ; hind toe short. Generally very active and lively birds. Nearly all winter visitants in India. Feed on worms, slugs, molluscs, &c., either along the sea shore, or river banks, or the edges of tanks and marshes ; also in ploughed fields. In parts of England the Vanellinae are considered by some good for food and their eggs a delicacy. In India, however, this is not the case to any great extent, though some persons think them not amiss at any time. After October they are very fat and tender, and for the table are said to be undistinguishable from the Plovers. Gen. Vanellus.— /;/■««. Bill straight ; 2nd and 3rd quills longest ; shoulder of wing with a small (not prominent) tubercle. 1^^ 137. Vanellus CriStatUS, Meyer, P. E. 242 ; Gould., B. Eur. pi. 291 ; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 643; Hume, Nests and Eggs hid. B. p. 573 ; Sir. F.\.2l\; Murray, Hdbk., ZooL, Sfc, Sind, p. 210 ; id., Vert. Zool. Sind, p. 22S; id., Avif. Brit. hid. ii. p. 589, No. 1264.— The Crested Lapwing or Peewit. Entire head, crest, chin, a line below the eye, breast and foreneck black, glossed with greenish ; lores, supercilia and behind the eye, also sides and CHETTUSIA. Ill back of the neck, and from the termination of the black breast to the belly, white ; the sides of the head in some immature specimens speckled with brown or dusky ; upper tail coverts pale reddish chestnut ; under tail coverts slightly paler; back and scapulars olive green, glossed with coppery and purple ; golden green on the lower back and rump ; primaries black, the first three broadly terminated with greyish white; ist quill shortest, third longer than the second or nearly equal ; greater and lesser wing coverts like the back ; tail white basally, and broadly black terminally, with narrow white tips to all the feathers ; the outermost feather entirely white, except a dusky spot subterminally on the inner web. Length. — 12 inches; wing 9; tail 4; tarsus 2; bill black; irides hazel brown; legs orange brown. In winter plumage the chin and throat are white, and there is much brown specklings on the sides of the face and nape. The female is like the male in winter plumage, and throughout of a duller tint. Hab. — Sind, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Beloochistan, Persia, Afghanistan, and E. Turkistan, also Nepaul and Cashmere. It is said to breed in Yarkand. In Sind it is a winter visitant, and is found in open places, marshy ground, and the banks of canals. In England, the Vanellinae are considered by some good for food, and their eggs a delicacy. In India, however, it is not the case, though some persons think them not amiss' at any time. After October they are very fat and tender, and for the table are said to be un- distinguishable from the Plovers. Gen. Chettusia— -^A Head not crested ; plumage ashy ; otherwise as in Vanellus. 138. ChettUSia gregaria, Pallas, Zoogr. ii. t. 56 ; Gould, B. Eur. pi. 292; Jerd., Birds Ind. iii. p. 644, No. 852; Sir. F. i. 231 ; iv, 13; Murray, Hdbk., ZooL, S^c, Sind, p. 210; z'd., Verl. Zool. Sind, p. 229; id,, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 590, No. 1265. — The Black-sided Lapwing. Forehead, supercilium extending to the occiput, lower bell}', vent and under tail coverts white ; top of head, a narrow band from the base of the bill through the eye, and the middle of the abdomen black ; back of neck, back, and scapulars olivaceous brown, tinged greyish; sides of head and neck pale rufous, passing to greyish or brownish on the breast; primaries black; second- aries white ; tail and upper tail coverts white, with a broad subterminal black band, tipped with white ; outermost feathers white. Length. — 12-5 to 13 inches; wing 8-5; tail 3*5; tarsus 2*3; bill at front 1-2. In the young the black abdominal patch is wanting. The females are much duller than the males in colour. Hab, — Sind, Beloochistan, Persia, Afghanistan, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Oudh, the Concan, Deccan, Kutch, Kattiawar, Rajputana and Central India. Frequents grassy plains in parties of from five to twenty. Its flesh is said to be very delicate. • 112' CHARARINi€. 139. ChettUSia leuCUra {Luht.), Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 646, No. 853. Chettusia flavipes, Savigfiy, desc. dV Egypt. ZooLp. 6, fig. 2. Chettusia Villotaei, Audoin., Hume, Sir. F.\. p. 232 ; id., iv. p, 13; Murray, Vert. Zool, Sind. p. 229; td.y Avif. Brit. hid. ii. p. 591, No. 1266. — The White- tailed Lapwing. Head and neck brown, very pale, almost fulvous on the forehead ; a small whitish patch behind the eye ; chin and throat white ; back and scapulars brown, glossed with reddish purple ; upper tail coverts and tail white ; breast pale greyish brown, bluish ashy on the lower part ; lower abdomen and under tail coverts white, the former tinged of a roseate hue ; primaries black ; secondaries white, broadly tipped on their outer webs with black ; median and greater wing coverts basally ashy, broadly edged subterminally on the outer web with black and tipped with white. Length.— 1\ to irs inches; wing 7; tail 275 ; bill at front i j bill black; irides brown red ; legs bright yellow. Hah. — Sind, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Oudh, Beloochistan, Afghanistan, Persia, Kutch, Kattiawar, and North Guzerat, also in Central India, and pro- bably the Deccan ; common in the vicinity of jheels, tanks, &c. Like the last the flesh is considered good eating, after October, when they are then extremely fat. 140. Chettusia Cinerea {Blyth), Hume, Str. F. iii. p. i8o ; Blyth, B. Burvi. p. 152; David el Oust Ois. Chine, p. 422; Hume and Dav., Str. F. vi. p. 456 ; Cripps, Str. F. vii. p. 300 ; Hume, Str. F, viii. p. 1 12 ; Oates, Str. F. X. p. 238 ; id., B. Br. Bicrm. ii. p. 372 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 591, No. 1267. Pluvianus cinereus, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1. p. 587. Lobivanellus inornatus, Temm. et Schleg, Faun. Jap. Aves, p. 106, pi. 63. Chettusia inornata, Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 646. — The Grey-headed Lapwing. Head and neck all round grey ; back, rump, lesser and median wing coverts and scapulars, also the tertiaries, greyish brown, with a faint vinous tinge; upper tail coverts white ; tail white, with a broad black band near the tip, diminishing in width towards the lateral feathers and absent on the outermost; primary coverts and primaries black ; greater wing coverts and secondaries white ; breast greyish brown, bounded below by a broad black band ; rest of under surface white ; edges of the eyelids, lappets and basal two-thirds of the bill deep yellow; terminal third of bill black; irides red ; legs dull yellow. Length. — 1 4' 5 inches ; tail 4*5 ; wing 9*8 ; tarsus 3 ; bill from gape v^. Hah. — Northern India, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Oudh, Kumaon ; also British Burmah in Southern Pegu, Bassein, Tongoo, the low-lying parts of Northern Tenasserim and Bengal, affecting swamps and marshy ground. It is a winter visitant to these parts, leaving India during April. .^ACUS. 113 Sub-Pamily, y^lSAClNi^.— Stone Plovers, Bill strong and thick ) no hind toe ; nostrils linear, in a groove near the base of the bill ^ gonys strongly angulated^ Gen. JEsacUS^ Bill long, sub-cttrved, the lower edge of the under mandible wide in the middle, then curving to a point. 141. JEsactis recurvirostris (Cuv.), G i?. Gfay, M. G. E. pi. I42 ; Jerd^, B. Ind^ iii. p. 652, No. 858 ; Huvie, Nests atid Eggs Ind, B, P^ 579; id^i Str. F. ii. p. 182; Blyth-, B. Burm. p. 152; Str^ F. vol, v. p. 121 ; Hume, Sir. F. vi. p. 4358 ; Oates^ Sir. F. vii. p. 50 ; Hume, Sir. F. viii. p, ti2^ Legge, B. Ceylon p. 974 J Onies, B. Br^ Burnt, ii. p. 357; Murray, H/^. Characters the same as in Scolopax. Tibia not feathered to the knee ; tail of 1 6 — 1 8 feathers. 151. Gallinago nemoricola {Eodgs.), Jerd., ill. Ind. Om. pi. 9 ; id,, B. Ind. iii. p. 672; Hume, Sir. F. vi. p. 459; id. and Marsh., Game Bird?, p. 325 ; Murray, Avif. Brii. Ind. ii. p. 604, No. 1282. — The Wood Snipe. Top of the head black, with rufous yellow longish markings ; upper part of the back black, the feathers margined with pale rufous yellow and often smeared bluish ; scapulars the same, some of them with zigzag markings ; long dorsal plumes black with zigzag marks of rufous grey, as are most of the wing coverts ; winglet and primary coverts dusky black, faintly edged whitish ; quills dusky ; lower back and upper tail coverts barred reddish and dusky ; tail with the centre feathers black at the base and chestnut, with dusky bars towards the tip ; laterals dusky with whitish bars ; beneath the chin white ; the sides of the neck ashy, smeared with buff and blackish ; breast ashy, smeared with buff and obscurely barred ; the rest of the lower plumage, with the thigh coverts, whitish, with numerous dusky bars ; lower tail coverts rufescent, with dusky marks, and the under wing coverts barred black and whitish. Bill reddish brown, paler at base beneath ; irides dusky brown ; legs plumbeous green. {Jerd.^ Length. — 12*5 to 13 inches ; wing 5-75 ; tail 2*5 ; bill at front 2-6: tarsus 175. Hab. — The Himalayas, Neilgherries, Coorg, Wynaad and other elevated regions in Southern India, affecting brushwood in swampy ground. 152. Gallinago solitaria {Hodgs.), J. A. S. B. vi. p. 491 ; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 673, No. 869; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds iii. p. 333 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 605, No. 1283. — The Eastern Solitary Snipe. Head above brown, with pale mesial and superciliary lines ; a dark band from the base of the bill extending towards the ear coverts ; upper plumage as 124 SCOLOPACID/?v. in G. scolopachms, except that the feathers are more spotted and barred with rufous ; a pale buff stripe along scapulars and inner edge of the wing ; prima- ries brown, with a narrow pale edging externally and the innermost tipped with white ; secondaries and tertiaries broadly barred with dark brown and pale rufous ; tail deep black at base, with a broad subterminal band of bright ashy rufous, tipped brown, and the extreme tip pale ; outermost rectrices finely barred ; breast olive brown, with white dashes of white and brown bars, passing into white on the abdomen and vent, with some olivaceous bands on the upper belly and fianks ; sides of the vent and under tail coverts whitish. Bill reddish brown ; irides dark ; feet greenish yellow. Length. — 12'5 inches; wing 6-25 ; tail 3-2; bill at front 275 ; tarsus 1*2. Hal. — Throughout the Himalayas from Gilgit to Central Bhootan. During the summer it is said to be confined to the higher ranges from elevations of 9,000 feet and upwards to at least 1 5,000 feet, where they breed during May and June. 153. Gallinago stenura {Kuhi), Jerd., B. Jnd. iii. p. 674; G. F. L. Marshall, Str. F. i. p. 423 ; Cripps, Str. F. i. p. 456 ; Hume, Str. F. ii, p. 294 ; Hume andDav., Str. F. vi. p. 459 ; Murray, Vert. Zool. Stnd, p. 239 ; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 816; Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 383 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 605, No. 1234. Scolopax stenura Kuhl., Bonap. Osserv. Sulla, sec. Ediz. Regn. Anim. Cuv. Monog. Scolopax, p. 12 1. — The Pin-tail Snipe. Crown dark brown or black, with a mesial longitudinal pale line ; face white, divided by a dark line from the nostrils to the eye and extending to the ear coverts ; there is also in some specimens a faint line from the ear coverts to in front of the neck on each side, but not meeting ; chin and throat white ; neck in front and behind pale fawn brown, barred, streaked or spotted with brown or dark brown ; sides of the abdomen like the breast, and transversely barred ; middle of abdomen white, barred in some specimens ; upper back, scapulars and wing coverts brown, darker on the mantle and scapulars, the feathers of which are broadly edged with yellow and spotted and streaked with rusty ; the scapulars, tertials and wing coverts barred with the same ; lower back, rump and upper tail coverts rufescent brown, barred with dusky ; under wing lining and axillaries white, distinctly and richly barred with blackish brown ; tail basally dark brown, followed by a large oval rufous or rufous buff patch, and a narrow subterminal dark band, tipped pale rufous or the colour of the oval patch ; primaries and their coverts, also the secondaries, pale brown or dusky, narrowly margined at the tip with white, both webs unicolorous. Length.— g"]t^ to 10 inches ; wing 4*8 to 5*4 ; tail 2 to 2*5 ; tarsus ri2 to r2S. Females are larger. Legs and feet plumbeous with a greenish tinge; irides deep brown ; bill 2-2 to 26 ; gape and base of bill greenish ; rest of bill GALLINAGO. 125 pale horny, with a dusky tip for about one-third its terminal length. In the females the bills average from 2*45 to 27. ]Jab. — Nearly throughout India and Ceylon ; rare in the Punjab, N.-W Provinces and Sind, also in Rajputana, Kutch and Kattiawar; fairly common in N. Guzerat, Central India and Khandeish. In Bombay, Concan generally, and the^Deccan, as well in the Nizam's Provinces, it is plentiful, also in Lower Bengal, east and west of the Brahmapootra. It is recorded from Arracan, Pegu, Tenasserim, the Andamans and Nicobars, where it is most commonly met with. This snipe is a migrant ; arrives in Sind about the middle of August, and leaves about the end of March or middle of April. Rice fields, mud swamps, and the vicinity of large rivers, jheels and tanks, where there are sedges and rushes, are the selected spots of the Pin-tail, at least in Sind. 154. GallinagO SCOlopacina, Bonap., Comp. list, B. Eur. and N. Amer. p. 52; yerd., B. Jnd. iii. p. 674, No. 871 ; Hume, Nesls and Eggs Ind. B. p. 586; Eume and Dav., Sir. F. vi. p. 459 ; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 820 ; Murray, Vert. ZooL, Sind, p. 240 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Jnd. ii. p. 606, No. 1285, pi. Scolopax gallinago, Linn., Syst. Nat. i. p. 244. Scolopax ccelestis, Frenzl., Beschr. der Vogel und ihrer Eier in der Gegend Von Wittenberg p. 58. Gallinago gallinaria (Gr;«.), Cripps, Str. F.\\\. p. 3025 Hume, Str. F. viii. p. 112; Bingham, Str. F.y'xW. \). 112. Gallinago ccelestis, Dresser, B. Eur. vii. p. 641, pi.; Hume and Marsh,, Game Birds iii. p. 359 ; Oates, B. Br. Burmah, p. 381. — The Common Snipe. Crown of the head black, with a mesial longitudinal white, yellowish, or rusty white line ; a superciliary on each side from the base of the upper mandible of the same colour, and a dark streak below it to the eye; sides of the head spotted with dusky grey, tinged ferruginous brown ; chin and throat white, or nearly white ; neck on the sides and in front yellowish white, spotted with brown ; breast white, brown, pale yellowish or ferruginous on the upper part, and spotted with dusky ; the sides greyish white, barred with dark brown ; back and scapulars velvetty black, the feathers 126 SCOLOPACID/E. broadly edged with yellow, and barred and spotted with chestnut brown ; the yellow edges to the feathers forming four conspicuous lines on the back ; upper tail coverts barred with alternate bars of dusky black and pale yellowish brown, somewhat rufescent ; the under tail coverts pale yellowish fawn, also barred with dusky or dark brown ; the middle of the abdomen is white, in some specimens tinged with pale buffy fawn ; axillaries and flanks white, barred with dusky or dark brown, but not so broadly, close and numerous as in Slenura ; under wing lining white, a few bars only on the edge of the wing ; a white patch always conspicuous in the centre of the wing ; greater and lesser wing coverts dusky or dark brown, barred with rufescent, and edged and tipped with pale white or cream colour ; primaries dusky or dark brown, the first with its outer web ivhite; secondaries dusky or dark brown, broadly tipped with white ; the outer edges of their inner webs white, and treated with dusky ; the inner webs of the primaries also whitish basally and mottled minutely with dusky ; tertiaries rufescent, barred with dark brown ; tail black at the base, with an oval patch of rusty orange or ferruginous, then a subterminal narrow band, and tipped with buffy or pale reddish yellow, in some specimens white ; legs pale green ; bill terminally for one-third or more of its length deep brown, the rest basally horny brown with a green and yellowish tinge ; its length from gape, of males 2'39 to 27 ; at front 2-43 to 275 ; of females 2*52 to 3*0 at front, rather flat at the tip. Lengthy Male. — 9 to ii inches; wing 4-9 to 5-5 ; tail 2*5 to 2-8. Females larger. j^a^. —Throughout India, Ceylon and Burmah as a winter visitant, also Persia, Beloochistan and Afghanistan. Arrives in Sind about the beginning of September and leaves in April, and with the Jack Snipe is tolerably abundant everywhere. It is a very vigilant bird, and in consequence difTicult to shoot, especially in bogs and moist localities where rushes are present. In such retreats, three, four or half-a-dozen may be seen at a time, walking leisurely, with head erect, and constantly on the alert ; and at the first note of alarm, they rise, and soon get out of gunshot. This species, it need hardly be men- tioned, is held in much esteem for the table. Gallinago gallinula. The Jud-Cock. RHYNCHi^A. 127 155. GallinagO gallinula {^Linn), Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p, 676; Hume, Sir. F. iii. 182 ; Blyth, B. Burm. p. 1S7; Dav. et Oust. Ois Chine, p, 479; Dresser, B. Eur. vii. p. 653; Hume and Dav., Sir. F. vi, p. 459; Cripps, Sir. F. vii. p, 302; Hmne, Sir. Z'. viii. p. II2; Legge, B. Ceylon p 828; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds iii. p 373, pi.; Hume, Sir. F. x. p. 239 (note); Oales, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 384; Murray, Vert. Zool., Si'nd, p. 241 ; Murray, Avif Brit. Ind. ii. p. 608, No. 1286. Scolopax gallinula, Linn.. Sysl. Nat. i. p. 244. — The Jack Snipe or Jud-Cock. Crown of the head with a mesial longitudinal black streak from the top of the upper mandible; on each side of this a yellowish or cream-coloured streak extending above the eye as a superciliary, and in some specimens separated from the orbital region by a dark streak ; a dusky line from the gape to the eye, and another from below it curving downwards to the ear coverts ; the space between the two streaks white or cream colour ; chin and throat white, greyish, or pale brown ; sides of the head greyish, greyish white, or brownish white, spotted with brown and pale red ; neck behind and nape ferruginous or greyish brown, streaked or spotted with dusky; breast pale yellowish brown or dusky, spotted or dashed with darker brown ; abdomen white ; flanks dashed with brown and pale ferruginous; axillaries pure white, with faint, almost obsolete dusky markings ; back and scapulars rich black, with bronze green and purple reflections, the feathers of the upper back and scapulars edged on their outer webs broadly with rich cream yellow, forming two conspicuous longitudinal bands along each side ; lower back and rump glossy blue black (specimens in August very narrowly margined with albes- cent) ; primaries dusky, the basal half of the first paler, not while; inner primaries narrowly margined at the tip with albescent ; secondaries dusky, broadly tipped with white ; tertiaries dusky on their inner webs, spotted and streaked with reddish or yellowish brown on their outer webs ; tail dusky or dark brown, edged near the tips with pale ferruginous ; under tail coverts white; legs and feet pale greenish; irides deep brown. Length. — 8'5 inches ; bill dark brown at the tip, v6 to r8 inches in length at front ; wing 4 to 4"6 inches ; tail i*8 to 2*2. Hab. — Everywhere in India, and more plentiful than the common snipe, with which it is generally associated. In Sind small parties begin to arrive about the 26th August, or a few days earlier than the common snipe. It is a difficult bird to flush, seldom rising until nearly trampled upon. It prefers deep cover at all times, but I have often seen them on the oozy, semi-fluid mud of back waters, where there was not even a stubble for cover. Gen. Rhynchsea. — Cuv. Bill shorter than in Gallinago, curved downwards at the tip ; wings rounded ; tarsi long ; tibia nearly entirely bare. 128 SGOLOPACID/E. 156. B.hyn.ChSBSi CSLpensiS, Ltnn,,Sj'sL NaL I, p 246. Rhynchsea Bengalensis, Jerd.., B. Ind. ii. p. 677 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs Lid. B, p. 586; Salvad., Ucc. Born. p. 335 ; Blyth, B. Burnt, p. 157 ; Butler, Str. F. iv. p. 15 ; V, p. 223; Dav. et Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 480; Wardlaw- Ramsay, Ibis, 1877, p. 469; Hume and Dav., Str. F. vi. p. 459; Cripps, Str. F.\n. p. 302; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. II2; Legge, B. Ceylon p. Soo ; Bingkam, Str. F.ix. p. 197; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds iii. p. 381, pi.; Oates, Str. i^. X. p. 239; Murray, Vert. Zool., Sind, p. 242; Oates, B. Br. Bur?n. ii. p. 386; Murray, Avif. Brit. Lid. ii. p. 609, No. 1287. — The Painted Snipe. Crown of the head with a broad mesial longitudinal line, bordered by dark brown, nearly black feathers, which form a line from the sides of the upper mandible to the nape, where it is broader than in front ; a yellowish buff circle round the eye, and a line behind it ; chin and throat whitish, the feathers with some faint dusky spots ; neck in front and breast olive brown, the feathers with white spots and bars ; the feathers on the lower part of the sides and middle of the breast nearly dark brown, forming a dark pectoral band, another similar band below this with a white interspace, but not meeting on the breast ; hind neck olivaceous, finely marked with dark transverse strice ; mantle and scapulars dark brown, with dark margined buffy yellow and white bars ; wing coverts and tertiaries pale olive, with black margined transverse bands or bars of rufous buff, broader and more conspicuous on the tertiaries ; outer web of the first primary grey brown, the rest paler, and all with 5 — 6 buff or rufous buff ocelli ; the interspaces between the basal three ocelli deep black, and between the terminal ones greyish brown ; inner webs of primaries with white bars and dark wavy lines and marblings ; secondaries ashy grey, ocellated with buff on their outer webs, the interspaces basally black, and terminally with dark brown wavy lines ; their inner webs, like the primaries, with white bars and wavy lines, and the tips margined with white, the patterns showing through paler on the under side of the wing ; tail ashy grey, with buff ocelli on both webs, and tipped with buff ; abdomen, vent and under tail coverts white. The female has the lores, sides of the face, upper breast and back of neck chestnut, the feathers edged whitish on the upper breast ; back, scapulars and wing coverts, also the tertiaries, dark olive with narrow, close, black striae, the outermost tertials white, other- wise as in the male. Bill reddish brown ; irides deep brown ; legs and feet greenish. Length.— (^ to 10 inches ; wing 4*9 to 5*2 ; tail 1*5 to r8 ; bill at front v'& to 2 inches. Hah. — Sind, Kutch, Kattiawar, Rajputana, Central India, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, British Burmah and Ceylon. Breeds in Sind during May and June, and in nearly all localities where it occurs. EURYNORHYNCHUS. 129 Gen. LimiCOla. — Koch. Characters same as Rhynchcea ; bill broad and depressed. 157. LimiCOla platyrhyncha {Temm.), Salvad., Vcc. Bom. p. 322 ; Dresser, B, Eur. viii. p. 3, pi. ; Hume and Dav., Sir. F. vi. p. 461 ; Hume, Sir. F. viii, p. 113; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 896; Oates, S/r. F. x. p. 240 ; id., B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 387; Murray, Vert. ZooL, Sind, p. 252; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 160, No. 1288. Tringa platyrhyncha, Temm., Man d'Orn. p. 398 ; Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 692, No. 886 ; Blyth, B. Burm. p. 156. — The Broad-billed Sandpiper, In winter, the crown of the head, back, scapulars and wing coverts are ashy brown, tinged with rufous ; neck and cheeks white, spotted with brown ; primaries and tail brown, the latter edged with pale reddish ashy ; lower parts white ; the flanks, breast and under tail coverts tinged with rufous. In summer dress the Broad-billed Sandpiper has the crown of the head brownish black, varied with greyish ; the neck on the sides and in front greyish white, with black spots, and tinged with buffy ; chin white, with a few dark spots ; lower back black, with fulvous white or rufous margins to the feathers. Length. — 6"5 to 675 inches ; wing 3*9 to 4'32 ; bill at front 1*27 to 1*37; tarsi o'94 ; irides deep brown ; legs and feet dusky black. Hab. — The Indian Coast generally. Occurs commonly at Kurrachee and along the Mekran Coast, also at Kutch and in Bengal, Recorded from Arracan, also from Pegu, and Amherst in Tenasserim. Frequents sea-coasts and tidal rivers. Sub-Family, TRINGIN.E,— Stints, &c. Bill rather long, flat and wide, keeled near the tip, somewhat flexible ; nostrils in a groove, extending two-thirds the length of the bill ; wings long ; toes divided or narrowly webbed. Gen. Eurynorhynchus.— iV^j7jj(7;i. Bill much depressed, broad, flat, ridged in the centre at the base, and ending in a flat somewhat obcordate, expanded tip, which terminates in a deflected point ; nostrils basal ; toes cleft, with a small web between the outer and middle toes. {Jerd.) 158. Eurynorhynchus pygmaeus {Linn.), Harttng, Ibis, 1869, p. 427, pi. xii, ; Blyth, B. Burm. p. 156; Dav. et Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 474 ; Hume and Dav., Str. F. vi. p. 463; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. 113; Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 395; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 611, No. 1289. Platalea pygmoea, Linn., Syst. Nat. i. p. 231. Eurynorhynchus griseus {Nilss.), Temm., Man d' Orn. ii, p. 594 ; Jerd.y B. Ind. iii. p. 693, No, 887. — The Spoon-billed Stint. 17 B 130 SCOLOPACID/E. In summer the head and upper parts are ferruginous, the feathers with dark brown centres ; breast ferruginous ; throat and breast margined with white; under surface of the body from below the breast becoming whiter towards the tail; primaries dark brown; legs and feet black; bill black; irides deep brown. Length.— ^"^ 1067 inches; wing 4-1 ; tail 17 ; tarsus o*8 ; bill from gape i. In winter plumage the forehead, crown and hind neck, white ; back and scapu- lars are hair brown, each feather with a darker shaft streak ; lores ashy white ; cheeks, ear coverts and sides of the neck whitish, streaked with brown ; rump and upper tail coverts dusky brown, the feathers edged paler ; tail brown, the inner webs of all the feathers except the central pair white ; shafts of the lateral feathers whitish ; lesser wing coverts uniform hair brown ; median and greater coverts dark brown, broadly edged with white ; quills dark brown, with white shafts ; under surface of the body, including the axiliaries and under wing coverts, white ; the sides of the breast streaked with brown. Length. — 6*5 inches ; wing 37; tail 1*5. Hah. — Arracan, Pegu, Tenasserim, and the mouth of the Ganges, usually found in the company of other Stints. Gen. Tringa — Zz««. Toes edged by membrane ; wings with the first quill longest ; bill straight or slightly bent and obtuse at the extremity. 159. Tringa miUUta, Leisl., Nacht. zu Bechst. Naturg. Deutsch i. P« 74 ; Je^d., B. Ind. ii. p. 690, No. 884; Dresser y B, Eur. viii. p. 29, pi. Hume, Str. F, i. p. 242; Legge, Str. F.\. p. 491; id., B. Ceylon, p. 884 Murray, Vert. Zool.y Sind, p. 257 ; Oates^ B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 389 Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 611, No. 1290. — The Little Stint. In winter the upper parts are ashy or pale earthy brown, the feathers of the back, scapulars, tertials and lesser and median wing coverts mesially dusky or dark brown, and in some very narrowly edged with whitish. There is a dark spot in front of the eye, and a pale white supercilium ; the chin, throat, centre of the breast and rest of the under surface, including the vent, axiliaries and under tail coverts, are white ; sides of the breast ashy brown ; primaries mostly white shafted, dusky brown, slightly paler on their inner webs ; secon- daries white, basally and also narrowly tipped with white ; greater wing coverts tipped with white, forming a conspicuous wing band ; rump, upper tail coverts and two central tail feathers dusky or dark brown; lateral tail feathers pale ashy. Length. — 6'6 inches; expanse 13*1 ; tail 2*3; tarsus 0*9; wing 3'8 ; bill at front 0*6 ; irides deep brown ; legs black. TRINGA. 131 Hah. — Nearly throughout Europe and India, also Java, Formosa, Australia and China. In Sind, along the coast ; also in the Kurrachee harbour ; inland on the large pieces of water and on the Munchur Lake, this Little Stint is extremely common, also on the Mekran Coast, the Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Oudh, Bengal, Burmah, and Ceylon. Occurs in Persia, Beloochistan (Quetta), Afghanistan, and in fact has a very wide distribution. In the Concan, Deccan and Southern India generally it is equally abundant. 160. Tringa SUbminuta, Midd., Sib. Reise. Vog. p. 222. 7a/., xix. p. 6 ; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 889 ; Oates, B. Br. Burnt, ii. p. 391 ; Murray, Avif. Brit.Ind. ii. p. 612, No. 1291. Tringa damacensis {Hors/.'), apud Hume^ Str. F. i. p. 243. Tringa sahna {Pall.'), apud Legge, Sir, F. i. p. 491 ; Dresser, B. Eur. viii. p. 33; Blyih and Wald., B. Burm, p. 1 56. Tringa ruficollis {Pall.), apud. Wald., Trans. Zool. Soc. ix. p. 234 ; Hume, Sir. F. viii. p. 1 13; Gates, Sir. F. x. p. 24O. — The Long-toed Stint. Summer Plumage. — Forehead, top of head and nape dark brown, each feather with an edging of rich rufous on the terminal half ; lores, cheek and ear coverts the same ; an albescent patch in front of the eye above the lores ; upper part of the throat pure white ; lower throat streaked with small marks of pale rufous brown ; sides of throat, neck, upper breast and sides of body pale rufous brown, each feather with a central dark brown streak ; lower breast, abdomen and vent pure white ; under tail coverts white, each feather with a long, narrow central brown streak ; thighs rufescent ; upper neck mixed brown and pale rufous ; whole upper plumage, including the scapulars and tertiaries, rich blackish brown, each feather broadly tipped with bright rufous ; rump and upper tail coverts glossy black, few of the feathers of the latter obsoletely tipped white ; centre tail feathers black, edged with rufous, the others pale brown, tipped and margined internally with white; axillaries white, a little brown at their bases ; under wing coverts pale brown, edged with white ; shaft of first quill sordid whity brown, those of the others dark hair brown; primaries and secondaries dark brown, all tipped with white except the first six primaries ; all the primaries except the first three with a median narrow margin of white on the outer web ; upper coverts brown, all more or less tipped and margined with dull white. In winter it resembles T. minuta in general appearance, but the upper plumage is darker ; the forehead and face where white in T. minuta are streaked with brown in T. suhminuta ; the greater wing coverts and secondaries are very narrowly tipped with white, and the sides of the neck and the chest are thickly marked with brown streaks. Iris brown ; bill olive-brown ; legs and toes pale brown ; claws nearly black. Length. — 6-2 inches; tail 1*4; wing 37 ; tarsus o"8 ; middle toe and claw nearly an inch; bill from gape 7*5. The female is of the same size. This 132 SCOLOPACID/^E. Stint may be recognized by the great length of its toes, the middle one, including its claw, measuring frequently little short of an inch in length. It resembles T. minuta in having the outer tail feathers brown, but differs in having the shafts of all the primaries brown, except that of the first quill, which is dull white. From T. Temmincki it may be separated by the colour of its outer tail feathers as well as by its long toes. {Oates.') Hab. — Arracan, Pegu and Tenasserim. Found also seasonally in N.-E. Siberia through China and Mongolia to Burmah, extending on the west to Bengal, the Eastern Coast of India and Ceylon, and ranging southwards to the Malay Peninsula, Java, Borneo, Celebes, and the Phillipines. 161. Tringa Temmincki, LeisUr, Nacht. zu Bechst. Nalurg, DeuischA. p. 63 ; Jerd,^ B. Ind. iii. p. 691 ; Dresser, B. Eur. viiL p. 45, pi. ; Hume, Str. F.'i.^. 244; iii. p. 183; Blyih, B. Burnt, p. 156; David et Oust, Ois. Chine, p. 43 ; Hume andDav., Sir. F. vi. p. 461 ; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. 113 ; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 892 ; Murray, Vert, ZooL, Sind, p. 251 ; Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 392 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 613, No. 1292. — ^Temminck's, or the White-tailed Stint. Upper parts as in minuta ; chin, throat and supercilia white ; a dark spot in front of the eye ; breast and lower neck ashy brown ; belly, vent and under tail coverts white ; four central tail feathers dusky brown, the rest white ; legs pale horny green, or greenish olive. Length. — ^6 to 6*25 ; inches ; wing 3*8 j bill at front o"j ; irides deep brown. Hah. — As the last and associated with it everywhere, 162. Tringa CraSSirOStris, Temm. et Schleg., Faun. Jap. Aves, p. 107, pi- Ixiv. ; Hume, Str. F. i. p. 240 ; Salvad,, Ucc. Born. p. 325 ; Wald., Ibis, 1874, p. I47 ; Armstrong, Str. F. iv. p. 341 ; David et Oust. Ois, Chine, p. 468; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. I13; Murray, Vert. Zool. Sind, p. 249 ; Oates, Str. F. x. p. 240 ; id., B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 393 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 613, No. 1293. — The Thick-billed Stint. The following is Mr. Hume's description of the species. " In the winter plumage the upper surface reminds one not a little of that of Totanus stagnatilis. The whole lower parts are white, but the base of the neck in front and the sides are marked with numerous small brown striae, and the upper breast, besides having more or less of these striations, is mottled with larger pale brown spots, here and there interspersed with conspicuous heart-shaped blackish brown spots, which are the first traces of the coming summer plumage. Lores, top, back and sides of the head and neck very pale greyish brown, all the feathers narrowly streaked along the shaft with dark brown ; the upper back and whole mantle is a mixture of pale brown and ashy, most of the feathers with blackish shafts, more or less darkly TRINGA. 133 centred, and all conspicuously, though narrowly, margined and tipped with white. Lower back and rump brown, the feathers narrowly and regularly margined with white ; upper tail coverts similar, but ihe white margins much broader, and the brown more or less obsolete on many of them. Tail feathers greyish brown, greyer and somewhat darker on the central ones, and paler and browner on the external ones ; all are excessively, narrowly, in fact almost obsoletely, bordered with white. The primaries and their greater coverts are hair brown, most of the latter tipped white ; the secondaries and their greater coverts are a pale, somewhat greyish brown, all of them narrowly, but the coverts less narrowly of the two, margined with white. The wing lining, except just at the margin of the wing, which is mottled with brown, pure white ; the axillaries white with traces of irregular, wavy pale brown bars. There are a few elongated triangular pale brown dashes on the flanks, and in some specimens one or two larger blackish brown spots pertaining to the summer plumage." According to Schlegel, the summer plumage is as follows : — " Feathers of the head and neck each with a large dark brown longitudinal streak or spot on an albescent ground, which is tinged with brownish rufous on the nape. Feathers of the breast and nape brownish black, each with a whitish transverse band, often tinged with brownish red towards the middle. The rest of the lower parts and the rump pure white, spotted, except towards the middle of the abdomen, with broader or narrower dark spots. Back and wings brownish black, lighter on the wing coverts ; all the feathers spotted and bordered with a bright brownish rufous, gradually disappearing towards the edge of the wing. Lower wing coverts white, becoming black at the base. *' Bill black, sometimes paler at the base of lower mandible ; legs and feet dusky, greenish dusky, yellowish plumbeous or pale plumbeous, according, I suppose, to age or seasonal progress. "Length. — ii'SS to 12 inches ; expanse 23-5 to 24; tail from vent 27 to 2'8; wing 7-1 to 7*3; bill at front r6 to 1*85; tarsus 1*4 to 1-55; wings when closed reach from 0*3 to 0*4 beyond end of tail." Hab. — Kurrachee (Sind) and the Beloochistan Coast. Common during winter in the Kurrachee harbour and along the Mekran Coast. In Arracan and the delta of the Irrawaddy, as well at the Andamans. Recorded also from Australia and Java. 163. Tringa SUbarquata, Gould, Nov. Comm.Pelrop. xix. p. 471, t. xviii. ; Jerd.^ B. Ind. ii. p. 689; Blyth, B. Burm. p. 156; Dresser, B. Eur. viii. p. 59 ; Hume and Dav., Str. F. vi. p. 460 ; Legge, B. Ceylon^ p. 879 ; Oates, Sir. F. x. p. 240 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 615, No. 1294. Pelidna subarquata, Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 394 ; Salvad., Ucc. Born. p. 322. — The Curlew Stint. 134 SCOLOPACID/E. Winter Plumage. — Bill curved downwards. Head, on the crown and sides, back of the neck and nape light greyish brown, streaked with darker brown and dusky black, with an olivaceous gloss ; face and supercilia white, and a dark streak from the gape to the eye ; sides of the neck and in front greyish, streaked with brown ; breast the same ; abdomen and upper and lower tail coverts white ; back, scapulars and wing coverts ashy brown, the shafts darker ; tail ashy grey, edged with white ; primaries dusky brown, also the secondaries, which are tipped with white ; axillaries white ; lesser coverts grey, the shafts darker. Bill black ; irides brown ; legs dusky grey. Length.—'^ to 10 inches ; wing 5; tail 175 ; bill at front r6. In summer plumage the forehead is whitish, mixed with pale reddish brown ; supercilia pale yellowish white; chin white ; head, neck and nape ferruginous with dark margins ; throat, breast and upper abdomen chestnut ; in a specimen obtained on 20th May the feathers are all narrowly edged with white ; back, scapulars and tertiaries black ; also the lesser coverts, the feathers edged with chestnut. Hah. — India generally, and Ceylon, also Beloochistan, Persia and Afghan- istan. Recorded from Cashmere and Egypt, also from Australia and Java. Common also in the low tidal portions of the plains between the Pegu and Sittang rivers and in the Irrawady delta. Recorded also from Arracan and the Tenasserim Coast. Found commonly along the Sind and Mekran Coasts and on the large dhunds, not far inland. It occurs in Kutch and Kattiawar and on the Bombay Coast in some numbers, also in the Kurrachee harbour. 164. Tringa Cinclus, Linn., \Syst Nat. p. 246 ; Bodd., Tab. PI. Enl. 852; Gould, B. Eur. pi. 329; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. 690 ; Str. F. i. p. 242 ; Dresser, B. Etir. viii. p. 86, pi. ; Murray, Hdbk., ZooL, S^c, Sind, p. 220 ; id.. Vert. Zool. Sind, p. 247 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. hid. ii. p. 615, No. 1295. Tringa alpina, Z.— The Dunlin. Crown of the head, lores and cheeks ashy brown ; a pale white supercilium from the base of the bill over each eye ; back and scapulars pale ashy brown, the feathers dark shafted and edged paler ; lesser and median coverts brown, edo-ed paler, tipped with whitish ; throat, breast, belly, vent and under tail coverts pure white, the breast with a few brown streaks ; tail with the two central feathers dusky or deep brown, the rest ashy and edged whitish. Length. — 6-5 to 7*5 inches ; wing 4*5 ;tail 1-87 ; bill at front 1-25, black ; legs greenish dusky ; irides brown. ^^3^_Sind, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Oudh, Bengal, Guzerat, Kutch and Kattiawar Coast. A winter visitant, arriving about the middle of September. In the Kurrachee harbour the Dunlin is simply numerous, also on the Mekran Coast where they may be seen running nimbly near the edges of the sea or skimming along near the surface in fairly large flocks. MACHETES. 135 Gen. Machetes— Cuv. Bill straight ; first and second quills of wing longest ; outer toe united as far as the first joint ; hind toe short and elevated. 165. Machetes pugnax (Linn.), Dresser, B. Eur, viii. p. 87, pi. ; Hume and Dav., Sir. F. vi. p. 460 ; Hume, S/r. F. viii. p. 1 12 ; Scully, Sir. F. viii. p. 357 ; Legge, B. Ceylon p. 873 ; Oates, Str. F. x. p. 24O; Murray, Avif. Brit. //z^. ii. p. 616, No. 1296, Tringa pugnax, Linn., Syst. Nat.'x. p. 247. Philomachus pugnax, Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 687 ; Murray, Vert. Zool.^ Sind, p. 248. — The Ruff. In winter the plumage of these birds is very variable, the upper parts are from pale earthy to rich brown, the feathers with black or dark brown central spots and fulvous edges ; the head, nape and neck behind paler; chin and throat white ; neck in front and breast pale earthy or grey brown, the feathers margined at the tip with white ; abdomen, vent and under tail coverts white ; primaries dark brown ; secondaries paler, edged and margined at the tip with white ; greater coverts tipped white, forming a wing band ; the lesser and median ones black, edged with rufous or reddish brown, also the greater coverts in some stages. The plumage is so variable, that out of 50 skins or more, no two birds would be found alike. During summer or in their breed- ing plumage the males acquire a ruff, which is very variously coloured and stands erect behind the head, the face is covered with reddish tubercles and the upper parts and breast marked with transverse bars. Bill dusky ; irides brown ; legs fleshy yellow. Length.— \2 to 12*5, inches; wing 7*25 ; tail 2*5 ; bill at front 1-3 ; tarsus 2. Hah. — Throughout India and Ceylon, and in great numbers during winter. Occurs also in Beloochistan, Persia and Afghanistan. Breeds in Europe. During spring on their return to the breeding grounds, generally the fens, they become very pugnacious, the females being '■^ causa terrima belli.'" Being poly- gamous, the Ruffs, on hearing the cry of a female or seeiiig one, immediately rouses itself, and begins a fight with others ; their combats are described as being both desperate and long ; at the end of the fight the female, it is said, becomes the mate or prize of the victor. Buffon says — "They not only contend with each other in a single rencounter, but they advance to combat in mar- shalled ranks." " Their actions in fighting," according to Selby, "are very similar to those of a game cock, with the head lowered, and^the beak held in a horizontal position ; the ruff and every feather distended, the former sweep- ing the ground as a shield ;" and he adds " that in such feuds their contests are often attended by fatal consequences." Gen. Calidris.— C«t'. Hind toe wanting, otherwise as in Tringa. 136 SCOLOPACID^. 166. CalidriS arenaria {Linn.), Jerd., B. Ltd. iii. p. 694 ; Hume, Sir. F. i. p. 244 ; Salvad., Ucc. Born. p. 322 ; Armstrong, Sir. F. iv. p. 343 ; Hnme, Sir. F. iv. p. 465 ; Dresser, B. Eur. viii. p. loi, pi.; Hume, Sir. F. viii. p. 113; Legge, B. CeyloJi, p. 1220 ; Oales, Sir. F. x. p. 240; Murray, Verl. ZooL, Sind, p. 252; Oales, B. Br. Burnt. \\. ^. y^^; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 617, No. 1297.— The Sanderling. In winter the forehead, lores, cheeks, chin, throat, breast, neck in front, belly, thighs, vent and under tail coverts white ; crown of the head, sides of the neck and breast, back and scapulars cinereous or ashy brown, the feathers with dark shafts ; shoulders and edge of the wing dark brown ; median and greater coverts like the back, dark shafted and tipped white ; primaries dark brown, all white shafted ; their inner webs ashy, and the four middle ones white on their outer webs, forming in the closed wing a wedge-shaped spot ; secondaries brown or dusky, tipped with white ; rump and upper tail coverts brown, edged with white ; tail brownish ash, edged with white, the two central feathers darker than the rest ; bill black, 0*93 to i inch in length. Length.—']'^', wing 475 ; tail 2 ; tarsus 0*92 ; irides deep brown; legs black. /fa*^.— Kurrachee (Sind), Beloochistan Coast, Persia, Ceylon, Kutch, Guzerat, Concan and South India, also the Laccadives, the West Coast, and the Irrawaddy delta. In the Kurrachee harbour extremely abundant, associated with the Stints on the sea-shore. Sub-Family PHALAROPIN^. Bill straight, curved at the tip ; tarsi short ; toes lobed on the sides, united at the base ; hind toe edged with narrow membrane. Gen. Phalaropus.— -ffn'w. Bill long; 1st and 2nd quills of wing longest. 167. Phalaropus hyperboreus (Zz««.), Edw. B. pi. 143; Bodd., Tab. P. E. 766 ; Gould, B. Eur. pi. 336 ; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 696 ; Sir. F. i. 246 ; ii. 338 ; v. 290 ; vii. 487 ; Murray, Hdbk., ZooL, ^x., Sind, p. 221 ; id., Vert. Zoo I., Sind, p. 253; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 617, No. 1298. — The Lesser Coot-footed Stint or the Red-necked Phalarope. Crown, back of neck and nape dark lead or slaty ; in winter the forehead is white, tinged with grey ; the streak over the eye, and the crown and nape are blackish grey ; the neck on the sides is fine yellowish red, which in winter wears away into white, with sometimes a tinge of purple ; in front dark grey with a white edging ; chin white ; throat fine yellowish red, and in winter white, PHALAROPUS. 137 with a slight tinge of pink ; breast white, with some streaks below on the sides of a pale ash colour, and in winter with a faint blush of purple red ; back dark or blackish lead colour, the feathers with a margin of ash grey and brownish yellow ; greater wing coverts dark lead colour, tipped with white, forming a distinct bar across the wing in winter ; lesser wing coverts dark lead colour ; primaries very dark brown, black in winter ; secondaries margined with reddish yellow on the outer web, which in the winter plumage is white ; tail brownish grey margined with white, the two middle feathers darkest, nearly black ; under tail coverts white ; legs and roes dusky greenish grey ; claws black; lores dusky greenish. Length. — 7'25 inches ; wing 4*25 ; expanse 14*0; tail 2*19; bill at front o'8i. Hab. — Kurrachee, Mekran Coast and Persian Gulf, also Afghanistan. On the Continent of Europe it occurs in France, Holland, Germany, Italy and Sweden. 168. Phalaropus fulicarius, Linn., Syst. Nat. i. p. 737 ; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 695 ; Str. F. i. p. 245 ; vii. p. 487 ; Murray, Avi/. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 618, No. 1299. — '^^^ Coot-footed Stint. Head of Phalaropus fulicarius. Winter Plumage. — Forehead and crown white ; occiput, ear coverts, and a streak from the nape of the neck, dusky grey ; back, scapulars and rump bluish ashy, the shafts of the feathers dusky ; wing coverts tipped with white, forming two bars across the wing ; tail dusky grey, the feathers edged with cinereous ; throat, sides of the neck, middle of breast and all the under parts white; the sides of the breast ashy ; a black patch under the eye. Bill yellowish red at base, dusky brown at tip ; irides reddish yellow ; legs greenish grey. Length. — 2,- ^2, inches ; wing 5 ; tail 2-5 ; bill at front 0*8 ; tarsus 0-8. In Summer the crown of the head and throat are black, the sides of the head white, a black streak behind the eye, neck, breast and belly, also the vent, ferruginous, with vinous reflections ; back dusky, with reddish yellow webs ; lesser wing coverts dark ash, slightly edged with white ; greater coverts the same, broadly tipped with white, forming an oblique double bar across the 18 B 138 SCOLOPACID^. wing ; tertiaries black, with pale edges ; primaries and tip of tail black ; legs and toes dingy yellow. Hab . — Europe and Asia. In India only found as yet in Bengal along the coast. Sub-Family, TOTANIN^.— Sand-Pipers. Bill grooved as far as, or beyond, the middle, moderately long, the tip hard and pointed ; nostrils narrow ; hind toe long and slender, barely reaching the ground. All are found on mud banks, the mouths of rivers, marshes, &c., and feed on molluscs and insects. The flesh is excellent food. Gen, Actitis. — ///• Groove of the bill extending quite to the tip; ist quill of wing longest. 169. Actitis hypoleUCOS {Lmn.), Jerd., B. Ind, iii. p. 699, No, 893 ; Blyih, B. Burni. p. 155 ; Murray, Vert. ZooL, Sind, p. 253 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 619, No. 1300. Tringa hypoleucos, Linn., Syst. Nat. I, p. 250. Tringoides hypoleucos, Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p. 588 ; id., Str. F, ii. p, 299; iii, p. 183; Salvad., Ucc. Born. p. 326; Hume, Sir. F. viii. p. 113; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 867 ; Oates, Str. F. x. p. 241. Totanus hypoleucos, "Dresser, B. Eur. viii. p. 127; Bingham., Str. F. ix. p. 197. — The Common Sand-Piper. Forehead, crown, nape and back of the head ashy brown, streaked with dark narrow lines ; supercilium white, also the orbital ring, chin and throat ; sides of the face pale ashy with brown streaks ; middle of the breast white, Ihe sides mottled or streaked with brown, or entirely brown; back, scapulars, tertiaries and lesser wing coverts ashy brown, glossed with green, and with fine transverse dark lines ; greater wing coverts ashy brown, tipped with white, which with the white bases of the secondaries form a conspicuous wing band ; primaries and their coverts dark brown, the latter tipped with white, and all, except the first primary, and sometimes the second also, with a large white spot on their inner webs ; lower back, rump and upper tail coverts ashy brown, with dark transverse bars ; four central feathers of the tail like the back, the rest tipped with white and with dark spots along their edges ; beneath white. Bill dusky ; irides brown ; legs pale green. Length. — 7 to 8 inches ; wing 4*5 ; tail 2*4 ; tarsus 0*97 to i ; bill 0*97. Hab. — Less common than the two preceding ; affects the sea coast as well as lakes, &c., inland. Occurs throughout India, Burmah, Malacca, Ceylon, &c. ; also Beloochistan, Persia and Afghanistan. 170. Actitis OChrOpUS {Linn.\ Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 698, No. 892 ; Blyth, B. Burm. p. 155; Murray, Vert. ZooL, Sind, p. 254; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii, p. 619, No, 1301. Tringa ocrophus, Linn., Syst. Nat. i. p. 250, Totanus ochropus, Ihime, Str. F. iii. p. 183 ; Dresser, B. Eur. viii. p. 13S1 pl' ') David el Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 465 ; IJume and Dav., Str. F. vi. TOTANUS. 139 p. 462 ; Legge, B, Ceylon p. 862. Helodromas ochropus, List., Br. B. Brit. Orn. Union. ; Oates, B, Br. Burm. ii. p- 400.— The Green Sand-Piper. In winter plumage the forehead, crown, nape and back of the neck are deep or dusky brown, the feathers streaked with white ; a dark streak from the base of the bill to the eye and a white one above it ; chin and throat white ; back and scapulars olive brown, or brown glossed with greenish, each feather edged with small roundish spots, the spots on the scapulars distinctly margined behind with deep brown ; primaries and their coverts and secondaries deep brown, none of them white-shafted ; wing coverts dusky brown ; axillaries dusky or darJc brown, with narrow oblique white bars ; abdomen, vent and upper and under tail coverts white ; tail white, broadly barred with deep brown, the middle feathers having four bars, and those next to them decreas- ing in number, the outer feathers on each side being pure white with some- times a dusky subterminal spot on the outer web ; legs and feet greenish grey ; bill black; irides brown. Length.— <^'^ to 10 inches; wing 5*5 to 6 ; tail 3 ; bill i'37 ; tarsus nearly v^. Hub. — Throughout India, Ceylon, Beloochistan, Persia and Afghanistan, frequenting the banks of rivers, edges of lakes and 1 arge sheets of water ; a winter visitant, seldom seen along the sea coast. Occurs throughout Europe, Asia and Africa, extending to Burmah and the Malay Peninsula. Gen. Totanus. — Becli. Bill slightly curved at tip, groove half the length of the bill ; tarsi with narrow scales in front, otherwise as in Actitis. 171. Totanus glareola (Gm.), Salvad., Ucc. Bom. p. 327 ; Hume, Str. F. iii. p. 183 ; Dresser, B. Eur. viii. p. 143, pi. ; Legge, B. Ceylon p. 857 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. hid. ii. p, 620, No. 1302, Tringa glareola, Gm., Syst. Nat. i. p. 677. Actitis glareola, Jerd., B. hid. iii. p. 697 ; Blyth, B. Burm. p. 155. Rhyacophila glareola, Hume and Dav., Str. F. vi. p. 462; Hume, Str. F. vii. p. 488 ; viii. p. 113; Oates, Str. F. x. p. 240. — The Wood Sand-Piper. Winter Plumage.— Crown of the head, forehead, nape and back of the neck dusky brown, the feathers with narrow white or greyish edgings; a dark streak from the base of the bill to the eye, and a white one above it ; chin and throat rather sullied ; foreneck and breast the same, but suffused with ashy brown, darker on the sides, where the feathers are indistinctly dark shafted ; back, scapulars and tertials dusky, the feathers edged with white or greyish white spots ; axillaries white, with transverse oblique dusky brown spots ; primaries, secondaries and their coverts dusky brown, the shaft of the first quill and the tips of the later inner ones white ; the greater wing coverts margined and tipped with white ; rump, upper and lower tail coverts and abdomen white ; tail with the central feathers longest and barred with black and white alternately. 140 SCOLOPACID/E. the barrings oblique, the rest less broadly barred and decreasing on the outer ones to dusky markings on the outer webs only ; legs pale olive green ; irides deep brown. Length.— ^'S to 9 inches; wing 5 ; tail 2; bill at front i'2; tarsus 1-5. Hub. — Common nearly throughout India and Ceylon, also in Beloochistan, Persian Gulf, and Afghanistan during winter. 172. TotanUS canescens {Gwel.), Dresser, B. Eur. viii. p. 173, pi. ; Hume, Str. F. i. p. 247; iii. p. 183; Armstrong, Str. F. iv. p. 344; Gates, B. Br. Bum. ii. p. 4O2 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 621 ; No. 1303. Scolopaxtotanus, Lz««., ^S^-^^- ^d-t. i. p. 245. Scolopax canescens, Gmel., Syst. Nat. i. p. 668. Totanus glottis {Linn?), Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 700 ; Blyth, B. Bnrm. p. 155; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 840; Murray, Vert. Zool. Sind, p. 25$. — The Green Shanks. In winter the forehead, except a few brown streaks in the middle, sides of the face, chin, throat, neck in front, and entire lower parts, including the under tail coverts, are white, also the lower back, rump and upper tail coverts ; a dark streak from the base of the bill to the eye ; crown of the head, sides of the neck and nape dusky, the feathers streaked whitish or greyish white; sides of the breast white, mottled with ashy brown ; upper back and scapulars brown, the feathers edged whitish ; scapulars distinctly dark shafted, also the tertiaries; primaries dark brown, the shaft of the first quill white, and the edges and tips of the inner ones also white ; secondaries ashy brown, tipped white ; tail white with narrow transverse dark bars, the outer ones nearly pure white ; bill slightly curved upwards, dusky greenish, 2*2 in length ; irides brown. Length. — 14 to 14-5 inches; wing 2*2 ; tail 375; tarsus 2*75. Hah. — India generally during winter, also Burmah and Ceylon, along the sea i:oast, lakes, rivers, &c. Widely distributed. Recorded from N.-E. Europe, Red Sea, Africa and Australia. Like all the Totanince it is excellent eating. 173. Totanus StagnatiliS, Bcchst., Om. Taschenb. ii. p. 292 ; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 701; Dresser, B. Eur.\\\\. ^. 151, pi.; Blyth, B. Burm. p. 155; Hume, Str. F. viii. p, 113; Murray, Vert. Zool. Sind, p. 255 ; Legge, B. Ceylon p. 844 ; Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii, p. 403 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 621, No. 1304 — The Little Green Shank. In winter the plumage of the upper parts are the same as Totanus glottis ; shoulder of the wing black ; entire under parts white ; sides of the breast not so much spotted or streaked with dark brown ; bill not curved upwards as in glottis ; tail banded white and dusky. Length. — 10*5 inches; wing 5-25 ; tail 2 ; bill r62 ; tarsus 2-25 ; legs pale green irides brown. TOTANUS. 141 Hob. — The same as glottis and usually associated with it. 174. TotanuS CalidriS {Linn.), Jerdon, B. Jnd. ii. p. 702; Hume, Str. F. i. p. 248; ii. p. 299; Blyth, B. Biirm. p. 1 5$; Dresser, B. Eur. viii. p. 157, pi.; Hu?ne, Str. F. viii. p. 113; Legge, B. Ceylon p. 852 ; Murray, Vert. Zool. Sind, p. 256; Oates, B. Br. Bum. ii. p. 404 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 622, No. 1305. Scolopax calidris, Linn,, Syst. Nat. i. p. 245. — The Red Shank. Winter Plumage. — Forehead, crown, nape, back of the neck, upper back and scapulars cinereous or glossy olive brown, the feathers on the back and scapulars dark shafted ; supercilium and orbital ring white ; chin and throat white ; sides of the face greyish white, with narrow brown streaks ; neck in front and breast greyish white, with dusky or greyish brown linear markings ; primaries dusky, their inner webs white ; the first quill white shafted, and some of the inner ones white tipped ; secondaries white ; tertials like the back; wing coverts olive brown, the greater ones tipped with white; axillaries, under wing coverts, abdomen, vent and under tail coverts white ; lower back white; upper tail coverts and tail white, barred with dusky. Length. — 11*5 inches; tail 27; wing 6-45 ; bill at front 1*7 to 1*9, reddish at the base, its terminal half dark brown ; tarsus 2 ; irides brown ; legs red. Hah. — India generally and Ceylon during w'inter. Sind, Persia, Beloo- chistan and Afghanistan, Southern and Western India, N.-W. Provinces, Oudh, and Burmah generally. Breeds in the North of Europe. 175. TotanUS fuSCUS {Linn.), Jerd., B. Lnd. iii. p. 702, No. 896; Hume, Str. F. i. p. 248; Dresser, B. Eur. viii. p. 165, pi. ; Cockburn, Str. F. iv. p. 509; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. 113; Legge, B. Ceylon p. 848; Murray, Vert. Zool. Sind, pp. 255, 256 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Lnd. ii. p. 622, No. 1306. — The Spotted Red Shank. In winter the forehead, crown, nape, back of neck and upper back ashy grey, finely streaked with dusky ; supercilium white, and a dusky streak from the base of the bill to the eye ; chin and throat white, sides of face white with some fine dusky streaks; breast and under parts mottled and barred with dingy ash brown and dull fulvous, or greyish w-hite ; upper back, scapu- lars, shoulder of wing and lesser coverts a glossy olive brown, darker on the upper back and tertiaries, all the feathers spotted on the edges with white ; the wing coverts also tipped with white ; lower back white ; rump barred with undulating lines of ashy brown and white ; tail also barred the same ; primaries dark brown, the inner ones pale brown, tipped and mottled with white ; secondaries barred white and pale brown ; legs deep orange red ; bill blackish, orange at the base beneath. Length. — 13 inches ; wing 6*75 ; tail 2"5 ; tarsus 2*8 ; bill 2*4. Hab. — Throughout India during winter, also the Province of Burmah and Ceylon; usually solitary or in very small parties. It is a sea shore bird, but is 142 SCOLOPACID/E. also found on the edges of rivers, lakes, mud banks, &c. It is said to swim well, and also to dive when in danger. 176. TotanuS Haughtoni, Str. F. iv. p. 344 ; Hiwie and Dav., Str. F. vi. p, 463; Harting, Ibis, 1883, p. 133, pi.; Oales, B. Br. Burnt, ii. p. 466; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 623, No. 1307. Pseudototanus Haughtoni, Hume, Str. F.\\\. p. 113; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds in. p. 4O4 pi.; Oates, Str. F. x. p. 241. — Armstrong's Yellow Shank. In winter plumage, resembles generally Totanus caw^jr^wj-, but has a much broader and more massive bill, a much stronger tarsus (male 185; female 1-65), and the webs between the three anterior toes very much more developed. It differs from T. canescens in its smaller size, more robust bill, with the lateral groove slightly more prolonged in proportion to the length of the bill, and in having a palmation on both sides of the middle toe instead of on one side only ; the tail does not extend beyond the end of the closed primaries. {Hume and Harting.) Hab. — Sea coast near Elephant Point and at Amherst in Tenasserim. One was seen in the Calcutta market. 177. Totanus dubiUS, Murray, Vert. Zool. Sitid, p. 256 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 623, No. 1308 — The Allied Yellow Shank. Female. — Frontal zone greyish white, the feathers with mesial narrow brown streaks ; crown of the head cinereous, the feathers edged with greyish white ; an indistinct dusky spot between the base of the bill and the eye^ and a white supercilium ; chin and throat white ; neck in front and on the sides greyish white, the feathers with narrow mesial dusky streaks ; back of the neck ashy grey, also with mesial narrow dusky streaks ; breast greyish white with dusky spots, which become linear lower down and on the sides and flanks, forming interrupted lines ; abdomen and under tail coverts white ; upper back, scapulars and tertials ashy brown, the feathers dark shafted ; the tertials reach beyond the fourth quill, and are edged and tipped with fulvous white ; primaries dark brown, nearly black, paler on their inner webs, and all white shafted, except at their tips ; secondaries ashy grey, white-shafted and margined and tipped with white ; greater, median and lesser coverts ashy grey, the feathers dark-shafted and edged and tipped with white, more broadly on the median and lesser wing coverts ; first two rows of feathers on the shoulder earthy brown, edged rufescent ; axillaries and thigh coverts white ; lower back and rump dusky brown, the feathers edged and tipped with white ; upper tail coverts the same, but the brown very much paler ; tail pale earthy brown, the feathers with distinct pale margins and tips, the central feathers very slightly darker ; tarsi short, I '37 inches ; toes slender, fringed on the sides and webbed about \ inch; mid-toe and claw I'I2 ; tail from vent 2-62 ; bill at front 1*62; upper mandible slightly the longer and bent over at the tip ; wing 7*12, ist quill longest; irides dark brown. TEREKIA. 143 Length. — About 11*5 inches (mounted specimen); legs and feet greenish yellow. This is either a new species or an aberrant form of Totatius. It is quite unlike any of the other species, except Totamis Hmujhlom\ with the figure of which in the April number of the Ibis, 1883, pi. iv., it agrees in a few characters. The markings of the breast and upper parts agree very well, but the lower back, rump and upper tail coverts are not white as in that species or foini. These are dusky with whitish edges and tips. Again in the webbing of the toes, this Kurrachee specimen d\S.tTS ixova. T. Haughloni mhdiv'mg only one-eighth inch of a web, the fringe however is quite apparent. The palatal recurved horny papillae referred to by Mr. Hume are also present. In measurements however there is a wide difference. I\Ir. Hume gives : — Length. Expanse. Wing. Tail. Tarsus. Bill at gape. Bill at front. 3Iale 13-2 2225 7-3 3-0 r85 2-5 2* i Female ...i2"9 22* 3 7*0 3"o i'65 2*2 1*92 The Kurrachee specimen is a female and measures — ii'S 7-12 2-6 2-37 175 1-62 These measurements, it will be seen, will not fit any of the other species of the genus. Hab.—'KviXxz.che.e (Sind) in the harbour during winter. The single speci- men was obtained in November 1882. Gen. T^QVGkldk.—Bonap. Bill recurved, long, slender ; tarsi short ; toes narrowly webbed ; hind toe less than half the size of the outer one. 178. Terekia Cinerea, Guldenst., N. Comm. Soc. imp. Petrop. SAJi. p. 473, t. xix ; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 682, No. 876; Dresser, B. Eur. viii. p. 195, pi. ; Hume, Sir. F. i. p. 237 ; ii. p. 296; Armstrong, Sir. F. iv. p. 341 ; Hume andDav., Sir. F. vi. p. 460 ; Legge, B. Ceylon p. 836; Murray, Veri. ZooL, Sind, p. 246 ; id., Avif. Brii. Ind. ii. p. 624, No. 1309. — The Terek Sand-Piper or Pigmy Curlew. Forehead, chin, throat, sides of the head and neck in front greyish white; with ashy striae ; back, scapulars, tertials, rump and upper tail coverts ashy brown, the feathers with dark shafts; feathers of the median wing coverts narrowly tipped with white ; primaries dark brown, the 1st quill with a white shaft ; secondaries dusky, broadly terminated with white ; shoulder and edge of the wing dark brown ; tail concolorous with the back, the tips bordered with white ; sides of the breast ashy grey, the feathers mesially darker ; lower breast, abdomen, vent and under tail coverts white. In an advanced stage of plumage— March — the entire upper parts are darker, the scapulars are 144 SCOLOPACID/E. terminated with black, the chin and throat become pale ashy grey, and there is a distinct fulvous orbital ring, the forehead and face become fulvescent, and the inner primaries tipped with white. Length. — lo inches; wing 5 to 5*2; bill at front tq to 2, orange at the base, the rest dusky or dark brown; tail 2 to 2*5 ; legs and feet pale orange ; irides brown. Hah. — Sind, the Mekran Coast, Kutch, Kattiawar, N. Guzerat, Northern and Southern India, Burmah and Ceylon generally, affecting the sea coast, creeks and channels during winter, found also in N.-E. Europe and New South Wales. According to Jerdon it breeds in Northern Asia, and is extensively distributed over Europe, Asia and Australia. Sub-Family, LIMOSIN^.— Godwits. Bill much lengthened, curved or straight from the base, or turned upwards ; tail short and even; toes long, united at the base. Gen. Pseudoscolopax. - Bill much lengthened, soft at the tip, straight or slightly turned upwards, mostly of large size; a distinct web between the toes; lower part of tibia bare; scapulars long; tail moderate. 179- Pseudoscolopax semipalmatus {Jerd), Swinh., P. z. 6" 1863, p. 313; 1871, p. 407; David et Oust. Ois Chine,^. 474, pi. 121 ; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. 1 12; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds iii. p. 395. pi.; Oates, Str. F. x. p. 239; zd., B. Br. Burin, ii. p. ^O^; Murray, Avif. Brit. Lid. ii. p. 625, No. 13 10. Macroramphus semipalmatus {Jerd.), Blyth, y. A. S. B. xvii. p. 252 ; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 679, No. 874 ; Hume, Str. F. vii. p. 484. — The Snipe-billed Godwit. Forehead, crown, nape, hind neck, sides of the neck, back, scapulars and tertiaries brown, each feather margined with greyish white ; lores brown ; supercilium white ;. sides of the head, chin, throat, foreneck and breast white, densely marked with short brown streaks ; upper wing coverts dark brown, broadly edged with white ; primary coverts brown ; primaries brown, the tips darker, the shafts white and the outer webs narrowly margined with white ; secondaries brown, broadly margined with white and irregularly barred with the same ; rump, upper tail coverts and tail white, broadly barred with brown ; abdomen and vent white ; under tail coverts white, marked with V-shaped brown marks ; sides of the body white, irregularly barred with brown; under wing coverts white; axillaries white, with a few irregular short brown bars. In Summer, according to Messrs. David and Oustalet, the upper plumage is bright rufous with brown streaks on the nape, lores and hind neck, and with LIMOSA. 145 large brown spots on the dorsal feathers ; lower plumage more uniform rufous, with a little white on the edges of the feathers of the abdomen and some irregular brown streaks on the flanks and under tail coverts ; wing coverts, secondaries and tertiaries greyish brown bordered with white ; pri- maries brown with the shafts white; tail brown, transversely banded with white. Bill black, turning to plumbeous at base ; irides dark brown ; legs and toes dark plumbeous. Length. — 13-5 inches; tail 2-5 to 2-9; wing 6-8 to 7; tarsus 2-05 ; bill from gape 2*9 to 3-25. Hab. — Burmah, where it was procured at Rangoon and in Pegu. Gen. Limosa, Briss. Bill sub-curved at the tip, inclined upwards; ist quill longest ; outer toe united to the middle as far as the first joint; tibia bare for more than two- thirds its length ; tarsi long; hind toe half the length of the outermost. 180. Limosa segOCephala {Linn.), Jerd., B. Lnd. ii. p. 681 ; Dresser, B. Eur. viii. p. 211 ; Blyth, B. Burtn. p. 155 ; Hmne, Sir. F. vii. p. 356; Legge, B. Ceylon., p. 832; Huvie and Marsh., Game Birds iii. p. 409, pi. ; Oates, Sir. i^. x. p. 239; Murray, Vert. Zool. 5"z«fi?, p. 243 ; Oates, B. Br. Burnt, ii. p. 409 ; Murray, Avi/.Brit.IndW. p. 626, No. 131 1. — The Black-tailed Godwit. In winter plumage, the entire head, back of the neck, back, scapulars and breast pale earthy grey, darker on the scapulars and back, where each feather is dark shafted ; superciliary stripe, chin, throat, also the abdomen and under tail coverts white ; rump white, the feathers of the upper tail coverts black for their terminal half ; tail white at the base, the terminal two-thirds tipped black, the outer feathers for their terminal third only, and all more or less narrowly tipped white; primaries and their coverts dusky brown, the inner primaries basally white, and all white on their inner webs ; secondaries dusky terminally, white basally, and some of the tertials with their outer webs white ; greater wing coverts broadly edged with white, also some of the hinder primary coverts ; shoulder of wing dusky brown, also the lower back ; neck in front and flanks greyish white. Length. — 16 to 18 inches; wing 775 to 875 ; tail 3-12 to 3'S ; bill at front 37 to 45, of a dull reddish colour at base and dusky at the tip; legs dusky greenish ; irides dark brown, Hab. — Nearly throughout India and Ceylon during winter. Rare in Southern India, the Concan and the Deccan. Common in Kutch, Kattiawar and Rajputana, also in Beloochistan, Persia and Afghanistan. In Sind this 19 B 146 SCOLOPACID/E. species is numerous, everywhere behind the tall grass, along the edges of the Munchur Lake, in the shallow pools, wading up to their body, and often swimming across deeper spots if beyond its standing depth. It is held in much esteem for the table, being equal to Jack and the Common Snipe, especially those which have been feeding in rice fields. Limosa lapponica. 181. Limosa lapponica (Z/««.), Bodd., P. E. 900 ; Gould, B. Eur.'^X. 3C6; Hume, Sir. F. i. p. 236; Murray, Edbk., Zool., ^c, Sind, p. 216; id,, Verl. Zool. Sind, p. 244; Hume and Marsh., Game B. p. 47, pi. ; Murray, Avif. Brit, Ind. ii. p. 627, No. 13 12. — The Bar-tailed Godwit. " In the winter plumage thei*e is a broad indistinct white superciliary band, and the feathers immediately below the eye are also white ; the chin and throat are pure white ; forehead, the whole top, back and sides of the head, and the neck all round brownish white, closely streaked with darker brown, the streaks very minute on the sides of the head, somewhat larger on the front of the neck, and darker and stronger on the head and back of the neck, where but little of the white remains visible ; upper back pale earthy brown, each feather with a narrow dark brown central shaft-stripe and mostly margined somewhat paler ; breast pale greyish brown, more or less obscured by the albescent tippings to the feathers, and some of the feathers with inconspicuous darker shafts ; the feathers of the central portion of the breast, if raised, will be found to be not merely tipped whitish, but to be also obscurely barred with white ; abdomen, vent, and lower tail coverts pure white, as are also the axillaries and wing lining; the rump is white with a few cuneiform or heart-shaped blackish brown spots ; upper tail coverts white, with narrow irregular arrow-head bars ; tail feathers grey brown with LIMOSA. 147 dark shafts, tipped white and mottled with white on the inner webs of the exterior ones, in some with traces of darker transverse bars ; the primaries and their greater coverts black ; the shafts of the first two or three white, subse- quent ones brownish white ; scapulars and tertiaries pale brown, darker shafted, margined paler, and many of them more or less tinged with ashy ; the lesser and median coverts like the scapulars, but margined whitish; secondaries brown, paler on their inner webs, and margined on both webs and on the tips with white, as indeed are also, so far as the tips are concerned, the later primaries, though less conspicuously so; the greater secondary coverts are more ashy brown, narrowly margined with white. In one specimen, which appears to be further advanced, the lateral tail feathers are distinctly barred blackish brown and white ; the cuneiform barrings on the rump and upper tail coverts are more marked ; the axillaries are all strongly barred ; the feathers of the sides and flanks, and also the lower tail coverts, exhibit numer- ous arrow-head bars; and one or two rufous or chestnut feathers with black bars have begun to show themselves on the breast." The summer plumage is thus described by Temminck : — "Male. — Upper part of the head and occiput blackish brown, mixed with streaks of reddish yellow ; a band of the latter colour over the eyes ; lores blackish brown ; cheeks and throat of a yellowish red; all the lower parts of the body including the under tail coverts pale yellowish red ; upper part of the back and scapulars blackish brown, marbled with reddish yellow and whitish grey ; lower part of the back and rump white, marked with longitudinal yellowish red spots ; the tail marked with brown and white bars, those of the latter tint irre- gularly distributed, and disposed more or less longitudinally; quills black at their tips, the remaining part towards the bases blackish brown, with their inner webs whitish grey, marbled with pale brown ; the secondaries grey, with the shafts and margins white. •* Female. — The head and lores as in the male ; the throat white, marked with reddish grey ; cheeks and neck very light reddish, with numerous brown streaks, which become broader, and form small transverse brown and white bars on the sides of the breast ; the latter and the belly marbled with white and very pale reddish ; the abdominal part white ; the lower tail coverts reddish white, with light brown bars. "Length of Male. — 14*5 to I4'8 inches; expanse 27 to 2775 ; tail from vent 2*7 to 3*3 ; wing 7-8 to 8*4; tarsus 2 ; bill at front 2*8 to 3*1 ; weight 8 oz. " Length of Female. — 1575 inches; expanse 28; tarsus 2; tail 3; wing 8'4 ; bill at front 3*65 ; weight 9 oz. 148 SCOLOPACID^. ** The legs and feet are black, in some dusky plumbeous ; irides brown ; bill pinkish for about the basal half, black or dusky on the terminal half." — {^Hume, Sir. F., vol. i. p, 236.) Affects the same situations as the last, but is less restricted in its range, being found in Sind, Beloochistan, Mekran Coast and the Persian Gulf. Sub-Family, NUMENIN^. Bill very long, slender, arcuate and compressed, with the tip hard and rather obtuse. Gen. Numenius.— Zm«. Characters same as those of the Sub-Family; bill curved from the base upper mandible slightly the longer ; tarsi narrow-ly scutate transversely ; hind toe slender with a rudimentary nail. 182. NumeniUS phseopUS {Linn.), jferd., B. hid. iii. p. 684; Dresser, B. Eur. \\\\. p. 227, pi.; B.ume, Sir. F. ii. p. 297; iii. p. 182; Blyih, B. Burnt, p. 155 ; Hume, Sir. F. viii. p. II2 ; Legge, Birds Ceylon, p. 910 ; Oates, Sir. F. x. p. 24O ; Murray, Veri. Zool. Sind., p. 247 ; Oales, B. Br. Burnt, ii. p. 411 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 629, No. 1313. Scolopax phasopus, Linn., Sysi. Nai. p. 243. — The Whimbrel. Forehead and crown dusky brown with a mesial longitudinal streak ; lores dark brown ; superciliary stripe white, extending from the upper side of the upper mandible ; orbital feathers white ; chin and throat white • neck in front and behind, and breast, ochreous white, the feathers with a dark central longitudinal streak ; flanks, axillaries and under wing coverts white, barred with pale brown, as also are the rump and upper tail coverts ; tail brown, brownish white or grey brown, with 6— 7 bars of dark brown; lower back white; upper back, scapulars and wing coverts dusky or deep brown, the feathers edged pale white or dirty fulvous ; primaries dusky or dark brown, their inner webs as well as both webs of the secondaries with white bars, not reaching the shaft. Hah. — Throughout most parts of India, Burmah and Ceylon ; also Europe, N. Africa, Egypt and Abyssinia. Affects the same situations as the Curlew, in small flocks. In the Kurrachee harbour it is oftener seen than the Curlew, and is more shy and difficult to approach, but unlike the Curlew it is often seen on open barren tracts, or sandy flats, far inland, in flocks of 3, 4 or half-a-dozen. It is common all along the sea coast, mud banks and sandy islands of estuaries of rivers, or of the sea, and like the Curlew is a fine bird for the table ; Jerdon says it is NUMENIUS. 149 perhaps better than the Curlew, and has been called the " Woodcock" of Bengal. Numenius arquatus. The Curlew. 183. Numenius arquatus {Linn:), Jerd., B. hid, iii. p 683, No. 877 ; Dresser, B. Eur. viii. p. 243, pi. ; Hume, Str. F. iii. p. 182 ; Murray, Vert. ZooL, Sind. p, 247; Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 4 12; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 630, No. 13 14. Scolopax arquata, Linn., Syst. Nat, I, p. 242. Numenius lineatus, Cuv., Regn. Anim. i, p. 52 1; Blyth, B. Burm. I, p. 155 ; Legge, B. Ceylon p. 906, — The Curlew. Head, neck behind and in front, also the breast, rufescent ashy, or rufescent grey brown, the feathers with dark mesial longitudinal shaft-streaks ; upper back and scapulars varying from dusky to dark brown, the feathers broadly edged fulvous or pale rufous ; upper abdomen white, the feathers with dusky shaft-streaks ; lower abdomen, vent and under tail coverts pure white ; lower back white ; rump and upper tail coverts also white, with dark shafts ; tail fulvous white with transverse brown bars ; chin and throat white, also a small space above the eye in some specimens ; first five primaries and edge of wing dark brown, their inner webs mottled with white; secondaries dusky brown, with transverse white bars on both webs half across only, the dark markings forming a rude saw, the edges and tips of the feathers white. Length. — 21 to 26 inches ; wing 12 to 12-5; tail 45; bill at front 5 to 7-25 ; irides dark brown ; legs and feet bluish grey. Hub. — Throughout n\ost parts of Europe, India, Burmah, Ceylon, N. Africa, Egypt, Abyssinia and Palestine. Common along the sea coast ahd back 150 SCOLOPACID^. waters in great numbers during winter; also along the banks of the Indus and Punjab rivers, and on all large inland sheets of water. Gen. Ibidorhynchus,— F?^(?rj. Bill long, slender, well curved, scarcely dilated at tip, upper mandible grooved ; tomise inflexed and denticulated ; nostrils wide, linear, basal ; wings long, I St quill longest; tail short, of i2 feathers; tarsi short, bare ; hind toe wanting. 184. Ibidorhynchus Struthersii {Vigors), Gould, Cent. Him. B. pi. 19 ; Hodgs., J. A. S. B. iv. p. 459 ; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 685, No. 879 ; Hume, Sir. F. iii. p. 257 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 631, No. 1315. Clorhynchus strophiatus, Hodgs., J. A. S. B. iv. p. 761. — The Red-billed Curlew. Whole head as far as the eyes black, the feathers of the forehead edged with greyish white ; rest of the upper plumage, including the nape, wings and tail bluish ashy ; winglet and primaries slaty blue ; a bar of white across the wings ; upper tail coverts nearly ashy brown ; tail with the feathers barred with dusky black, all except the two central feathers largely tipped with black ; outer web of outermost feather white ; chin and throat black ; neck ashy ; a gorget of black on the breast ; under surface of body, under wing and tail coverts white. Bill deep crimson ; irides red ; legs blood red. {Jerd.) Length. — 16"5 inches ; wing 9*25 ; tail 4*5 ; tarsus 2*2 ; bill 375. Hab. — The Himalayas, on the banks of sandy streams in Nepaul and in Sikkim on the Great Runjeet ; also in Ladak. Sub-Family RECURVIROSTRINiE.— .5/. Nostrils narrow, membranous ; tail short and rounded ; tarsi long, covered with reticulated scales ; bill long and slender, recurved in one genus. Gen Recurvirostra.— Zm«. Bill long, thin, the keel flattened, the tips turned upwards ; toes united by webs; hind toe short. 185. Recurvirostra avocetta (l/««.), Bodd., p. e.^c^i-, GouM, B. Eur. pi. 289; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p 248 ; Murray, Hdbk., Zool.,8fc., Sind, p. 222; id.. Vert. Zool. Sind, p. 258 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 631, No. 1 3 16. — The AvocET, Scooper or Crooked-Bill. Forehead in some specimens . faintly white, otherwise black ; crown, lores, nape and back of the neck black ; scapulars, lesser wing coverts and upper tertials black ; primaries black, some of the inner ones with their inner webs white ; secondaries and some of the tertials white ; chin, throat, neck in front, lower neck behind, lower back, rump, upper tail coverts and entire under surface white. HIMANTOPUS. 151 Length. — 17 to 18 inches; bill 3-5, curved upwards, black; wing 8-5 ; tail 3 ; tarsus 3-62 ; irides red brown ; legs pale bluish grey. Hah. — Throughout India during winter; S.-E. Europe, Lower Egypt, Senegal and Persia. Common in Sind, in large flocks inland, on almost every large sheet of water, especially on the Munchur Lake and along the edges of tanks, &c. Occasionally affects the sea coast and Kurrachee harbour, but by preference the inland waters. Breeds probably in Persia. In Upper India the Avocet is less common ; in Kutch, Jodhpore and N. Guzerat rather rare. Gen. Himantopus.— ^rm. Bill long and straight ; toes webbed only at the base ; nostrils linear ; hind toe wanting. 186. HimantopuS candidus {Linn.), Bonnat. Tahl. Encyl. et Meth. Orn. i, p. 24 ; Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 704 ; Hume, Ibis, 1870, p. 146 ; Dresser, B. Eur. vii. p. 587, pi. ; Hume and Dav., Sir. F. vi. p. 464 ; viii. p. 113; Legge, B. Ceylon p. gig. Himantopus intermedius, Hume, Nes/s and Eggs Ind. B. p. 589; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 632, No. 1317J Charadrius himantopus, Linn., Syst. Nat. i, p. 255.-^The Stilt. In winter plumage, the forehead, lores, chin, throat, entire lower parts, lower back and rump white ; crown of the head dusky or dark ash ; neck behind ashy grey, the feathers tipped with white ; upper back and scapulars brown ; the feathers with pale tippings ; primaries dark brown, the inner ones tipped white ; secondaries also with white tips ; central tail feathers very pale grey, the rest white. In the breeding plumage the primaries, secondaries, scapulars, tertiaries and upper back are rich glossy black, with greenish reflections ; the crown of the head dusky or dark brown, spreading over and below the eyes. Length. — 15 to 16 inches; wing 8"5 to 9 ; tail 3; bill black, reddish at the base, 2*75 inches in length ; tarsi 4-5 to 5*5 ; irides blood red ; legs and feet lake red. Hob. — India generally, also Burmah and Ceylon, in large flocks during winter, frequenting margins of lakes and ponds, also banks of rivers. Breeds in Sind during June in the Narra Districts. Eggs 2 — 4 in number, of a pale blue colour, spotted and speckled with dark brown and olive green. Incuba- tion 18 to 20 days. The young are said to leave the nest immediately they are hatched, and hide themselves among very scanty cover. Found also in Beloochistan, Afghanistan, Persia, and probably Mesopotamia. Family, PARRlDiE. Bill long, one and a half or twice the length of the head ; nostrils lateral ; wing spurred or with a tubercle ; tarsi long ; toes long with long claws. 152 PARRID^. Gen. Metopodins.— Wag I. Bill moderate, stout, compressed, thick at the base, the culmen curved a* the tip; forehead with a carbuncle ; tail short ; nostrils small, ovate ; 2nd and 3rd quills of wing longest; feet very large; toes slender and long; claws very- long, especially of the hind toe. 187. MetopodiUS IndiCUS (La^h.), Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 708 ; Hume, Nes/s and Eggs Ind. B. p. 591 ; id., Str. F. iii. p. 183 ; Blyth, B. Burm. p. 157 ; Buileu Str. F. iv. p. 19 ; Ar7nstrong, t. c. p. 348; Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 358; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 633, No. 1318. Parra indica, Lath., Ind. Orn. ii. p. 765 ; Salvad., Ucc. Born. p. 342 ; Oates, Str. F. vi. p. 165 ; Hume and Dav., t. c. p. 464; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. 113 ; Oates, Str. F. x. p. 241. — The Bronze- Winged Jacana. Whole head, neck all round, upper back, and whole lower plumage black glossed with green, the upper back glossed with purplish ; lower back, scapulars, tertiaries and wing coverts glossy bronze; rump and upper tail coverts, also the flanks, tail and under tail coverts maroon; vent and thigh coverts brown, tinged with maroon and streaked with white ; primaries and secondaries black, the later ones bronze on their outer webs; chin and throat whity brown ; supercilium reaching to the nape white ; bill with the basal half of upper mandible and frontal shield livid blue ; rest of upper mandible and whole of the lower one green ; irides brown ; legs and feet slaty colour. Length. — I0"S inches; tail 2; wing 6*2; tarsus 2*6; bill from gape 1*3. Females are slightly larger. Hab. — India generally, also the Indo-Burmese Countries, but not in the drier northern parts as Sind, Punjab, and Rajpootana. Affects jheels marshes, large swamps and weedy tanks. Breeds during the monsoon, making a float- ing nest in some sequestered part of a jheel or marsh. Eggs 6 — 7 in number, moderately broad ovals, a good deal pointed towards one end; the ground colour varies from a pale stone colour to a reddish olive brown, highly polished, marked with fine lines of blackish brown. Sub-Pamily, parking. General characters of the Family; feet large ; toes and claws very long and thin, to enable the species to walk on marshy or oozy ground and aquatic plants. Gen. Hydrophasianus.— Wagi. 1st and 2nd quill of wing equal and longest; primaries with lanceolate appendage to the tips ; bill more slender than in Metopodius; forehead with- out a frontal shield ; tail long j central feathers much elongated in the breed- ing season. HYDROPHASIANUS. 153 188. Hydrophasianus chirurgus {Scop.), Jcrd., B. Jnd. iii. p. 709; Hume, Nests and Eggs hid. B. p. 592; iJ., Sir. F. iii. p. 185; Salvad., Vcc. Born. p. 343; David et Oust, Ois. Chme, p. 483; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 914; Oates, B. Br. Burnt. W. p. 360; Murray, Vert.Zool.,Sind, p. 259; Murray, Avi/. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 634, No. 13 19. Tringa chirurgus, Scop., Del. Flor. et. Faun. Insubr. ii. p. 92. Parra sinensis (Gm.), Syst. Nat. I, p. 709. Hydrophasianus sinensis, Blyt^ and Wald., B. Burm. p. 157. — The Pheasant-tailed Jacana. In winter plumage, the forehead, crown, a streak from the base of the bill through the eye, extending down each side of the neck on to the breast and forming a pectoral gorget ; also the back of the neck dusky or pale hair brown, the feathers on the forehead and crown tipped with white ; supercilium white, and a pale golden yellow line from behind the eye; back, scapulars, tertials and lesser wing coverts glossy olive, or pale hair brown; the lower back, rump, upper tail coverts and central tail feathers slightly darker, and the lesser wing coverts mottled and barred transversely with white. Shoulder of wing spurred. First primary with an appendage, the shaft of 2nd, 3rd and 4th in some specimens hair like at the tip, all dark brown, and, except the first and second, broadly white on their inner and outer webs ; greater coverts and secondaries, chin, throat, neck in front, abdomen, vent and under tail coverts white : tail 3*5 to 4 inches. In breeding plumage the forehead, crown, entire face, chin, throat and neck in front white. There is a black patch on the nape ; and the neck behind is shining golden yellow, edged on the sides with black; back, scapulars and tertiaries dark olive brown, with purplish reflec- tions ; rump and upper tail coverts bronzed dark brown ; tail black ; breast and entire lower parts dark or deep dusky brown , shoulder of wing spurred ; wing coverts white; primaries as in the winter plumage. Length. — \^ to 20 inches ; irides dark brown ; bill plumbeous at the base and tipped greenish, 1-25 in length ; tail loto ii inches; wing 8 to 8'5; tarsus 2'I2; middle toe and claw 3 inches ; hind toe and claw 2 inches. Hab. — Throughout India, Ceylon and British Burmah. Common in Sind on the Munchur and other Lakes, also in the Punjab and N.-W. Provinces. Breeds in the Province from May to September, making a large floating nest. Eggs, pear-shaped, of a beautiful bronze colour. Family, RALLID^. Bill compressed, short, pointed, thick, wedge-shaped ; nostrils in a short groove ; legs stout ; toes long ; tarsi moderate ; tail short. Sub-Family, GALLINULIN.E.— Water-Hens. Bill with the keel advancing on the forehead, where there is usually a casque ; toes long and slender or bordered by a scolloped web ; wings short and rounded ; hind toe long. 20 ji 154 RALLID/E, Gen. Porphsrrio. — Briss. Bill very thick ; casque large ; mid-toe as long as tarsi^ slender, not fringed with web. Porphyrio poliocephalus, The Purple Coot. 189. Porphyrio poliocephalus {Lath.), Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 713 ; Blyth, B. Burin, p. 161 ; Butler, Str. F. iv. p. 20 ; Oates, Str. F. vi. p. 165 ; Elhot, Str. F. vii, p. 22 ; Legge, B. Ceylon p. 795 ; Murray, Vert. Zool.y Sind, p. 260; Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 35 I ; Murray, Avif Brit. Ind. ii. p. 635, No. 1320. Gallinula poliocephala, Lath., Ind. Orn. Suppl. p. Ixviii. Porphyrio neglectus, Scheg. Mus. P. B., Ralli,-^. 53; Hume, Str. F. i. p. 249; Hume, Nests and Eggs p. S94; id., Str. F. iii. p. 185. — The PuKPLE Coot. Occiput and nape, lores, and round the eyes greyish, clouded with purple ; cheeks, chin and throat the same, but with more of a purple tinge ; neck in front and breast pale bluish ; lower breast, abdomen, flanks, vent and thigh coverts dark purplish blue ; under tail coverts white ; back of neck, back, rump, and upper tail coverts purplish blue ; scapulars, wing coverts and outer webs of primaries pale greenish blue, the inner webs of primaries, secondaries and tertials dark brown or black; tail black, the feathers on the outer web edged with bluish. Length. — 18 inches ; wing lO to I0'2 ; tail 4-5 ; bill at gape i '62 ; tarsi 3*62 ; mid-toe 3*62 ; casque and spot at base of bill cherry red ; bill red ; irides red ; legs crimson. Hab. — Throughout India, Ceylon and British Burmah ; also in Persia, Beloo- chistan and Afghanistan. Common in Sind in suitable localities, but I do FULICA. 155 not believe they are anywhere as numerous as on the Munchur Lak^ where among the rushes, they are- with the Bald Coot simply innumerable; B^-eecfs in the Province from- May to September, making a nest of rushes,. &c., in the reedy grass. Eggs prettily marked on a greenish ground with, spots, blotches and streaks of a reddish colour, lake red or rich red- Gen. Pulicar. Bill moderate ;- nostrils lateral ; casque small ; wing with a tubercle at the shoulder ;. tail short ;. toes with, lobate membrane. Fulfca atra.. 190. Pulicaatra, Linn., Syst. Nat. r, p. 257; Jerd., B. Tnd. iii.. p. 715 ; Eume, Sir. F.\. p. 249; id.. Nests and Eggs p. 595 ; Blyth, B. Burm. p. 162; Wardlaw-Bamsay, Ibis, 1887, p. 472; Dresser, B. Eur. vii.p. 327; Murray, Vert. Zool, Sind, p. 261 ; Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 352; Murray , Avif. Brit. Ind'. ii. p. 636, No. 1321.^— The Bald Coot. Upper plumage black j hoary, dark ashy lead colour or dusky brown below ; a spot below the eye, and the outer edge of the wings white ; frontal disc or casque white ; also the bill, which in the breeding season is tinged pale red ; irides blood red ; legs duil greeuj with a yellow, green, and red garter in the breeding season. Length, — 1-5 to 16 inches; wing 7*5 to 775 ; tail 2 ; bill at gape \'\\. Hah. — Throughout India, Ceylon and British Burmah ; also Europe (central and south), Egypt, Assam, Nepaul, Persia, Beloochistan and Afghanistan. In Sind it is numerous in suitable localities, but on the Munchur Lake, as Mr. Hume says (^Str. F, vol. i. 249) "they would have to be counted not by thousands, but by hundreds of thousands. * * * You can shoot nothing without knocking over some of these wretched coots." He also adds " that 156 RALLID/^. in no part of the world has he even seen such incredible multitudes of coot as are met with in Sind; in the Munchur Lake par excellence^ Gen. Podica. — Tjcss. General characters of Fulica \ bill rail-like ; neck more lengthened ; toes lengthened and webbed. 191. Podica personata, G. R. Gray, P. z. S. 1848, p. 90 ; Aves,\>\./^; Hume, Str. F. iii.p. i8S; Blyth, B. Biir??i. p. 162; Eume and Dav„ Str. F. vi. p 465 ; Hume, Sir. F. viii. p. 113 ; Oates, Sir. F. x. p. 24 1 ; id., B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 353; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 637, No. 1322. — The Masked Fin foot. Forehead, lores, a supercilium extending to the nape, cheeks, anterior part of ear coverts, chin, throat and front of the neck black; this black patch bordered by a white line, terminating on either side at the posterior corner of the eye; crown, nape and upper neck dark ashy; sides of neck olive brown ; back, rump, scapulars, upper tail coverts and the whole of the wing brown, tinged with green ; sides of the breast and of the body brown ; breast and abdomen white, the latter barred with brown ; vent and under tail coverts brown, closely barred with whitish, the longer feathers of the coverts almost wholly brown ; wing coverts sooty brown j tail plain brown, tipped paler. ( Oates.) The female has the chin, throat, and front of the neck white, with a black margin all round, which extends a little over the lores, and has the same outer border and has the black mask of the males. {Tickell ex Oates.) Iris hazel brown ; tarsus and toes light green ; bill orange yellow, paler at the lips ; edges of eyelids yellow. Length. — 22 inches ; tail 5*8 ; wing 10 ; tarsus 2"i ; bill from gape 2*3. Hah. — Tenasserim. Oates says it is an excessively rare bird, of which very few specimens have been procured. Lieut. Lloyd shot a specimen in some part of Karenne. Col. Tickell observed it in Tenasserim, and Mr. Davison procured it at Amherst, Mergui and Bankasoon. It is said to be known to occur in Cachar and Assam. Gen. Hypotaenidia— ^^2V>^. Bill moderately long, straight or slightly arched, compressed at the base, cylindrical at the tip ; upper mandible grooved for two-thirds of its length ; nostrils lateral, linear, and situated in the groove ; lower part of tibia naked ; tarsi long and robust ; toes long and slender, three before and one behind ; anterior toes entirely divided ; wings short and rounded ; 3rd and 4th quills longest. 192. Hypotsenidia striata {Linn.), Wald., Trans. Zoo/. Soc. viii. p. 95 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs hid. B. p. 60S ; Blyth, B. Burm. p. 161 ; RALLUS. - 157 Hume, Sir. F iii. p. 189; Hume and Dav., Sir. F. vi. p. 468 ; Legge, B. Ceylon^ p. 775 ; Htime and Marsh., Game Birds ii. p. 245, pi. ; Gates, Br. Burm. n. p. 339; Murray, Avif. Brit. hid. \\. p. 638, No. 1326. Rallus striatus, Linn., Syst. Nat. i. p. 262. — The Blue-breasted Baxded Rail. Top of head, nape and hind neck chestnut ; upper plumage, including the wing coverts and tertiaries, blackish brown, each feather broadly edged with olive brown and barred with white ; primaries, secondaries and tail dark brown, barred with white ; lores, cheeks, ear coverts, sides of the neck, foreneck and breast bluish gre}', tinged somewhat with rufescent ; sides of the body, lower abdomen, vent, under tail and thigh coverts, also the under wing coverts, dark brown, barred with white; centre of abdomen dull white ; bill rosy pink on the basal half ; remainder horn colour or yellowish green ; irides red ; legs and feet dull greenish or olive brown. The young has not the chestnut head and bluish breast. Length. — 9'8 to I I'S inches; wing 4-5 to 5 ; tail 1*5 to 2-25 ; tarsus 1*35 to r62 ; bill from gape 1*32 to r82. Hab. — Southern India, along the bases of the Neilgherries, the Wynaad, Malabar Coast, Southern Konkan, in the Rutnagherry districts and Southern Ceylon. It also occurs in Lower Bengal in the deltaic districts, in the neighbourhood of Calcutta too, as well as in Sylhet, Cachar, Khasia Hills, and the Assam Valley to Sadiya. In Arracan it is said to be fairly common, while in Burmah, Oates says, it is found throughout the whole province, Tenasserim included. It breeds in all localities where they occur, from May to October, making a small nest of grass on the ground near water, sur- rounded by thick vegetation. Eggs, seven in number, of a pinkish stone colour blotched with pale purple. In length they vary from 1-28 to 1*41 inches, and from 0*98 to 1*13 in width. Hypotcenidia ohscuriora, Hume, Sir. F. ii. p. 302 ; iv. p. 294 ; id. and Marsh., Game Birds 253, pi., is recorded from the Andaraans as a separate race, but to my mind it can scarcely stand as a species, and hence it is suppressed. Gen. Rallus. — Linn. Bill moderately long, straight or slightly curved at tip ; shoulder with a small spur ; other characters as in Hypotcenidia. 193. Rallus indicUS, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xviii. p. 820 ; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 726; Hume, Str. F. iii. p. 4 16; Blyth, B. Burm. p. 162; David et Oust. Ois. Chine p. 489 ; Legge, B. Ceylon p. 778 ; Hume, Str. F.y'xa.'p. 113; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds ii. p. 257, pi.; Oates B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 342 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 638, No. 1327. The Indian Water Rail. Above, including the sides of the neck, scapulars and tertiaries olive brown, sometimes with a ruddy tinge, each feather with a broad black mesial streak ; 158 RALLID^. a dark streak from the lores continued under the e^e to the ear coverts ; a broad white superciHum from above this to the nape ; wing coverts dark olive brown, some of them tipped with whitish, and all broadly edged with ruddy ; primaries and secondaries brown, some of the inner ones margined with ruddy ; chin and throat plumbeous ; cheeks, foreneck, breast and centre of abdomen plumbeous ashy, the feathers more or less fringed with ruddy ; sides of the abdomen and of the body, axillaries and vent blackish, barred with white ; under tail coverts white, each feather with a laige black central patch ; under wing coverts black, with white margins. Bill dull red, dusky on the culmen and tip ; irides red brown ; legs and feet dirty pale green. Length.— 10 to 10*5 inches; tail 2-2; wing 5*2; tarsus i'6; bill from gape I •6. Hah. — From Bengal to Nepaul. Recorded from Arracan by Blyth. Fre- quents patches of rush and grass at the edges of swamps and ditches. A migrant to India. According to Jerdon it is a rare bird in Central and Southern India, and has chiefly been found in the cold season. Gen. "KdiWlRdi'— Reich. Base of bill not prolonged over the forehead, feet shorter than in the Rails. 194. Rallina euryzonoides {Lafresn), Tweedd., P. Z. S. 1877, p. 767; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 772; Hume, Sir. F. viii. p. 113; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds ii. p. 237, pi, ; Oates, Sir. F. x. p. 242 ; Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 340; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 639, No. 1328. Gallinula euryzonoides, La/resn., Rev. Zool. 1845, p. 368. Rallus zeylanicus, Gm., Syst. Nat. i, p. 716. Porzana ceylonica, Blyth, Cat. B, Mus. As. Soc. Beng. p. 285; Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 725; Hume, Str. F. i. p. 44O ; iii. p. 188; Bourdillon in Blyth' s B. Burm. p. 162. Rallina ceylonica, Wald. iti Blyth' s B. Burm., p. 162. — The Banded Crake. Whole head, neck all round and breast chestnut ; upper plumage, wings and tail rich olive brown with a ruddy tinge on the back, rump, scapulars and tertiaries ; quills with white bars on the inner webs ; chin and throat whitish ; abdomen, vent, under tail coverts, sides of the body and under wing coverts broadly barred with dark brown and white. Bill with the base of the upper mandible and the greater portion of the lower green ; remainder of bill dark brown ; irides blood red ; eyelids grey ; legs black. {Oates?) Length. — 10 inches ; tail 2*2 ; wing 5-5 ; tarsus 175 ; bill from gape 1*3. Hah. — Thayetmyo in British Burmah, where Oates had a Hve specimen sent to him by Colonel Horace Browne. In Ceylon it arrives in October in con- siderable numbers, coming to that island in an exhausted condition. It remains there till February. It has been found in Sikkim, Bhootan, Nepaul and in Goomsoor in the Ganjam Districts. Mr. Hume got a specimen from the Assamboo Hills, and RALLINA. 169 Mr. Brooks in Cawnpore. It has also been got near Cuttack and in Mainpuri near Lucknow. About Calcutta, and also near Madras, it has also been obtained, but all these were apparently stragglers during severe winter. 195. Kallina fasciata, Raffl,, Trans. Linn. Soc, xiii. p. 328 ; Salvad., Ucc.Born. p. 337 ; Wald. in Blyth's B. Burnt, p, 162 ; id.. Trans. Zool. Soc. ix. p. 231 ; Hume, Sir. F. iii. p. 188; Hume and Dav., Sir. F. vi. p. 467 ; Hume, Sir. F. viii. p. 113; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds ii. p. 235, pi. ; Oaies, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 341 ; Murray, Avif. Brii. Ind. ii. p. 640, No. 1329. — The Malay Banded Rail. Whole head, neck all round and breast deep chestnut, rather paler on the chin and throat ; back, rump, upper tail coverts and tail ruddy brown ; scapu- lars and tertiaries ruddy brown, with a few obsolete ferruginous bars near the tips of some of the feathers ; lesser wing coverts ruddy brown, with a ferru- ginous spot in the centre of each feather, the remaining coverts and all the quills brown, with rufous white bars on both webs ; abdomen, vent, sides of the body, under wing coverts, axillaries, and under wing coverts broadly barred, >vith black and white, the latter part tinged with ferruginous ; legs, feet and bare portion of tibia coral red ; bill black, dark horny blue or plumbeous blue ; irides dull red, cinnabar red or red brown ; orbital skin and gape bright vermilion. (^Davison.) Lengih. — 10 inches; tail 2*3 ; wing 5*1 ; tarsus 1-7 ; bill from gape I. Hab. — Tenasserim, about Amherst and Tavoy. Extends down the Malay Peninsula, and in the Islands of Sumatra, Java and Borneo. Mr. Davison found it frequenting rice fields surrounded by low brushwood. 196. Rallina Canningi {Tyiler), Hume, Sir. F. i. p. 86; ii. p. 500 ; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds ii. p. 24 1, pi.; Murray, Avif. Brii. hid. ii. p. 615, No. 1330. — TheANDAMANESE Banded Crake. Head, neck, breast, wings and tail dark maroon ; primaries and seconda- ries olivaceous brown on the outer webs, but strongly tinged with rufous ; inner webs black or blackish brown, with numerous moderately narrow, oblique, transverse rufous white bars, 3 on the ist primary, 4 on the next, and 5 or 6 on the others ; abdomen and flanks, also the sides of the body, black, trans- versely banded with white ; edges of the wing coverts and quills dusky ; under tail coverts maroon. Legs and feet olive green; bill delicate pale chrysoprase green ; irides red. ' Lengih. — 13 to 14*5 inches; wing 5-9$ to 6*4; tail 3*25 to 3"6 ; tarsus 2*05 to 2-3; bill at front n to 1-22. Hal. — ^The Andamans, to which Island it is confined, as far as present knowledge extends. Hume says it is chiefly a woodland Rail, haunting the neighborhood of streams and pools, bordered by dense forests. According to Capt. Wimberley \^HurM), it is extremely shy, does not take wing unless 160 RALLlD/E. hard pressed, and feeds on insects and fresh-water fish. Breeds in the island during July. Eggs, 6 in number, broad, very regular ovals ; in colour varying from pinky white to a rich pinky stone colour, or even warm cafe au lait boldly streaked with maroon red and purple. Sub-Family, RALLIN.E.— Rails. Forehead with a nude shield ; bill compressed, slender; toes shorter than in the Gallitiules ; shoulder of wing with a tubercle or short spur. Gen. Porzana. — VuHi. Wings moderate, rounded ; tail short; toes long, about the length of the tarsus. 197. Porzana Bailloni {VieilL), Dresser, B. Eur. vii. p. 275, pi.; Legge, B. Ctylon, p. 766 ; Hume and Dav., Sir. F. vi. p. 467 ; Scully, Sir. j?^. viii. p. 358; B-ume and Marsh., Game Birds ii. p. 203, pi.; Oates, B. Br. Burm.'ix.i^. "i^d,; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 641, No. 1328. Rallus Bailloni, Nouv. Did. d' Hist. Nat. xxviii. p. 548. Crex pygmsea, Naum. Naturg, Yog. Deutschl. ix. p. 567. Porzana pygmasa, Jetd,, B. hid. iii. p. 723, No. 910 ; Murray, Vert. Zool , Sind, p. 264. Zaporna pygmgea, Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p. 603.— The Pigmy Rail or Baillon's Crake. Head and hind neck wood brown; back, scapulars and wing coverts yellowish brown with an olive tinge, the feathers with numerous irregular, white, black-edged spots; supercilium, cheeks, chin and throat grey; breast and upper abdomen bluish grey; the sides, vent and under tail coverts black, with transverse white bars; primaries dusky brown; outer web of ist quill yellowish white; secondaries with zigzag white lines bordered with black; tertiaries yellowish brown, with a tinge of olive, spotted or streaked irregularly with white, which have edgings of black; tail dusky brown; bill dark green; irides reddish; legs fleshy brown. Length. — 7 to 775 inches; wing 3'67 ; tail 175 to 2; bill at front 062 ; tarsus I'O ; mid-toe and claw i '5. Hah. — Sind, Punjab, N.-W, Provinces and Oudh, also Bengal, Nepaul, Rajputana, Kutch, Guzerat, Concan and Deccan, and generally throughout India and Burmah, also Ceylon. It is also an inhabitant of Beloochistan and Afghanistan, and probably Persia also. In Central and Southern India it is said to be not uncommon. Breeds during July and August in the plains of Upper India and in thelower ranges of the Himalayas about rice swamps and marshy pools. Eggs, six in number, oval, slightly pointed towards one end ; a pale olive stone colour or greenish drab, thickly freckled and mottled with faint dusky clouds and streaks. In length they vary from ri to r22 and in width from 0*83 to 0-91 inch. ' PORZANA. 161 The habits of this species is not unlike the other Rails, but as a rule it is more shy and retiring, and when disturbed, runs with great speed on the lotus leaves or other aquatic herbage, and conceals itself among the thickest of the coverts it frequents. 198. Porzana maruetta {Linn.), Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 722, No. 906; Blyth, B. Burm.Y). 161 ; Dresser, B. Eur. vii. p. 267, pi. ; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. 113; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds ii. p. 2\i,\>\.', Murray, Vert. ZooL, Sind, p. 264; id., Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 642, No. 1329. Rallus porzana, Linn., Syst. Nat. i. p. 262. Ortygometra maruetta, Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamm. H. B. Brit Mus. p. 34. — The Spotted Crake. Forehead ashy brown ; crown and nape dusky, streaked with ferruginous ; superciliary streak extending behind the eye ashy grey, spotted with white ; hind neck dusky, minutely freckled with black and white. Upper back and scapulars dark brown, almost black, the feathers broadly margined and tipped with ochreous olive, and usually the margins of one or both webs with linear spots and streaks of white ; lower back and rump dusky brown, the feathers narrowly barred with white ; wing coverts like the back, the outer margin of both webs with two pairs of white black-edged spots ; tertiaries dark brown on their outer webs, and with 6 — 7 narrow, oblique white bars ; their inner webs rufescent brown ; primaries and secondaries pale hair brown, the outer web of the first quill and bastard primary, also the edge of the wing, white ; the margins of the outer webs of the otherprimariestinged with pale ruf-escent; axillaries dark brown with transverse white bars; chin and throat greyish white; breast olive brown, the feathers barred with white; abdomen ashy white j flanks olive brown, barred transversely with black and white ; tail rufescent brown, mesially dark brown ; vent and under tail coverts rufescent white ; bill greenish yellow, orange at the base ; irides reddish brown ; legs brightlyellowish green. Length. — 8*8 to 9 inches ; wing 4-5 to 48 ; tail 1-82 to 2 ; bill at front 0*75 to 0'9; tarsus 1*4; mid-toe and claw 1*6. Hab.—S'mdi, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces and Oudh, the Himalayas, Bengal, Rajputana, Guzerat, Kutch, Concan, Deccan and Mysore ; also Arabia, Beloochistan, Persia, Afghanistan, and Eastern Turkestan. Occurs all over Europe and North Africa. Affects the reedy swamps and feeds on aquatic insects, larvae, snails and grass seeds. 199. Porzana fusca {Linn.), Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 724, No. 911 ; Blyth, B. Burm. p. 161 ; Legge, B. Ceylon p. 769 ; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds, ii. p. 217 ; Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 346 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 642, No. 1330. Rallus fuscus, Linn., Syst. Nat. i. p. 262. Rallina fusca, Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p. 604 ; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. 1 13. — The Ruddy Crake. Forehead as far back as the eyes, the sides of the head and neck, the fore- neck, breast and upper abdomen rich ferruginous ; chin and throat whitish ; 21 B 162 RALLlDiE. sides of the body and lower abdomen olivaceous ; flanks, vent and under tail coverts dark brown, irregularly and indistinctly barred with white ; the whole upper plumage, wings and tail olive brown ; under wing coverts brown edged with white. The female has the ferruginous of the lower parts paler and the white of the throat extends lower down ; irides crimson ; eyelids plumbeous, the edges red ; bill greenish brown ; legs and toes red ; hinder parts of leg fuscous. (Oa/es.) Length. — 8-5 inches; tail \"]^; wing 3*8; tarsus 1*4; bill from gape ro. Hah. — Southern and Central India, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, and Rajpoo- tana (rare). Common in Lower and Eastern Bengal, also in British Burmah. Breeds during July and A ugust on the Woolar Lake in Cashmere, also in Burmah, where, according to Oates, it is a permanent resident. It is also recorded from Arracan, Ceylon and the Malay Peninsula. 200. Porzana minuta(/'a//.), iVa«;ra. Fc"^. /. 239; Gould, B.Eur. pi. 345 ; Hume, Str. F. i. p. 25 1 ; Murray, Hdbk., ZooL, ^c, Sind, p. 224 ; id., Avi'f. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 647, No. 1331. Porzana parvus, Scop. — The Little Crake. Crown of the head deep brown ; sides of the head, both above and below the eye, ash or slate colour ; chin and throat dull or greyish white, the forepart of the neck pale ash; under parts ashy or grey blue in the males, light rufous buff in females; lower abdomen and vent deep or olive brown, spotted with white ; -neck behind and shoulder of the wing olive brown ; back deep olive brown, the feathers with broad mesial dark stripes, their inner margins pale, with some white linear spots and streaks ; primaries and secondaries deep brown with pale edges; lesser wing coverts plain dull olive brown ; tail dusky olive brown ; under tail coverts slaty grey with spots and bars of white. Length.—'] to 8 inches; bill 07 ; wing 3*8 ; tail 1*5 to 175 ; irides red ; bill and legs yellowish green. Mr. Hume in Str. F. i. p. 25 1, says : — •' Bailloni (pygmaea) may always be distinguished at a glance from minuta by its smaller size, shorter, and in pro- portion deeper bill, and by having the back, scapulars and greater wing coverts all more or less profusely variegated with bluish white, whereas in minuta the white markings, which are somewhat broader and purer white, are confined as a rule to the centre of the back, though occasionally some of the longer scapulars are also faintly edged with bluish white. In minuta the wing varies from 375 to 4*1 ; the bill at front 07 to 076; in Bailloni (■pygmsez) the wing varies from about 3*45 ; to 3*62, and the bill o*6 to 0*62. Hab. — Sind, Eastern Turkistan and Cashmere. Not known to occur any- where else in India. It is abundant in all the large inland pieces of water or dhunds. 201. Porzana akool (Sykes), Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 722, No. 908 ; Hume, Sir. F. iv. p. 21 ; id. and Marsli., Game Birds Ind. ii. p. 226; GALLINULA. 163 Murray, Avi/. Brit. Lid. ii. p. 643, No. 1332. — The Brown and Ashy Crake. Above olive brown ; the rump ashy brown; wings and tail dusky; wing and lower tail coverts deep brown ; chin white ; throat, breast, and belly ashy brown ; flanks olive brown. Bill greenish; iridesred brown; legs and feet livid purple. Length. — II inches; wing 7 ; tail 3*5; bill at front 1*75 ; tarsus 2. Hab. — Central Provinces, in Sumbalpoor and Raipoor ; also Guzerat, Chota Nagpoor, Bengal, N.-W. Provinces, Oudh and the Punjab Cis-Sutlej. It also occurs in the south eastern portions of Rajputana (Bhurtpore), the Sambhar Lake, Ajmere, and Mount Abu. In Upper India, Hume says, it is common in the Duns, Terais and Bhabars that skirt the mountain bases of the Himalayas. It is less aquatic in its habits than any of the other Crakes, being often seen on stony ground in the open, though not very far from water ; does not affect swamps so much as it does thin grass along the margins of clear water streams. Breeds from May to August, nesting in bushes, grass, or bulrushes, along the margins of small streams or ditches. Eggs, 6—8 in number, a pale salmon white ground covered with blotches, spots and specks of reddish brown. They average from 1*4 to r6 inches in length and 0-99 to 1-15 in width. Gen. Gallinula.— ^mj. Bill moderate, curved slightly at the tip ; nostrils in a groove, placed about the middle of the upper mandible; bill extending on to the forehead and form- ing a small shield ; shoulder of wing with a tubercle or spur ; toes very nar- rowly edged by membrane. Gallinula chloropus. The Water or Moor Hen 202. Gallinula chloropus {Linn.), Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 716, No. 905 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p. 397 ; id., Str, F. i. p. 250 ; iii. 164 RALLID/E. p. 187 ; Blyth, B. Burm. p. 162; Dresser, B. Eur. vii. p. 313, pi,; Hume and J)av., Sir. F. vi. p. 466; Legge, B. Ceylon p. 781 ; Murray, Vert. Zool., Sind, p. 262 ; Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 347; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 645, No. 1333. Gallinula Burnesi, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xiii. p. 736. —The Moor Hen. Top of head, nape and back of neck dusky olive brown ; back, scapulars, tertiaries, wing coverts and upper tail coverts shining olive brown ; primaries, secondaries and tail dusky brown, the outer web of the 1st quill white; a pale fulvous brown streak from behind the nostril on each side to the eye, and a patch of the same colour on the side of the head including the ear coverts ; under each eye a white spot; chin and throat white ; breast dark bluish ashy, the feathers tipped with pale or dirty fulvous; lower abdomen white; vent feathers black ; under tail coverts white ; feathers on the flanks long and lax, those falling on the thighs pale brown with a mesial white streak ; bill reddish at base, greenish yellow at tip ; irides red ; an orange garter above the knee. Length. — 12 to 13 inches; wing 6-75 ; tail 3; bill at gape it. In mature plumage the entire head and neck are dark brown, almost black, and the upper plumage darker olive brown. Hab. — Diffused throughout India and parts of Burmah, Central and South Europe, Africa and Java. Occurs also in Beloochistan, Persia, Afghanistan, Eastern Turkistan, Nepaul and Cashmere, affecting small rivers and marshes. In the dhunds and j heels in Sind, also in the Deccan, Guzerat and Rajputana, it is extremely common, swimming about freely. During the day, on retreating to the edges of the tanks or dhunds, it lives concealed among the reeds and rushes. It is less shy towards evening when it creeps along the margins of the waters among the long reeds in quest of aquatic insects, worms and seeds; breeds from June to August. The nest is a large structure of withered reeds and rushes, placed near the brink of the water; the female lays from 4 to 6 eggs ; in shape they are long, oval or ovate pyrif orm, of a stone colour, with a pinkish tinge, speckled, spotted and blotched with reddish brown or red. It is said that the female never quits its nest without covering her eggs with the leaves of the surrounding herbage. The young are able to swim immediately they are hatched. 203. Gallinula phoeniCUra {Penn)., Jerd., B. Jnd. ii. p. 720, No. 907 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p. 599 ; Murray, Vert, Zool. Sind, p. 263; id., Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 645, No. 1334. Rallus phcenicurus, Pennant in Forst. Zool. Ind. p. 19, pi. ix. Erythra phcenicura, Wald., Trans. Zool. Soc. viii. p. 94; Salvad., Ucc. Born. p. 34O; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 786 ; Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 348. — The Whitk-breasted Water Hen. Forehead, lores, entire face, chin, cheeks, throat, neck, breast and abdomen white ; crown of the head, nape, neck behind, back, scapulars, wings, flanks and tail black, with greenish reflections ; outer web of first quill white ; lower GALLICREX. 365 abdomen, vent and under tail coverts deep chestnut ; bill yellow with a tinge of green ; irides blood red. Length. — 12 to 13 inches; wing 6 5; tail 2*5 ; bill at front 1-5. Hah. — Sind and throughout the Indian Peninsula, Ceylon and Burmah. In Sind not uncommon along the canals and the Indus. Breeds from May to August. Eggs greyish, with a light reddish tinge, spotted and blotched with various shades of red and bluish grey ; affects generally the heavy undergrowth along the edges of canals. Gen. Gallicrex.— ^/yM. Bill as in Gallinula^ with the base of the bill extending on to the forehead and forming a fleshy protuberance; toes long ; hind toe and claws about half the length of the mid-toe ; claws curved. 204. Gallicrex CinereuS (G»/.), Hume, Nests and Eggs hid. B. p. 596; IVald., Trans. Zool. Soc. ix. p. 229; Oates, Sir. F. v. p. 165; War dlaw- Ramsay, Ibis, 1877, p. 477; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 791 ; Murray, Vert. Zool. Sind, p. 261 ; Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 349; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 646, No. 1335. Fulica cinerea, Gmel., Syst..Nat. i. p. 702. Gallinula cristata, Lath., Ind. Orn. ii. p. 779. Gallicrex cristatus, Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 716 ; Blyth and Wald., B. Burm. p. 161. — The Water Cock. Male in Breeding Plumage. — Dull black, the feathers of the back, wing coverts, rump and upp3r tail coverts more or less edged with light brown ; tertials dark brown, edged with pale whitey brown ; edge of the wing white ; quills dusky, the shaft of the ist quill white ; tail blackish brown, the outer feathers edged with pale brown ; lower wing coverts dusky with whitish edges ; bill greenish yellow, fine red at the base ; the crest about one inch long, fleshy red ; irides red ; legs dull red. Length.— 16 to 17 inches; extent 23; wing 8"5; tail 3*5; tarsus 3. {Jerd.) Female. — Top of head dull black or dusky brown; back of neck, back, scapulars, wing coverts and tertiaries the same, the feathers edged with fulvous, more broadly on the back and wings; tail the same; sides of the face includ- ing a broad supercilium fulvous, in some with a rufescent tinge ; chin and throat fulvous white; neck in front, breast and entire under parts brownish fulvous, the feathers with narrow transverse bars; thigh-coverts the same; primaries and secondaries dusky brown; outer web of first quill fulvous. Length.— II to 14 inches; wing 7; tail 2*5 ; bill at gape 1*25 ; tarsus 2*5. Hub. — Sind, Lower Bengal, Tennaserim, South and Central India, Burmah and Malayana. Affects large swamps and marshes, also the vicinity of rivers. On the Aaral, at Sehwan, several may be seen in the early morning, issuing from the thick cover of tamarisk, fringing the banks, and running along the edge of the water. 166 ARDEID/E. Family, ARDEID^.- Herons. All the members of the ArdeidcE family swarm throughout India in suitable localities. All are permanent residents and breed from May to September. Their nests are generally loose structures, some more or less compact, and built of twigs, &c., on trees, standing in the vicinity of water, and particularly on those in the middle of large sheets of water. Eggs, 3 to 4, 'glossless, and in colour from pale sea green to bluish green, but it is not uncommon to find single nests containing from 8 to 10 eggs, differing in shape, size and colour. The following, from Hume's Nests and Eggs, gives the average size of the eggs of the different species : — Ardea cinerea 2*27 x i-66 Ardea purpurea 217 x \'^6 Ilerodias alha 2Ti x i'55 Herodias garzetta r73 x l'22 Demiegrelta gulart's r 7 x I* 3 Bubulcus coromanda 1*71 x P32 Ardeola grayi 1-48 x 117 Bu tor ides javanica I ' 64 x 1*23 An account by Layard of the breeding of Herodias garzetta and kindred. species in Ceylon, conveys exactly what is observable in the breeding season of the ArdeidcB in India generally, and along the canals, &c., in the Narra Districts, and other large sheets of water in Sind. During this season almost all the large pieces of water in India, unfrequented and distant from human habitation, in which trees are standing out of reach, except by boats, large colonies of ibises, spoonbills, cormorants, snake- birds, night-herons, &c., may be seen. During the day, except by the drop- pings of the birds, which coat the branches so thickly with lime, little suspicion would be excited of the spot being a heronry, as most of the birds, except a few sitting close, are away feeding, but towards eve, hundreds would be seen coming to roost, amid a continuous cackling. The report of a gun amongst them would present a scene scarcely describable. If disturbed before they have begun to lay, they are said to entirely desert the spot, and carry away almost every stick they had used in building and to begin operations afresh in a distant locality. Gen. Ardea— !. Neck very long ; legs moderate ; front toes broadly webbed ; hind toe not lobed ; keel long ; bill high at the base, with a fleshy or callous tubercle ; cere extending to the eye ; 2nd and 3rd quills of wing longest; tail short, rounded. Cygnus olor. The Mute Swan. 210. CygnnS olor {Gm.), Bodd., Tab. p. E. 913 ; Naum. Vogt. /. 29 ; Gould, B. Eur. pi. 354; Str. F. vii. pp. 99, 10 1, 106 ; Murray, Hdbk.., ZooL, ^c, Sind, p. 231 ; id., Vert., Zool. Sind, p. 282; i.d., Avif. Brit, Ind. ii. p. 671, No 1373. — The Mute Swan. Entire plumage white; callous tubercle at base of upper mandible; legs, feet and cere black ; bill reddish orange, the edges and tip black ; irides dark brown. Length. — 48 to 52 inches. The following are the measurements of the three specimens obtained by Mr. H. E. Watson given in Mr. Blanford's paper on Wild Swans in Sind {Str. F. vii lOi): — No. I. No. 2. No. 3. Length from tip of bill to end of tail... 58- 5" 62*" 6o"'' Expanse 78* 84- 82* Closed wing 22* 23- Tail from vent 975 1025 9*75 Bill from gape 375 3- 8 Tarsus measured on inner side 3* 8 4* 2 The female resembles the male in every particular, except that the callous tubercle is smaller. ANSER. 171 This species was obtained on the Munchur Lake during an unusually severe winter in Sind, by Mr. H. E. Watson, Deputy Collector of Sehwan, shortly after I left the Lake in the same year (1878). In every instance, where the species has occurred, it was during an unusually severe winter. Mr. Hume, in his Game Birds, says — " It may be considered a pretty regular, though somewhat rare, cold weather visitant to the Peshawar and Hazara Districts, and an occasional straggler to the Kohat and Rawul Pindee Districts, and to the Trans-Indus portions of Sind. It has occurred near Peshawar in 1857. In 187 1, Captain Unwin obtained a specimen in the Rawul Pindee District. Dr. Stolickzain J. A. S. B., 1872, p. 229, says — "While crossing the Runn of Cutch he noticed several swans but at too great a distance for it to be possible to form an idea as to the species the birds belonged to," " and from its occurrence in Sind," Mr. Hume says, "renders it not improbable that Dr. StoUckza was right." Outside our limits this species has been seen in the Kabul river, near Jellala- bad, and is known to visit Northern Afghanistan pretty regularly. Breeds in Western Turkistan. Mr. Hume in his Tentative List and in S(r. F. vii. pp. 107, 464, enters Cygnus Bewickt, in the List of the Birds of India, but as this entry as well as of Cygnus musicus and Anser segetum have been made on certain drawings by Hodgson and others, and there are no veritable records of their having been killed within our limits, I omit them from the Avifauna. Family, ANSERID^E. Bill moderate, narrower in front than behind ; keel elevated at the base, sloping to the tip ; nail at point of bill horny and hard ; legs moderate ; knee bare ; hind toe partially lobed ; laminar teeth present. Sub-Family ANSERINE. Characters same as those of the Family. Gen. A.T1'&QV-—Bn'ss. Bill high at the base, rather long ; lamina at edge wide and visible exter- nally ; nostrils in the nude cere, longitudinal. 211. Anser Cinereus, Meyer, Naum. Vogt. t. 285 ; Gould, B. Eur. P^' 347 ; yerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 779; Str. F. i. p. 258; iv. pp. 26, 197; vii. p. 494; viii. p. 421 ; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds of Ind. iii. p. 55 ; Murray, Hdhk., Zool., ^c, Sind, p. 233; id., Vert. ZooL, Sind, p. 283; id., Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 673, No. 1374. (Hans, Sind.) — The Grey Lag Goose. Head, hind neck and nape greyish brown, the feathers of the latter slightly darker and forming a conspicuous line on the neck behind, in some uniform 172 ANSERID^. grey brown ; chin, throat and breast on the upper part pale greyish brown ; the breast below whitish, and barred on the sides with greyish; back and scapulars brown, the feathers margined at the tips with fulvous white, forming regular bars ; greater wing coverts greyish brown, lesser slightly paler, both bordered with whitish ; primaries white-shafted, the first three pale grey, the rest nearly dark brown ; tail greyish, tipped with white. The plumage of this Goose is very variable. Of specimens I have, no two are alike. Mr. Hume also notices this fact and says — " In some the head and neck vary from pale ashy or earthy brown to dark clove brown ; in most there is a mingled white and orange patch on the forehead j in some there is a similar spot at the base of the upper mandible on each side, the feathers of the head and cheeks are tinged with orange or rusty, and in most there is a small spot of white on the chin. In some specimens the breast and abdomen are closely blotched and mottled with black or blackish brown and pale rusty buff ; in others the cap and back of the upper neck are conspicuously darker, as in the speci- men before me, which has the entire breast a fulvous or soiled white, also the middle of the belly, while the flanks are brown and barred with fulvous." Bill pinkish flesh colour, sometimes with an orange tinge; nail greyish white J irides greyish brown ; legs hvid fleshy. Length. — 30 to 32 inches ; wing 17 to 18-5 ; tail 6 ; bill at front 2*4 to 2*8 ; tarsus 3 to 3*12. Ba3.— Sind, Afghanistan, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Oudh, Bengal, Raj- putna, Kutch and Guzerat. Occurs throughout Europe. About the Munchur Lake in Sind they are met with in large parties, also along the canals, and especially the river. 212. Anser brachyrrhynchus {Baiiion), Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 780; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds in. p. 71 ; id., Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 673, No. 1375. — The PiNK-FOOTED Goose, Head and upper part of neck brown; lower part of neck reddish ashy; body above brownish cinereous with white undulations ; longest scapulars edged with white ; upper tail coverts black ; I'^sser and median coverts bluish ashy, edged with white ; two first primaries bluish, others black ; tail black ; breast and upper abdomen ashy whitish ; lower abdomen and under tail coverts pure white. Bill much smaller than in the last, fleshy red or purplish, the base and the nail black ; feet pinkish red. {Jerd.) Length. — 27 to 29 inches; wing 15*9 to 17; tail 5*5; bill at front 17S; tarsus 3 ; middle toe 3. Hab. — This is an extremely rare bird in India. Hume records a picture of one which was got in the Punjab, and also a statement that Colonel Irby killed one at Alumbagh near Lucknow. He has seen a pair among Grey Lags on a ANSER. 173 sandbank in the ]umna, and an assurance has been given him by Col. Graham that it is not uncommon on the Brahmaputra in Assam. This is all we know of its occurrence in India. In Northern Europe it is common, and probably also Central Europe and Northern Asia. Anser albifrons. The White-fronted Goose. 213. Anser albifrons, Gm., Naum. Vogt. t. 289 ; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 780 ; Sir. F. i. p. 259; viii. p. 421 ; Murray, Edbk., Zool., ^c, Sind; Hume and Marsh, Game Birds, Ind. p. 73 ; Murray, Vert. ZooL, Sind, p. 284; id., Avi/. Brit, Ind. ii. p. 674, No. 1376. — The White-fronted or Laughing Goose. Forehead white or yellowish white, followed by a narrow dark band ; chin the same ; head, hind neck and nape brownish grey, shaded in some speci- mens with reddish ; throat pale greyish white, darker in some ; breast and flanks pale brownish, with cross bars of black, paler and whitish on the lower breast, with broader black bars ; back dark greyish brown, the feathers with pale reddish brown edges ; upper and under tail coverts white ; tail with the middle feathers dark grey, tipped with white ; the lateral ones entirely white ; primaries ashy grey, dark at the tip ; secondaries bluish black ; tertiaries mar- gined with dull white ; greater and lesser wing coverts grey, edged with rufous ; abdomen white ; bill livid fleshy or purplish red, the middle of the upper man- dible with an orange tinge ; nail at tip white or yellowish white ; legs and feet orange. Length. — 27 to 28 inches; wing 16 to 17; bill at front 17 to i'9; tarsus 3. B.ah. — Sind, Beloochistan (Quetta), Persian Gulf (Bussorah), Afghanistan (Arghandab), Punjab, N.-W. Provinces and Oudh. In Sind the White-fronted Goose is much more rare than the Grey Lag. Mr. Hume says "that about one bird of this species visits this empire, for every thousand of Grey Lags, or every five thousand of the Barred-headed Geese." In Egypt it is most abundant, also at Fao in Mesopotamia, and on the Caspian. 174 ANSERIDiE. 214. Anser erythropUS {Linn.), Newton, Ibis, 2, p. 406; yerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 781 ; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds iii. p. 77 ; id., Avif. Brit- Ind. ii. p. 675, No. 1377. A. minutus, Naum. Vogi, i. ? — The Dwarf Goose. Top of head, forehead, throat, front of cheeks and the under and upper tail coverts white ; rest of head, neck and crop grey ; scapulars and back dark brown grey, with transverse lighter bands ; primaries and upper wing coverts blue grey, lower the same as the back and edged with white ; secondaries black; tail grey, margined with white at the tip and white at the base; abdo- men black, bordered with white; flanks dark grey brown, Q2ich.iQ2iX]\QT margined lighter. Bill orange; feet and legs red. {Jerd.) Length. — 22 inches; wing 15 ; tail 4-5 Hah. — N.-W. Provinces and Oudh as a rare winter visitor. Outside our limits it is found in Northern and Central Europe. 215. Anser indiCUS {Lath.'), Gould, C. B. pi. 80 ; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 782 ; Str. F. iv. p. 499 ; vii. p. 491 ; viii p. 421 ; 3Iurray, Hdbk., Zool., ^c, Sind, p. 234; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds, Ind. p. 81 ; Murray, Vert- Zool., Sind, p. 285; id., Avif Brit. Ind. ii. p. 675, No. 1378. {Raj-hans, Hind, Sind).— The Barred-headed Goose. Head and a broad line continued down the sides of the neck white, with a broad black band from behind the eye across the occiput, and a second one on the nape ; chin and throat white ; back of neck dark hair brown ; front of neck the same, but rather paler and gradually passing into the ashy grey of the breast ; upper back, scapulars, breast, upper abdomen and flanks in front ashy grey, the feathers margined with white and forming lunules of that colour; lower back, rump and wing coverts pale ashy grey; upper tail coverts, tip of tail feathers, lower abdomen, vent and under tail coverts white ; axillaries pure ashy grey, feathers of the flanks behind the legs dark rufescent or snuff brown, margined at the tip wiih white ; primaries white-shafted, the first four and all the primary coverts greyish, the rest and the tips of the first four as well as all the secondaries dark brown ; wing coverts like the lower back and rump ; bill orange, with a greenish tinge at the base; nail at the tip black; legs bright orange ; bill at front r8 to 2. Length.— 2'] to 28 inches ; wing i6*S to 18-5 ; tarsus 2*8. Hah. — Sind, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Oudh, Central Provinces, and Ben- gal. A winter visitant. This is certainly the most abundant Goose in Sind, and during the winter may be met in flocks of thousands on the large lakes, and on the Indus. On the Munchur it simply swarms, and not unlike the two other species, alhifrons and cinereus, feeds during the night and in the early morning till about 9 or 10 SARKIDIORNIS. 175 o'clock. They feed exclusively on tender shoots of grass, and do much damage to the sprouting corn crops, especially in the neighbourhood of the Munchur, also in Lower Sind. Taking Upper India (including Sind), Hume says — "This species enormously outnumbers all the other species of Geese put together." I think at least five of the Barred-heads visit India to every one of the Grey Lags, and as for all the rest of the Geese, they are apparently so rare, that when one comes to consider numbers, they are not worth speaking about. * * * Their habits are similar to those of the Grey Lags. Where frequently disturbed they feed inland only at night ; where rarely molested they will be found feeding up to eight or nine in the morning and again long before sunset. Preferentially they feed in fields in the neighbourhood of the larger rivers, browsing on the young wheat, vetches, lentils, &c. They are not dif- ficult to bag, especially in localities where they are not disturbed by shooting. Walking besides a pony, or bullock, one can always get within 35 or 40 yards of a flock, and bag at least a dozen birds with a couple of effective shots. In localities which have been frequently shot over the birds are very wary, and unless there is plenty of cover a buffalo or pony becomes a necessity." In such cases," as Mr. Hume says, " it is best to make sure of your one or two birds on the ground with the first shot, as you will seldom have time for more than one shot after they rise." Mr. Hume, in his Game Birds of India, gives many hints as to shooting geese and wild fowl generally. The habits of the Duck tribe and the various methods adopted for netting them are very interesting, and of much value to sportsmen generally. Family, k^KlYDJ^.— Vigors. Bill flat and broad, laminated at the sides ; food insects and tender aquatic plants, which they obtain in shallow muddy places. Sub-Family, PLECTROPTERINiE.— G. R. Gray. Bill long and broad, tip horny ; knee and above bare ; tarsi with squarish scales ; hind toe long ; wing with one or more spurs on the shoulder ; a fleshy carbuncle at base of upper mandible ; plumage glossy black. Gen. Sarkidiornis.— -fiy/ow. Characters those of the Sub-Family ; ist and 2nd primaries sub-equal and longest. 216. Sarkidiornis melanonotus, Penn. in Forst. Jnd. Zool. p. 21, pi. II ; Newton, Sir. F. viii. p. 4 1 5. Sarcidiornis melanonota, Jerd., B. Jnd. iii. p. 785; Hume, Nesis and Eggs Ind. B. p. 636; Blyth, B, Burm, p, 165; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds iii. p. 91, pi.; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 1063 ; Oates, B. Br. Burm. iii. p. 275 ; Murray, Vert. Zool., Sind, p. 286; id., Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 677, No. 1379. — The Comb Duck. 176 ANATID^. Top of the head and back of neck black, spotted with white, more so on the back of the neck ; cheeks, sides and front of the neck white, with a few black spots ; breast and entire under parts white ; chin and throat white ; back, scapulars, tertiaries and wing coverts glossy black, glossed with purple ; upper tail coverts glossed greenish ; primaries and secondaries black ; the lesser wing coverts glossed with purplish green ; tail black ; bill of male with a fleshy protuberance ; irides dark brown ; bill black. Length. — 28 to 30 inches ; wing 13 to 15 ; tail 6. Female is smaller, and less brightly coloured. Hah. — Sind, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Oudh, Bengal, Rajputana, Kutch, Kattiawar, Guzerat, Concan and Deccan, South India and Ceylon ; also British Burmah. A straggler in Sind. Breeds in the N.-W. Provinces during July and August. In Ceylon it is said to breed from January to March, usually on trees in the proximity of large sheets of water. 217. Nettapus coromandelianus {Gmei:), Jerd., B. Ind, iii. p. 786; Blylh, B. Burm. p. 165; David et Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 501 ; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 1066 ; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds iii. p. loi, pi. ; Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 272 ; id., Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 677, No. 1380. Anser coromandeliana, Gmel., Syst. Nat. i. p. 522. Nettapus coroman- deUcus (Z.), Hume, Nests and Eggs, Ind. B. p. 638. Nettapus coromandus (Z.), Hume, Str. F. iii. p. 192.— The Cotton Teal. Forehead, crown and nape hair brown, remainder of the head, whole neck and lower plumage white ; collar round the neck black in front, glossy green on hind neck ; a second demi-collar from the breast upwards below this ; under tail coverts dark brown mottled with white ; upper plumage glossy green ; the secondaries are broadly tipped with white and the primaries also, their basal halves are dark brown ; upper tail coverts white, freckled with brown ; tail brown ; under wing coverts greenish black. The female has a line from the lores through the eye dusky black, surmounted by a dirty white superciUum ; rest of the head, whole neck and the upper breast dull white mottled wiih brown ; lower plumage dull white ; upper tail coverts white, freckled with brown. In winter the male is like the female, but has always the white patch on the primaries. Bill black ; irides red. Length. — 13 inches ; tail 3 ; wing 6'5 ; tarsus i ; bill from gape I'l. Hab. — Nearly throughout India, also Ceylon and Burmah, except the drier regions as Sind, Kutch, Rajputana. Breeds in July and August, in the holes of trees, laying from 8 to lO eggs, of a delicate ivory white colour. They generally affect swamps, marshes, and inundated ponds and ditches. DENDROCYGNA. 177 Sub-Family, TADORNIN^E (Anatin^e, Szv.) Plumage nifous ; bill flattened towards the tip, with horny termination ; hind toe long and slighty lobed. Dendrocygna, Sw.—Whistli'sg Ducks. Bill rather large, of uniform width ; secondaries long, also the tarsi ; 2nd, 3rd and 4th primaries sub-equal and longest. 218- Dendrocygna Javanica (Eors/.), Hume and Dav., Sir. F. vi. p. 486; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 1069 ; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds iii. p. 109, pi. ; Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 273 ; Murray, Vert. ZooL, Stnd, p. 287 ; id.^ Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. 678, No. 1381. Anas javanica, Horsf., Trans. Linn. Soc. xiii. p. 199. Dendrocygna aswuree, Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p, 789. Dendrocygna arcuata (Cwr.), apud Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind B. p. 639 ; Oates, Str. F. v. p. 169.— The Lesser Whistling Teal. Top of head and occiput dull wood brown, and a narrow streak of the same continued down the middle of the back of the neck from behind the nape ; sides of the face and neck fulvous brown ; chin and throat albescent ; lower neck and breast yellowish chestnut, gradually passing into the light chestnut of the under surface of the body ; vent and under tail coverts albescent ; back and scapulars dusky brown, the feathers edged with dingy fulvous chestnut, forming lunules ; upper tail coverts chestnut ; tail brown, tipped slightly paler; primaries and secondaries black ; greater coverts and tertiaries dusky brown ; lesser and median coverts deep maroon ; axillaries black ; bill dusky brown, darker at the tip ; irides deep brown ; eyelids bright yellow to pale golden ; legs plumbeous. Length. — 17-5 to 18 inches; wing 8 to 8-5 ; tail 2 to 2-12 ; bill at front 1*5 ; tarsus 1*75. Hab. — Sind, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces and the Indian Peninsula generally, but not in the more arid tracts, where water is not abundant, as in the interior of Rajputana. According to Hume, there is scarcely any suitable locality within the limits of the Indian empire, including Burmah, Ceylon, the Anda- mans and Nicobars, in which this species does not occur either as]a perma- nent resident or a seasonal visitant. It is essentially a tree duck, and in the breeding season especially affects the larger pieces of water, in the vicinity of trees. At other times it is found in nearly every suitable piece of water. It nidificates on trees, making a nest of twigs, &c., or occupying old nests of Herons and Ibises. In Sind it has been found breeding in great numbers on the Eastern Narra, and I have taken a nest of 1 1 eggs at the One Tree Tank, six miles from Kurrachee. Mr. Doig, who took its eggs in the Narra, found 10 23 B 178 ANATIDiE. as the greatest number from any one nest. " The nests," he says, " were composed of green twigs, and in some instances of leaves of the large bulrush trodden down to make a platform." Mr. Hume {Game Birds) records instances of the curious fact of this species carrying its young in its feet from the nest to the water. Mr. Kemp in the Futtehpore District adds his testimony to the fact, having obtained an egg from off a narrow ridge where the bird was seen to carry it just before he shot it. Mr. Hume says — He heard of their being seen flying down to the water with ducklings on their backs, and that twice he saw them carrying these in their claws. On one of these occasions, between 8 and 9 a. m., he saw a duck carry down her whole brood of seven, one at a time, from a hole in a huge mango tree to the water, she passing each time within three yards of his face. 219- Dendrocygna fulva {Gmel), Sdater and Salv., p. Z. S. 1876, p. 372 ; Hume and Marsh. ^ Game Birds iii. p. 119, pi. ; Oates, B, Br. Burm. ii. p. 274; id., Avif. Brit. Ind. p. 679, No. 1 382. Anas fulva, Gmel,, Syst. Nat. i. p. 530. Dendrocygna m^]or, Jerd., Madras yournal, 184O, p. 218; id., III. Ind. Orn. pi. xxiii. ; Hume, Sir. F. iii. p. 193. — The Larger Whistling Teal. Top of head and sides of the face rufescent brown, slightly paler on the cheeks ; chin and throat albescent, a broad ring or patch of white in the middle of the neck ; a broad black line down the back of the neck from below the nape ; back, scapulars, primaries, secondaries, tertials and greater wing coverts dark brown, the feathers of the back with rufescent or chestnut edging, forming lunules ; lesser wing coverts dark maroon ; breast yellowish chestnut, gradually passing into the light chestnut of the under parts of the body ; vent, under and upper tail coverts white or fulvous white ; tail dark brown ; bill plumbeous ; irides brown ; legs and feet plumbeous. Length. — 20*5 to 21 inches ; wing 9*25 ; tail 2'5 to 2*8 ; bill from gape 2 to 2*4; tarsus 2" 25. Hab. — Sind, Punjab, N.-W. and Central Provinces, Oudh, Bengal, Rajpu- tana, Kutch, Guzerat, Concan and Deccan, also S. India and Ceylon in suitable localities ; also Burmah. Gen. Casarca.— ^z Bill moderate ; culmen with a knob at the base ; nail at tip large ; hind toe lobed ; wing spurred ; plumage from buffy orange to bright orange. 220. Casarca rutila, Pall., Hist, d' Egypt, t. x. p. i ; Gould, B. Eur. pi. 358; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 791 ; Str, F. i. p. 260 ; iv. 198 ; Murray, Hdbk., ZooL, 8fc., Sind; Hume, Game Birds. Ind. p. 123; Murray, Avif. Brit. Lid. ii. p. 680, No. 1383. Tadorna casarca, Dresser, B. Eur, vi. p. 461, CASARCA. 179 pi. ; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 1070 ; Oates, B. Br. Burnt, ii. p. 277. (Vern. Mungh, Sind). — The Ruddy Shelldrake or Brahminy Duck. Male. — Head, on the crown and sides buff, darkening on the nape and hind neck, and gradually passing into deep orange or orange fulvous on the upper back and breast ; a seasonal glossy black band round the middle of the neck in males (not present in all specimens) ; chin buff ; upper back, scapulars and breast in front deep orange brown, orange fulvous, or rufescent, the colour being variable ; in some specimens the feathers are edged paler ; lower back ochreous, the feathers finely vermiculated with black ; rump black, also the upper tail coverts and tail, which have a greenish gloss ; lower abdomen and under tail coverts deep chestnut ; in females and in males out of season, and without the black neck collar, the entire under surface from the breast is pale chestnut or fulvous chestnut, sometimes with the feathers round the vent darkening into deeper chestnut ; wing spurred at the bend ; primaries dark brown ; greater coverts and outer webs of secondaries glossy purplish green, forming a broad speculum ; lesser and median covers white, sometimes with a buffish tinge ; tertials like the back, some of the feathers finely vermiculated with brown at the tips; under wing coverts and axillaries white, also the edge of the wing. T\\Q female wants the black collar at all seasons, and is generally duller in colour, the head being very pale buffy white ; the crown and neck in some mouse grey ; bill black ; irides dark brown ; legs black. Length. — Males, 24*5 to 27 inches; wing 14-5 to IS'5 ; tail 5*5 to 6; tarsus 2 to 2*4; bill at gape 2. Hab. — Sind, Persia, Beloochistan, Afghanistan, E. Turkestan, Punjab, N.- W. Provinces, Oudh, Nepaul, Bengal, Rajputana, Central India, Kutch, Guzerat, the Concans, Deccan and Southern India. The Ruddy Shelldrake is a winter visitant to India. In Sind it is found on all the large lakes and brooks and along the Indus river in great numbers ; and on the Munchur especially ; like geese, large parties resort to the fields of sprouting wheat in the early morning and at night-fall, and do much damage. They are extremely shy and wary birds, and as Mr. Reid, in Game Birds, remarks - " It will not only keep a sharp look-out on its own account, but will fly along the Jheel side before the gunner, uttering its warning note and put every bird on the qui vtve." 221. Casarca scutulata (i'. L.MulT), Schlege., Mus. P. B. Anseres, p. 64; id., Avif. Brit. hid. ii. p. 680, No. 1384. Sarcidiornis leucopterus, Blyth,J. A. S. B. xviii. p. 82O. Casarca leucoptera, Jard., Contr, Orn. p. 141, pi. 64; Jerd., B. Bid. iii. p. 793; Blyth, B. Burnt, p. 165. Anas 180 ANATID/€. scutulata, Hiwie and Marsh., Game Birds iii. pp. 147. Anas leucoptera, Oaies, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 281. — The White-winged Wood Duck. Head and neck white, profusely mottled with black ; hind neck glossy black ; remainder of the upper plumage blackish brown ; shoulders and wing coverts white; greater coverts black ; primaries dusky; secondaries slaty; tertiaries dusky, the outermost ones bordered with white and forming a white longitudinal line in the closed wing ; breast glossy black; lower plumage dusky castaneous, dark brown on the flanks and under tail coverts ; bill and legs black. {Jerd.) Length.— 2^ inches; wing 15 ; tail 6; bill at front 3 ; tarsus 2*5 ; mid-toe 3-25. Hab. — Tenasserim at Tavoy and at Mergui. Gates says it occurs in Assam and in the hill tracts of Eastern Bengal, in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula and in Java. Gen. Tadorna, — Leach. Bill short, high at the base, and with a knob ; wing tuberculated ; nail at tip of bill rather hooked. Tadorna cornuta, Gm. The Shelldrake. 222. Tadorna cornuta {Gm.), Syst. Naf. i. p. 524; Bodd., Tab. p. ^. 53; Naiim. Vogl. t. 298; Gould, B. Eur. pi. 357; Hume, Game Birds, p. 136; Murray, Vert. ZooL, Sind, pp. 289, 290 ; id., Avif. Brit. SPATULA. 181 Ind. ii. p. 682, No. 1385. Tadorna vulpanser {Fleming), Jerd,, B. Ind. iii. p. 794; Murray^ Hdbk.^ Zool., ^c, Sind, p. 235. — The Shelldrake or Burrow Duck. Head, sides of the face, chin, throat, and about one-half of the neck all round deep black, with glossy green reflections ; below this the neck all round is white, as are also the back, wing coverts, rump, upper tail coverts and tail, the latter tipped with black ; a broad band of ferruginous or orange chestnut across the breast, meeting above on the foreback ; under surface white, except a mesial band in the middle of the abdomen ; primaries black ; greater coverts forming the speculum, and outer webs of the secondaries glossy golden green ; upper secondaries chestnut on their outer webs ; tertiaries and scapulars black ; bill blood-red, with a knob at the base of the upper mandible ; nail black ; bill deep red ; irides brown ; legs fleshy red. Length. — 23"25 inches ; wing 12 to I3"S; tail 475 to 5*5 ; tarsus 2 to 2-3. Females average 20 to 22 inches in length, and are much duller in colour. Hab. — Sind, Beloochistan, Persia, Afghanistan, E. Turkestan, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Oudh, Bengal, Kutch and Kattiawar Coast. Except in large lakes, the Shelldrake is only found on the sea-coast in the neighbourhood of the sea, which is its proper home. Sub-Family, ANATIN^. Hind toe small, not bordered by a membrane ; bill even in width throughout, or wider at the tip ; lamellse numerous, fine and bristly. Gen. Spatula,— ^^/V. Bill longer than the head, narrow at the base, broad at the tip, shovel-like ; nail small ; lamellse fine and bristly. Spatula clypeata. The Shoveller. 223. Spatula clypeata {Linn.), Bodd. Tab. P. E. pp. 971 972; Gould, B. Eur. pi. 300 ; J ad , B.Ind. iii. p. 796 ; Sir. F. iv.p. IC9; Murray, 182 ANATID^. Hdbh., Zool., ^c, Sind, p. 235 ; id., Vert. Zool. Smd, p. 290 ; Hume and Marsh,, Game Birds Ind. p. 14 1 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 682, No. 1386. (Vern., Alipat, Sind.) — The Shoveller, Male. — Head and neck all round deep or dark brown with glossy green reflections ; back brown ; scapulars and breast white ; rump and upper tail coverts glossy brown black; sides of the rump white; tail brown, the outer feathers white, the rest edged with white ; primaries dusky brown, white- shafted ; secondaries the same, their outer webs rich bright green and form- ing the speculum ; lesser wing coverts pale blue ; greater wing coverts dusky brown, tipped with white, forming a bar across the wing ; tertials long and pointed, pale blue on their outer webs, purplish black on the inner ones, the tips of some of the elongated ones white ; abdomen rich chestnut brown or brownish red ; lower tail coverts black, glossed greenish ; flanks chestnut brown, the feathers finely vermiculated with dark brown ; bill black ; legs orange ; irides yellow. Length, — 19 to 20 inches; wing 9 to 10 ; tail 3*5 to 4; tarsus r2 to, 1*4 ; bill from gape 29 to 3. l!\iQ female is slightly smaller, averaging 19 inches in length at the outside ; wing 8 to 9. The head is pale reddish brown, with dusky shaft-streaks ; breast pale brownish rufous, with dusky brown spots ; back dusky brown, the edges and tips of the feathers paler and rufous white ; lesser wing coverts tinged with pale blue ; speculum green, and a white bar across the wing as in the male. Hab, — Sind, Belochistan, Persia, Afghanistan, Nepaul, Cashmere, Eastern Turkestan, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces and Oudh, Bengal, Central India, Rajputana, Kutch, Guzerat, Concan, Deccan, South India, and Ceylon. Winter visitors to India, affecting all the lakes, marshes, ponds, &c., feed- ing on worms, larvse, tadpoles, seeds, and young shoots of aquatic plants. They are not naturally shy, as in village ponds they are frequently seen dab- bling about, or standing in the shallow edge of ponds, while the inhabitants are drawing water or bathing. Gen. Anas, Linn. Bill slightly longer than the head, of nearly uniform width throughout; tertials long and pointed ; tail wedge-shaped ; nostrils near the base of the bill ; middle tail feather curled. ANAS. 183 Anas boscas. The Mallard. 224. Anas boscas {Lmn.),Bodd. P. E. pp. 776, 777'; Gould, B. Eur. pl- 361 ; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 798/ Str. F. i. p. 261; iv.|p. 199; Afurray, Hadbk. ZooL, &c., Sind, p. 235; id., Vert. Zool. Sind, pp. 291, 292; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds Ind. p. 151 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 684, No. 1387. {Vern. Niroji, Sind). — The Mallard. Male. — Head and upper half of neck rich dark metallic glossy green, suc- ceeded by a white ring ; lower down on the back of the neck greyish chestnut brown, with fine transverse greyish waved lines ; back above or mantle chest- nut brown, the feathers margined slightly paler ; scapulars greyish white, the feathers finely marked with transverse wavy brown lines, the outermost ones chestnut ; rump and upper tail coverts blackish green, the sides of the former greyish white, finely vermiculated with brownish; primaries greyish brown, also the secondaries, the outer webs of which are rich shining purple, mar- gined by a velvetty black band and tipped with white, the speculum formed by the shining metallic purple patch is bounded on each side with a bar of black and white ; tail with the four middle feathers velvetty black, glossed with greenish, and curled upwards, the rest greyish brown, bordered with white ; lower neck and breast deep chestnut ; rest of lower parts greyish white, tinged in some specimens with dull yellowish, and marked with close-set transverse undulating brown lines, indistinct in many, and in others strongly marked ; -under tail coverts velvetty black ; bill dingy olive, greenish at the tip ; nail at the tip black ; irides brown ; legs and feet reddish orange to vermilion. Length. — 22*5 to 24*5 inches; wing iO"75 to ii ; tail 4*2 to 4*8; tarsus \'6 to 1*9. T\iQ female is smaller, averaging 21 inches in length. Hab. — Sind, Beloochistan, Persia, Afghanistan, Punjab, N.-W. and Central Provinces, Oudh, Bengal, Rajputana, Kutch, Guzerat, the Concans, and a straggler in the Deccan. 225. Anas paecilorhyncha, Forst., Ind. Zool. p. 23, pi. 13 ; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 799 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind. B, p. 643 ; Blyth, B. 184 ANATID^. JBurm. p. 165 ; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds iii. p. 165, pi. ; Legge, B, Ceylon p. 1073 '■> Murray, Verl. Zool. Sind, p. 292 ; Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 282; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 684, No. 1388. — The Spotted Billed Duck. Top of head to the nape behind dark sepia brown, also a line from the base of the upper mandible through the eye, ending in a point behind ; superci- lium, sides of the face and neck dingy fulvous, minutely speckled with brown ; lower neck, breast and abdomen the same, the brown spots larger than on the upper neck, and increasing in size on the breast, abdomen and flanks ; chin and throat unspotted fulvous ; upper back, scapulars and lesser and median wing coverts hair brown ; lower back and rump black ; primaries deep brown ; secondaries brown on their inner webs ; speculum on their outer webs, rich emerald glossy green, tipped with black, the black tips of the innermost narrowly edged with white ; greater wing coverts sepia brown at base, with a subterminal white band and tipped with black; tertiaries white on their outer webs and hair brown on their inner ; tail deep brown, the central feathers darker; vent and under tail coverts nearly black ; under wing coverts white ; bill black, with a spot of red at the base, and yellow at the tip ; legs and feet vermilion red ; irides deep brown. Length.— 2y^ to 25-9; wing 10-5 to ii;tail 475 to 575 ; tarsus rSs to i'93 ; bill from gape 2'5 to 275. Females are slightly smaller. Hab. — A permanent resident in India. Breeds in Sind and the Punjab. Found in large numbers in Sind, Beloochistan, Persia, the drier parts of the Punjab and Rajputana, also in the N.-W. and Central Provinces, Oudh, Kutch, Guzerat and the Deccan. Affects large lakes, ponds, brushy or weedy tanks, and often the banks of rivers, feeding on worms, molluscs, insects, larvae, young shoots of grass, &c. Mr. Hume says {Game B. iii. p, 168) "that the breeding season of this duck varies a great deal with locality ;" in the N.-W. Provinces and Oudh, also the eastern portions of Rajputana and the Punjab, July, August and September are the months ; in Guzerat, October. In Sind Mr. Doig obtained eggs at the latter end of April and May on a small island covered with long grass in the middle of the Narra. 226. Anas caryophyllacea, Lath., Ind. Om. ii. p. 866; Jerd., B. Ind. ii. p. 800 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind. B. p. 644 ; Blyth, B. Burm. p. 165 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 685, No. 1389 Rhodonessa caryo- phyllacea, Hume, Str. F. viii. p. 115 ; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds iii. p. 173, pi. ; Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 284 — The Pink-headed Duck. Whole head, sides and back of the neck rosy pink ; entire front of neck, lower plumage, back, rump, upper tail coverts, tail, upper wing coverts, scapu- lars and tertiaries dark glossy brown ; secondaries salmon colour, forming a spe- culum ; primaries brownish salmon colour, paler on the inner webs ; edge of CHAULELASMUS. 185 wing broadly whitish ; under wing coverts pinkish white. Bill reddish white, rosy at base and faintly bluish at tip ; irides orange red ; legs and feet blackish, tinged with red. Length. — 23 inches ; tail 4-5 ; wing 1 1 ; tarsus 2 ; bill at front 2-3, Hab. — Arracan, part of the Indian Peninsula and Assam. Breeds during June and July in swampy places. Eggs 5 to 10. Gen. Chaulelasmus.— Gray\ Bill as long as the head, of uniform width, except towards the tip, where it is slightly narrowed ; nail small ; lamellce projecting and delicate; wings and tail long ; central tail feathers rather elongate. Chaulelasmus streperus. The Gadwall. 227. Chaalelasmus streperus {Lmn.)y Bodd, Tab, PL Eni. p. 958 ; Gould, B, Eur. pi. 366; Jerd., B. Lid. iii. p. 802 ; Dresser B. Eur. vi. p. 487, pi.; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. 115; Scully, t. c, p. 362 ; Hume a7id Marsh., Game Birds iii. p. iSi, pi,; Murray, Vert. Zool. Sind, p. 293; Oates, B. Br. Bunn, ii. p. 283 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. hid. ii. p. 686, No. 1390. Anas strepera, Linn., Syst. Nat. i. p. 20O; Blyth^ B. Burnt, p. 166. — The Gadwall. Male. — Head and neck fulvous or greyish white, freckled with brown; crown of the head with a slight yellowish tinge; chin and throat greyish white, finely speckled with brown ; breast brown, with white crescent-shaped lines on each feather; abdomen white, minutely speckled with greyish brown; the flanks variegated with undulations of brown and white; back above clove brown, with narrow crescentic undulations ; scapulars with narrow undulations of brown and white ; rump and upper tail coverts bluish black, with a purplish gloss; lower tail coverts glossy black, tinged with green ; tail brownish grev, the edge of the feathers paler or fulvous, the two central feathers pointed • 24 B 186 ANATID^. primaries dark brown ; secondaries nearly black ; the speculum a tri-coloured bar of purple red, black and white, except the four first feathers, which are grey at base and black at the tip ; tertials brownish grey ; greater wing coverts glossy black ; lesser wing coverts grey, marbled with yellowish or fulvous white ; median coverts rich chestnut brown, varied in some with orange brown, the tips of the feathers nearest to the speculum broadly bordered with black ; bill brownish black or dusky leaden, tinged with reddish beneath ; irides dark brown ; legs pale orange. Length. — 19*5 to 22-5 ; wing 10.75 to ii'5 ; tail 3-9 to 4-2. The female is smaller, has a light superciliary streak ; the head on the crown is black mixed with greyish white ; sides of the face fulvous white with brownish streaks ; neck in front spotted with dark brown, and marked on the breast with crescentic bands of dark and pale brown ; chin and throat white ; abdomen white; back deep dusky brown, the feathers edged with buff; lesser wing coverts greyish brown, edged paler; speculum dull white; tail dark brown, marbled with pale buff, brown and white. Hah. — Central and South Europe, and nearly throughout India ; found in Sind, Beloochistan, Afghanistan, and Persia; also in the Punjab, N.-W. and Central Provinces, Oudh, Bengal, Central India, Kutch, Guzerat, the Concans and Deccan; recorded also from Nepaul, Gilgit, and E. Turkestan; it is also met with on the Continent of Europe, in Spain and Italy, also in Iceland and Siberia, as well as in the northern parts of Africa and India generally. In Sind it is numerous on the lakes, dhunds, &c., during winter, and especially on the Munchur, arriving about the middle of November. Gadwall are considered excellent for the table, especially during the first two months of their arrival, when they usually feed on rice and young shoots of the sprouting wheat crops. Later on they affect the j heels and feed on crustaceans and fry of fish, and though then rather fishy in taste, the flesh is not despised when better game is not to be had. The localities preferred by the Gadwall after dusk are generally lakes, jheels and ponds covered with long herbage, but during the day it frequents open water, as the broads of the Indus. 228. Chaulelasmus angustirostris {MenetHes), Bp. F. itni. t. 47, i., 2 ; Gould, B. Eur. pi. 373 ; Str. F. i. p. 262 ; iii. p. 273 ; vii. pp. 493, 523; Murray, Hdbk., Zool , Sfc, Sind, p. 235; Hume, Game B. Ind.^. zyj; Murray, Vert. Zool. Sind, p. 294; id., Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 687, No. 1392.— The Marbled Teal. "The male has the forehead, crown, occiput, and nape brownish white, with numerous narrow, close-set, wavy, irregular, dark brown bars, which become more speckly on the occiput, where also the ground colour is a more rufescent brown ; feathers immediately round the eye very dark brown ; a broad irre- gular stripe over the eye, and a large patch on the side of the head behind the CHAULELASMUS. 187 eyes, moderately dark brown, shading into the very dark brown immediately surrounding the eyes ; the whole space between the sides of the upper man- dible and the dark feathers surrounding the eye, the whole sides of the head below the dark eye and ear patch, the whole chin, throat and front of the neck, slight greyish or brownish white, very narrowly, regularly and closely streaked with brown ; the lower parts a slightly brownish white ; the breast feathers with greyish brown subterminal transverse bars, mostly more or less concealed by the pale tippings of the superincumbent feathers, and only clearly seen when the feathers are lifted ; the sides and flanks similar, but the subterminal bars much broader, and some of the flank feathers with several , bars ; the vent feathers and lower tail coverts, generally, with a slightly more rufescent tinge, and with two or more narrow, widely separated transverse brown bars ; the tibial plumes browner, and with numerous narrow closely- set but ill-marked transverse brown bars ; the abdomen more or less obso- letely mottled with very pale grey brown, which on lifting the feathers is found to arise from more or less faint, irregular, transverse, subterminal, brownish bars. " The barrings above described are very much more marked in some spe- cimens than in others ; in some in fact they are almost entirely obsolete on the abdomen, and can hardly be traced. " The upper back greyish brown, the feathers with a subterminal richer brown bar ; scapulars brown, each feather with a yellowish white terminal spot, and of a much richer brown, the longer ones especially, just above the spot ; the tertiaries and secondary greater coverts are greyish brown, the former obso- letely barred paler ; the secondaries are pale grey ; the primaries, their greater coverts, and the winglet pale slaty, the primaries with a silvery grey tinge on the outer webs towards the tips ; the inner webs pale grey brown, except towards the tips, where they are much darker, and where the shafts also are conspi- cuously darker ; the middle back, rump, and upper tail coverts the same grey brown as the upper part of the back; the feathers of the middle back narrowly and obscurely tipped with 5'ellowish white, those of the rump and upper tail coverts more broadly and conspicuously so, and with a subterminal dark brown spot ; the longest of the upper tail coverts are very broadly and con- spicuously so tipped, and have a subterminal dark band ; the tail feathers pale grey brown, broadly tipped, and narrowly margined with yellowish white ; the two central tail feathers darker on the inner webs and dark shafted, and the lateral tail feathers paling as they recede from the centre. "The female is similar, but smaller, with the eye patch and generally all the markings and tints duller and less conspicuous. " The legs and feet are dusky olive or dark horny brown ; bill bluish grey, black on culmen and tip, or dusky, bounded at the margins of the feathers of the forehead and cheeks with a pale, leaden blue line continued along the 188 ANATID^. margin of both mandibles to near the tip, and a spot of the same colour just above the nail ; the irides are brown. "The dimensions of this species are as follows : — "Male, — Length 18-3 to 19; expanse 28-5 to 29*5 ; tail from vent 3-6 to 4 ; wing 8-1 to 8*5; wings when closed reach to within 07 to 1-5 of end of tail ; bill at front, including nail, 177 to 1-85; tarsus 1*44 to rS2; weight 1-3 oz. to r5 oz. '■^Female. — Length, 16-9 to 17-5 ; expanse 27 to 28 ; tail from vent 2*8 to 37; wing 7'9 to S'l ; wings when closed reach to within from 0*5 to i of end of tail ; bill at front o-6 to 075 : tarsus i'4 to I'S ; weight i lb. to i lb. 3 oz." —(^Str, F. i. p. 562.) Hab. — Sind, Beloochistan, Persia, S. Afghanistan, Lower Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Oudh and Bengal ; extremely abundant after October; much sought for the table. Feeds chiefly on leaves, roots, fresh water molluscs, &c. Gen. TiSi^Yo, {Leach), Gray, Gen. Birds, iii. p. 6)5. Tail with the central feathers narrow and much lengthened bej'ond the rest ; neck long ; bill elevated at the base, of nearly uniform width ; 1st pri- mary of wing longest. Daiiia acuta. The Pintail. 229. Dafila acuta {Lmn.), Jerd., B. Lnd. iii. p. 803; Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 531, pi.; Hume, Str. F. iii. p. 193; Scully, Str. F. iv. p. 200; id., Str. F. viii. p. 363; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds iii. p. 189, pi. ; Dates, Sir. F. X. p. 245 ; Murray, Vert. ZooL, Sind, p. 297 ; Oates, B. Br. Burnt. ii. p. 279; Linn., Syst. Nat. i. p. 202; Blyth, B. Burm. p. 166; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 1076; Murray, Avif. Brit. Lid. ii. p. 689, No. 1393.— The Pintail, DAFILA. 189 Jl/ale.—T.ni'we head, face, chin and throat umber brown, the feathers on the crown slightly darker and wiih a ferruginous tinge; back of the neck dark brown, nearly black; lower neck, breast and abdomen white; a white line running up on each side of the neck to the occiput ; back, sides of the breast and flanks marked with transverse undulations of black and white ; upper tail coverts cinereous or pale fulvous brown ; under tail coverts deep velvet black ; tail with the central feathers black, much elongated, and glossed with greenish, the others dusky brown and margined with white ; primaries dusky greyish brown, the shafts much paler ; secondaries dusky brown on their inner webs, their outer webs forming the speculum, dark greenish bronze, edged w ith black and tipped broadly white ; upper part of the specu- lum edged with pale ferruginous ; tips of the greater coverts, like the lesser and median coverts, are dusky brown; scapulars black, edged with yellowish ; tertiaries long and pointed, deep black and edged with whitish; bill black, with a bluish tinge on the sides of the upper mandible ; legs and feet slaty or blackish grey ; irides dark brown. Leugth.~22. to 29 inches; wing 10-3 to 1 175 ; tail 7-5 to 8 ; bill 2 to 2-45. Females.— "^i-nTiWex. Length.— 20 to 22-5 ; wing 9-3 to lO. Female. — Forehead and crown, also back of the head, nape and neck dark brown, the feathers with fulvous edgings ; sides of the face, chin, throat and foreneck fulvous with brown spots and streaks, which become longer and darker on the lower neck; breast and the lower parts fulvous with obscure crescentic brownish markings on the breast, flanks and sides of the rump and large spots on the lower abdomen ; back and scapulars dark brown, with lunate or crescentic markings of white and pale buff about the middle of each feather, and edged with whitish; greater and lesser wing coverts dusky brown, with margins and tips of white ; primaries a shade lighter ; speculum brown- ish bronze, unglossed, the tips of the feathers white ; tertiaries dusky brown, margined with white ; tail long, pointed, dark brown, with imperfect bars and streaks of white or yellowish white; under tail coverts fulvous white, with brown spots. ^£z3.— Sind, Beloochistan, Persia, Afghanistan, Punjab, N.-W. and Central Provinces, Oudh, Bengal, Kutch, Concan, Deccan, Guzerat, Central and Southern India and Ceylon. Hume says — "There is no district in the Empire, from Ceylon to Kashmir, and from Kashmir to Sadya, Munipoor and INloulmein, where the Pintail does not occur in greater or less abundance except in south Tenasserim." The Pintail affects the large broads or dhunds and lake?, and is seldom seen except in large parties. It is held in much esteem for the table, and for this purpose is netted in great numbers with thp Gadwall and other water birds. On the Wunchur Lake the fowlers net from 1 00 to 200 daily, and a sportsman in suitable localities could obtain two or three dozens at least as a 190 ANATID/E. good day's sport, besides other game. Hume, like myself, thinks that on the whole, next to the Mallard, the Pintail is the best duck for the table in India, the Gadwall ranking third. Gen. Mareca, Steph., Gray, Gen. B. iii. p. 614. Bill uniform in width ; laminae prominent; first and second quills of wing longest; tail short, cuneate ; hind toe small. Mareca penelope. The Wigeon. 230. Mareca penelope {Lmn.), Bodd., Tab. PL Enl. p. 825 ; Gould, B. Eur. pi. 359; Jerd., B.Jnd. iii. p. 804; Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 541, pi.; Hume, Sir. F. i. p. 61; iv. p. 30; vii. p. 494; ffume and Marsh., Game Birds iii. p. 198, pi. ; Hume, Sir. F. viii. p. 115 ; x. p. 245 (note); Murray, Vert. ZooL, Sind, p. 299 ; Oaies, B. Br. Burm. p. 278 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Jnd. ii. p. 691, No. 1394. Anas penelope, Linn., Syst. Nat. i. p. 202 ; Blyth, B. Burm. p. 166.— The Wigeon. Male. — Forehead and crown creamy yellow, remainder of head and neck rich chestnut ; cheeks speckled with black, also a speckled band down the middle of the throat in some ; nape narrowly barred with black and pale reddish white; chin and throat black ; lower neck and breast vinaceous red, lightest in front, darkest on the sides ; abdomen white, the flanks with trans- verse undulating lines of black and white ; under tail coverts black, with a greenish gloss; tail blackish grey; back minutely barred with transverse undulating lines of black and white ; scapulars black, edged with white ; wing coverts white, the greater ones with velvet black tips ; speculum glossy green, bounded above and below with black; bill plumbeous, the base black; legs and feet plumebous or brown ; irides red brown. Length. — 19 to 19-5; wing lO to 10-5; tail 4 to 4*5; bill 17 to 1-82. Females zxQ smaller; length 17*5 to 19; wing 9*3 to 8-o inches ; tail 3-5 to 5. In colouring the female has the head and neck fulvous brown, speckled with dusky ; upper parts dusky or deep brown, the feathers with reddish edges ; speculum without the green gloss ; feathers of the flanks rufous brown, tipped with ashy. QUERQUEDULA. 191 Hah. — Sind, Beloochistan, Persia, Afghanistan, Punjab, N.-W. and Central Provinces, Oudh, Bengal and throughout Western and Central India, rare in Southern India and Burmah, and not yet recorded from Ceylon. In Kattia- war, Rajputana, the Deccan and Concan it is not uncommon during the winter months. It is considered excellent eating for the first two months after arrival, but after this the flesh is said to become of a muddy flavour and unpalatable. Gen. Querquedula, Steph., Gray, Gen. B. iii. p. 6i6. Bill of uniform width, as long as the head, and slightly raised at the base ; nail horny, hooked and narrow ; lamellae not apparent ; wings long, second quill longest ; secondaries long and pointed ; tail wedge-shaped. 231. Querquedula crecca {Li'nn.\ Bod. Tab. P. E. p. 946 ; Gould, B. Eur. pi. 364; Jerd., B. Ind. iii, p. 8o6 ; Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 507, pi. ; Murray, Hdbk., Zoo!., 8fc., Sind, p. 235 ; Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 285 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 692, No, 139S. Anas crecca, Linn., Syst. Nat. i. p. 204 ; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 1083 ; Hume, Game Birds Ind. iii. p. 206. {Kardo, Sind; Moorghabi, Hind.) — The CommoxV Teal. Forehead, crown, face, cheeks, throat and upper neck in front rich chestnut brown; chin black ; a narrow dark line round the base of the bill, followed by a white or buffy one on the side, which meets a similar coloured superciliary stripe, and another under the eye ; behind the eye, between the hind superci- liary and lower eye-streak is a broad glossy green, or dark green patch, which meets on the back of the neck ; breast rufescent or white, tinged with reddish and spotted with black ; upper abdomen white ; lower abdomen in some minutely barred with brownish ; flanks barred with brown or blackish brown ; upper back and scapulars marked with undulating white and black transverse bars ; lower back dark brown, with faint traces only of paler transverse bars ; tail hair brown or dusky brown, the feathers edged with white ; under tail coverts black, the feathers on the sides creamy yellow; primaries dusky brown, edged on their outer webs and tipped darker ; first six secondaries velvet black on their outer webs ; next four or five forming the speculum glossy green, and followed by the black outer web of the first tertial ; lesser and median coverts dusky or greenish brown ; greater coverts the same and tipped with white or yellowish white, forming a border to the speculum above ; bill black, or brownish black ; irides brown ; legs and feet greyish or plumbeous. Length. — 14-5 to 1575 inches; wing 7 to 8 ; tail 2*9 to 3*5, The female has the head, neck and upper part dusky brown ; the feathers edged with white or fulvous white on the head and neck and lunated on the back ; speculum as in the male, but slightly duller ; chin and throat white, with black spots ; breast and flanks white and spotted with dark brown ; abdomen white ; under tail coverts with brown streaks. Length. — 13-5 to 147 inches ; with a wing of 6-5 to 7*5. 192 ANATID^. Hab.—Sind, Beloochistan, Persia, Afghanistan, Punjab, N. W and Central Provinces, Rajputana, Kutch and throughout India and Burmah. Abundant wherever itoccurs, frequenting tanks, rivers, ponds and jheels, &c. 232. Querquedula circia (Ltnn.), Jerd., B. ind. iii. p. 807; Dresser, B. Eur. vi. p. 5 1 3, pi. ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, p. 644 ; Scully, Sir. F. iv. p. 201 ; Hume and Marsh., Game Birds iii. p. 215, pi. ; Bingham, Str. F, ix. p. 198 ; Murray^ Vert. ZooL, Sind, p. 301 ; Oates, B. Br. Burnt, ii. p. 286 ; Murray, Avi/. Brit. Ind. W. ^.6()i, No. 1396. Anas circia, Linn., Syst. Nat. i. p. 204 ; Blyth, B. Burin., p. 166 ; Legge, B. Ceylon, p. 1080.— The Garganey Teal. Querquedula circia. The Garganey or Blue-winged Teal. Male. — Forehead purplish brown, finely streaked with white ; crown of the head, occiput, nape and a line half way down the back of the neck dark umber or blackish brown, bounded on each side by a white superciliary streak, which extends to the sides of the neck ; face, sides of the neck, cheeks, throat and neck chestnut brown, the feathers with white mesial streaks ; chin black; breast and upper abdomen yellowish brown, tinged in some specimens with ferruginous, and with broad crescentic dark brown markings ; lower abdomen white or yellowish white, with, in some specimens, transverse, dusky striae behind ; flanks with transverse undulations of black and white ; axillaries white with black bases ; back brownish black, the feathers edged with yellow- ish brown ; primaries dark brown on their outer webs and tips, pale wood brown on their inner webs, in some specimens narrowly edged with wliiiish ; wing spot on outer web of secondaries dull green, slightly glossed and tipped with white, the white tips forming the second bar across the wing ; greater coverts ashy grey or bluish ashy, broadly tipped with white ; lesser and median coverts ashy grey, or bluish ashy ; scapulars long and lanceolate, black, with a mesial white shaft, and narrowly edged greyish white or white ; tertiaries dusky brown, edged with white on their outer webs ; rump and upper tail coverts dark brown, with bars of yellowish white ; tail dark brown, the feathers edged QUERQUEDULA. 193 with yellowish or fulvous white ; under tail coverts yellowish white with black spots ; bill black above, brownish on the lower mandible ; irides brown ; legs and feet greenish grey or plumbeous. Length. — 15-5 to 16-5 inches; wing 7-2 to 8 ; tail 3-2 to 3-5 ; bill 175 to 1-85. The/emale has the chin and throat white ; head on the crown brown with spots and streaks of a darker shade ; back of neck brown, the feathers edged with white ; eye-streak faint ; speculum dull and indistinct, bordered above and below with white ; breasts and abdomen greyish white, spotted with brown. Length. — 14-5 to 15 inches, -with a wing of from 7 to 7-5. II ab. — The same as Q^ crecca. Not found in as great numbers as Q. crecca, affects the same situations, and is considered excellent for the table. It is chiefly a nocturnal feeder, conceal- ing itself in the jheels and dhunds, among the high grass, during the day ; when disturbed it usually returns to the same spot. Hume says "that at nights they come in some parts of the country in such crowds into paddy fields as to destroy acres of crop at one visit ; their food, like Q. crecca, is chiefly vegetable, as tender shoots and leaves of water plants, seeds, bulbs, &c , but on the sea coasts, especially the Sind and INIekran Coast, where they are frequently found in some numbers, Crustacea, slugs, fry of fish and algae form their diet." Querquedula formosa. The Clucking Teal. 233. Querquedula formosa, Georgi , Act. Siockl. 1779, t. i. ; Schl. y. i.^2; Murray, An/. Brit. bid. ii. p. 694, No. 1397. Querque- dula glocitans {Pall.), Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 808 ; Hume, Game Birds Ind. iii. p. 225. — The Clucking Teal. ''Male. — Forehead, top of head and occiput rich purple brown, bounded by a narrow white hne from the eye ; face, cheeks and side of neck fawn 25 B 194 ANATID^. colour ; a black streak from below the eye meeting a black patch on the throat; nape and hind neck glossy green, ending in a black stripe down the back of the neck, separated from the fawn colour of the sides of the neck by -a narrow white line ; upper plumage finely marbled grey, edged with rufous on the back; upper wing coverts hair brown, the median coverts the same, with an edging of rufous, forming the anterior margin of the speculum, which is glossy green, ending in velvet black and bordered posteriorly with silvery white ; primaries brown ; scapulars lengthened, deep black in the centre, white on their upper side, and rufous externally ; upper tail coverts brown, white on either side ; tail of i6 feathers, dark brown ; beneath the throat black ; neck and breast vinaceous purple, paling below with black spots ; abdomen white ; fianks mottled grey ; under tail coverts black ; bill dusky ; legs dusky. '-^Length. — 15*5 inches; wing 8*5 ; tail 3 ; bill at front v^.'"— {Jerd., B. Ind.) The female (of which the Kurrachee Museum has a specimen) wants the rich markings on the head and face, which are mottled grey; there is a dis- tinct white superciliary streak and a brown streak behind the eye, also a patch of white above the angle of the upper mandible ; chin and throat white ; cheeks and sides of the neck white, the feathers with mesial linear streaks ; breast rufescent, spotted with dark brown; belly white; lower abdomen and under tail coverts white, with linear brown spots ; back dark brown, the fea- thers edged with rufous brown ; fianks dusky rufescent brown, some of the feathers with whitish edgings; bill 1-62 x 0'62 at its widest part ; tarsus i 6. Hah, — Sind, N.-W. Provinces at Delhi {Hume), Oudh and Bengal. According to Mr. Hume, this is a rare straggler within the limits of India. Blyth obtained a single specimen (a male) in the Calcutta Bazaar in 1844. Mr. James, C.S., who was for some time in Sind, had a water-colour drawing of the head of a Teal, which Mr. Hume regards as the male of this species, and, besides a female in the Kurrachee Museum, a male was obtained by Mr. Chill at Delhi in 1879. 234. Querquedula falcata, Georgi. Ad. Siocki., 1779, t. i; Hume, Sir. F. vii. p. 494 ; id,. Game Birds iii. p. 231 ; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind, ii. p. 695, No, 1398. Anas javana, Bodd., PI. Enl. p. 930. — The Bronze Capped Teal. A frontal spot ending in a point on the culmen, about 0*4 long and 0*3 wide, pure white. The lores, forehead, crown and lower portion of cheeks a rich ruddy purple or chocolate bronze ; the rest of the cheeks, sides of the head, and occiput emerald green in most lights, in a few ruddy, or even rosy bronze ; the feathers of the hinder crown, occiput and nape are lengthened so as to form a considerable mane-like crest; the chin and entire throat snow white, then a black ring all round the neck, with dark green or greenish QUERQUEDULA. 195 blue reflections ; the white of the throat runs into a little point into this ring and half divides it ; then a white ring ; then the front and sides of the neck, breast and abdomen white, each feather with a broad subterminal black bar following the curve of the end of the feather ; those of the neck with these bars very perfect and strongly marked, those of the breast and upper three- fourths of the abdomen with only a single bar, more or less imperfect ; back of the neck (below the white ring), interscapulary region, smaller scapulars, sides of the breast, sides, flanks, lower portion of abdomen and feathers about vent closely barred, in some places almost vermiculated, black, or dusky, and white or greyish white in varying degrees of fineness and intensity ; entire -wings and larger scapulars dove or grey brown, darker on the quills, the outer webs of all the secondaries black, with dull metallic green lustre, their greater coverts broadly tipped white ; middle and lower back and rump dark, rather glossy hair brown ; a few of the feathers with traces of fine pale vermicu- lations ; shorter central upper tail coverts similar, but a paler greyer brown ; rest of the upper tail coverts jet black, with a subdued green lustre ; tail a delicate, somewhat silvery grey brown, almost completely covered by the long black upper tail coverts ; entire wing lining and axillaries pure white ; the lowest flank feathers on each side with broad, pure white, unbarred tips; most of the lower tail coverts black, with a faint greenish lustre ; shorter lateral lower tail coverts on each side pure creamy buff. In the breeding season the tertiaries are said to be greatly elongated, sickle-shaped, and reaching to the end of the primaries ; the shaft and external edges of these feathers whitish, the outer ones being entirely velvetty black, but the inner ones less black, and finely vermiculated. Male. — Length, 197S ; expanse 32-5; wing 9*5; tail from vent 3*2; tarsus 1*5 ; bill from gape 2-i ; weight i lb. 6 ozs. ; irides deep brown; bill perfectly black ; legs and feet drab, with an olive tinge. Adult Female. — Head striped with purplish brown, each feather margined with fulvous ; sides of the face and neck dotted with small brown points and stripes; throat paler, varied, with small brown markings ; general colour of the back rufous, more or less broadly and irregularly varied with brown ; lower, portion of the back brown, with a few obsolete fulvous edgings, being coloured as in the male, but the sickle-shaped feathers are developed, these being represented by a few elongated and slightly curved feathers, for the most part brown, the outer webs inclining to grey at the base, the outer margins white ; upper part of the breast deep rufous, with a few purplish brown cross mark- ings, these being thickest on the lower part of the neck and sides of the throat ; rest of the under surface of the body fulvous, covered everywhere with very indistinct brown mottlings ; sides of the body and under tail coverts rather deeper rufous, with plainer longitudinal brown stripes and irregular mottlings ; under wing coverts and axillary plumes pure white. Total length — 16 inches ; culmen r8 ; wing 9*0 ; tail 3*4 ; tarsus, r2. 196 ANATIDiE. Hah. — Punjab and N.-W. Provinces. As yet only recorded from near Lucknow and Delhi, -also at Sultanpoor. The specimen from the Calcutta market must have been obtained from some part of the Coast. Querquedula gibherifrons is a species only as yet known from South Anda- mans, where it is a permanent resident. Hume has excellent figures of both male and female in his Game Birds. It is a very peculiarly coloured species, the whole upper and lower surface being a sort of a pale rusty ferruginous, each feather with a mesial crescentic or sub-crescentic patch of brown towards the tips, which are slightly paler rusty ferruginous than the bases ; orbital ring white ; cheeks and throat white ; secondary greater coverts, the outer webs of a few secondaries and their tips white ; rest of outer webs of secondaries velvetty black, with a brilliant green longitudinal band. Sub-Family, FULIGULIN^, ^'ze;.— Diving Ducks. Bill elevated at base, flat and broad towards the tip; nail strong, broad and horny ; tarsi short, rather compressed ; toes long, webbed to the end ; hind toe short ; tail short and rounded. Gen. Fuligula, Steph.; Branta, Boie.; Gray, Gen. B. iii p. 620. Bill nearly as long as the head, moderately wide, tip depressed ; nail large ; amellae distant; wings moderate, ist quill longest. 235. Fuligula ruflna, 'Pall., Zoogr. /. 79 ; Bodd. Tab. p. E. 928 ; Gould, B.Eur, pi. 369; Jerd., B. Ind. iii. p. 81 1; Str. F. iv. p. 201; Murray, Hdbk., Zool., ^c. Sind, p. 238 ; Hume, Game Birds Ind. iii. p. 253; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 697, No. 1399. {Rattoba, Sind; Lai I -seer ee, Punjab.)— The Red-crested Pochard. Male. — Crown of the head, with an elongated crest of a silky texture and dull yellow colour ; head on the sides, cheeks, chin and throat rich chestnut, with a tinge of rose red or reddish bay ; nape and a line continued down the back of the neck black; lower neck, breast, sides of the breast and abdomen black, in some specimens the abdomen is a chocolate brown ; flanks white ; back pale brown, or yellowish brown ; the scapulars with a fulvous tinge ; end of the wing and a large spot on the sides of the back white ; primaries brown on their outer webs and at their tips, white on their inner webs ; secondaries white, with sub-terminal dark tips; tertiaries pale brown ; rump and upper tail coverts nearly black ; tail dark brown ; bill bright vermilion ; legs and feet vermilion or reddish orange ; irides reddish brown. Length.— 20--;^ to 22 inches ; wing lO to 1075 ; tail 3*0 to 4-0 ; bill 2'3 to 2'S. Females are not much smaller, and average from 20 to 21 inches. Fore- head and crown dark brown; the neck on the back and nape slightly paler; FULIGULA. 197 crest much less developed; sides of the face and neck brownish white; spe- culum greyish white ; breast and flanks yellowish brown, some of the feathers edged paler; shoulder of wing greyish white; tail yellowish brown ; legs and feet reddish brown ; back rufous or yellowish brown, some of the feathers edged paler. Hab. — Sind, Beloochistan, Persia, Afghanistan, Punjab, N.-W. Provinces, Bengal, Guzerat, Kutch, Rajputana, the Deccan and throughout India gene- rally, except in Southern India and Ceylon. It is said to breed in parts of Persia. Occurs everywhere in large numbers during winter from the latter end of October to about the middle of April ; a few, however, remain beyond the loih of April. They are not very shy in their wild state, except in well-shot districts, and usually large bags may be made of this duck in a single day ; they swim well and dive equally well, remaining a long while under water. Large lakes and rivers, and situations where there is much deep water, are the natural resorts of this duck. Fuligula cristata. The Tufted Pochard. 236. Fuligula cristata (Z/««.), Bodd. Tab. P. E. noi; Gould, B. Eur. pi. 370; Jerd., B. hid. iii. p. 815, No. 97 1; Murray, Hdbk., Zool.y^c, Sind, p. 338; Hume, Game Birds, Ind. iii. p. 277; Murray, Avif. Brit. Ind. ii. p. 698, No. 1400. {Turando, Sind; Abluk, Punjab.)— The Tufted Pochard. Head, neck, long pendent crest and nape glossy black, with purple and green reflections ; on the chin a white triangular spot ; throat and breast black ; back dusky olive brown, or black brown, tinged with violet ; under parts white ; vent and under tail coverts black ; greater wing coverts white, the tips broadly black ; lesser wing coverts like the back ; tertials glossy green ; bill plumbeous ; irides golden yellow ; legs and feet dusky. Length.— \6 to 17 inches ; wing 7-5 to 8-5 ; tail 2-5 to 3*0 ; bill r8 to 20. Female. — Length — 15 to 16 inches, with a wing of 7-5 to 8. 198 ANATID/^E. The female is dull rufous brown above, with paler edges to the feathers, the crest is less developed and deep rufous brown in colour ; feathers about the bill pale yellowish white ; breast on the centre yellowish or fulvous white, tinged with greenish : under parts white, with faint dusky bars of brown ; speculum white ; the under tail coverts white, with a few spots of pale brown. Hah. — Sind, Beloochistan, Persia, Afghanistan, Punjab, N.-W. and Central Provinces, Oudh, Bengal, Rajputana, Kutch, Guzerat, Concan, Deccan, Cen- tral and Southern India. This duck frequents chiefly open tanks, jheels and small dhunds overgrown with weeds. It feeds chiefly on small molluscs and insects. In the stomachs of a few obtained by me at Sehwan were species of Nepidce, a species of Ranatra being the most common. They dive and swim well, and remain for some time under water in search of minute molluscs, roots and seeds. They are said to be good eating, but after January the flesh has a peculiar flavour, which renders it unpalatable. Fuligula marila. The Scaup Pochard. 237. Fuligula marila {Linn.), Bodd. Tab. p. E, I0C2 ; Gouldy B. Eur. pi. 371 ; Jerd., B. hid. iii. p. 814, No. 970 ; Murray, Hdbk., ZooL, &•€., Sind, p. 239 ; /- pcEcilorbynclia 183 scutulata 179 streperus 185 ANATiD-a; 175 Andersoni, Euplocamns 64 Anser albifrons .^ 173 brachyrrbyncliiTS 172 cinereus 171 ■ eoromandelianus 176 ■ erythropus 174 indicus 174 segetum 171 Anserid^ 171 Anthropoides virgo 121 antigone, Grns 118 Arboricola atrogulaiis 78 • ■ brunneipectus 78 chloi'opus 79 intermedia 79 rufogularis 80 torqueola 81 Arborophila brunneipectus 78 chloropus 79 mandelli 80 rufogularis , 80 Ardea cinerea 168 fusca 168 goliatli 166 insignis 168 ■ purpurea 169 sumatrana 167 tectirostris 167 typhon 167 Ardeid^ 166 ardeola, Dromas 117 arenarius, Pterocles 43 210 GENERAL INDEX. PAGE arenaria, Calidris 136 , Tringa 136 argoondah, Perdicula 84 Argus giganteus 51 argus, Phasianus 51 Argusiana ....." 50 Argusa giganteus 61 Argusianns argus 51 giganteus 61 asiatica, Perdicixla 84 assiviilis, Macrojpijgia 31 aswuree, Dendrocygna 177 atra, Fulica 165 atrogularis, Arboricola 78 aureola, Eniberiza 6 auritus, Sypheotides 101 avocetta, Recurvirostra 150 Bailloni, Porzana 160 , Ralhis 160 Bambusicola Fytclii 81 bengalensis, Galloper dix 69 ■ ■ , Perdix 69 ■ , Bhynchcea 128 I , Sypheotides 100 bicincta, Osinotreron 18 bicolor, Carpopbaga 23 ■ , Columba 23 Blewitti, Microperdix 87 Blythi, Ceriornis 56 bonhami, Ammoperdix 75 brachyrrbyncbus, Anser 172 brunneipectus, Arboricola 78 , Arborophila 78 bucbanani, Emberiza 8 Caccabis cbiikor 74 ca;lestis, Gallinago 125 Caloenas nicobarica 38 Calidris arenaria 136 calidris, Scolopax 141 ■ , Tetanus 141 Calo-perdix ocellata 82 ' oculea 82 cambayensis, Perdicula 84 , Ttirtur 33 PAGE candidus, Himantopus 151 canescens, Scolopax 140 , Totanus 140 Canningi, Rallina 159 cantiana, jEgialitis 107 , JEgialophilus 108 ", Charadrius 108 capensis, Rbynchcea 128 Carpopbaga senea 22 bicolor 23 griseicapilla 23 insignis 23 ■ sylvatica 22 CARPOPHAGINiE 22 caryopbyllacea, Anas 184 ^Bhodonessa 184 Casarcsb leucoptera 178 rutila 178 " scutulata 178 castanea, Pucrasia 58 Ceriornis Blythi 56 melanocepbalus 65 • satyra 55 ceylonensis, Perdix 69 ceylonica, Porzana 158 ■ , Rallina 58 Chalcopbaps indica 37 Chalcopbasis Sclateri 54 Obaradrius cedicnemus 114 cantianus 108 curonicus 108 duhius 108 fluviatilis 108 fulvus 104, 106 Geoffroyi 106 longipes 106 mongolicus 107 mongolus 107 phillipinus 108 pl^xvialis 105 pyrrothorax 107 Scolopax ,.... 114 virginicus 106 Charadrin^ 103 Chaulclasmus angustirostris 186 rufiventris 186 • etreperus 185 GENERAL INDEX. 211 PAGE Cliettusia cinerea ?-12 fiavipes 1J2 gregaria Ill • inornata 112 leucura 112 villotcei 112 chinensis, Coturnix 90 • , Excalfactoria 89 • , Francolinus 73 . , Tetrao 73, 90 chinqnis, Polyplectron 51 cliirurgus, Hydrophasianus 153 , Tringa 163 clilorigaster , Crocopus 16 chloropus, Arboricola 79 , ArhoroiMla 79 , Gallinula 163 , Peloperdix 79 , Tropicoperdix 79 chukor, Caccabis 74 cia, Emheriza 9 cinclus, Tringa 134 cinerea, Ai'dea 168 , Cliettusia 112 , Fulica 165 ,Grus 119 , Terekia 143 cinereus, Anser 171 ■ , Gallicrex 165 — ,Pluvianus 112 circia. Anas , 192 , Querquedula 191 Cirripidesmus Geoffroyi 106 . mongolicus 107 Citrinella Euspiza 7 . fucata 3 • • rutila 7 • • Stewarti 9 Clangula glaucion 201 clypeata. Spatula 181 coelestis, Gallinago 125 Scolopax 425 Columba Hodgsoni 29 intermedia 27 • leptogrammica 30 ■ leuconota 28 livia 27 PAGE Columba meena 33 ^ risoria.., 30 ru2)estris 28 striata 37 tigrina 35 vernans 18 viridis 18 CoLTJMBID-S; 24 communis, Coturnix 87 cornuta, Tadorna 180 coromandelianus, Nettapus 176 coromandelica, Coturnix 89 , Tetrao 89 coromandelicus, J^Te^^opws 176 , Cursorius 102 coromandus, Nettapus 1/6 coronata, Pei-dix 83 coronatus, Pterocles 40 Coturnix cbinensis 90 ' communis 87 coromandelica 89 erythrorhyncha < 86 pentah 84 COTURNICIN^ 85 crassirostris, Tringa 132 Crawfurdi, Euplocamus 64 crecca, -4%as 191 , Querquedula 191 crepitans, (Edicnemus 114 cristata, Columba 83 , Galei-ida .. 11 , Rollulus 83 cristatus, Gallicrex 165 , Gallinula 165 , Pavo 49 , Rollulus 83 , Vanellus 110 Crocopus cbloi'igaster 16 HardwicMi 16 " Jerdoni 16 pboenicopterus 16 viridifrons 16 Crossoptilon thibetauum 53 drouyni 53 cruentus, Phasianus 56 ~ , Itliagiuis 56 curuuica, ^gialitis 1(»8 212 GENERAL INDEX. PAGE cnronicus, Charadrins 108 Cursorius coromandelicus 102 • gallictis ^02 Cuvieri, Euplocamus 63 • • , Lophophorus fi3 , Nycthemerus • 63 Cygnus olor 170 - Bewicki 171 .. inusicus 171 Dafila acuta 188 damascensis, Tringa 131 deliciosa, Otis 100 DendroGjgna, arcuata 177 ■ aivsuree 177 • fulva 178 •• Javanica 177 • major 178 Dendrotreron Hodgsoni 29 Dromas ardeola 117 dubia, ^gialitis 108 duhius, Charadrius 108 dubius, Totaiius 142 Ducula griseicapilla 23 DussTimieri, Hemipodius 92 ,Turnix 92 ElpMnstonei, Palumhus 26 ^mheriza. albida c 10 • aureola 6 . Buclianani 8 . • fiavogularis 6 . • fucata 3 ■ huttoni 8 — leucocephala 10 lutcola 5 melanocephala 4 . — melanops 7 pithyornis 10 pusilla rutila sclioenicla sclioeniclus ... spodocepliala btcwarti PAGE Emberiza stracheyi 9 EMBERIZINiE 1 Erismatura leucocepliala 202 Erythra phcenicura 164 erytliropus, Anser 174 erytlirorhyncha, Coturnix 86 , Microperdix 86 • , Perdicula 86 Euplocamtis albocristatus 60 ■ Anderson! 64 Crawfurdi 64 ■ Cuvieri 63 horsfieldi 62 ignitus 64 lineatus 62 leucomelanus 61 naelanonotus 61 Yieilloti 64 Eupodotis Edwards! 97 Eurynorhynchus griseus 129 pygmajus 129 euryzonoides, Gallinula 158 . , Rallina 158 Euspiza /ttcafa 3 luteola 5 • melanocephala 4 rutila 7 simillima 4 Eversmanni, Palumba3na 26 Excalfactoria chinensis 89 exustus, Pterocles 44 fasciatus, Pterocles 47 fasciata, Rallina 159 ferrugineus, Gallus 65 ■ , Tetrao 65 flavipes, Chettusia 112 fiavogularis, Emberiza 4 ■ , Osmotreron 20 fluviatilis, -(^/(/iaZt^is 109 • , Charadrius 109 Francolinus Ceylonensis 69 chinensis 73 • nivosus 68 perlatus 73 Fhayrei 73 GENERAL INDEX. 213 PAGE Francolinus pictus 72 vulgaris 71 FrINGILLIDvE 1 fucata, Emberiza 3 , Euspiza 3 , Citrinella 3 Fiilica atra 155 • cinerea 165 fulicarius, Hyperboreus 137 Fuligula cristata 197 • ferina 199 ■ marila 198 • nyroca .'. 200 ■ rufina 196 fulva, Dendrocygna 178 , Anas 178 fulvicoUis, Columba 20 •, Osmotreron 20 . . , Treron 20 fulvTis, Charadrius 104 fiisca, Arde a 168 , Porzana 161 , Rallina 161 inscus, Rallus 161 jTotarms 141 Fytcliii, Bambusicola 81 Galerida cristata 11 Gallicrex cinereus 165 — ■ • cristatus 165 gallicus, Ciirsorius , 102 Galling 65 Gallinago coelestis 127 . gallinaria 125 . — gallinula 127 . nenioricola 123 . scolopacina 125 _ solitaiia 123 . — stenura 124 gallinago, Scolopax 125 gallinaria, Gallinago 125 • , Scolopax 125 Galliaula Barnesi 164 . > cbloropus 163 — cristata 165 • euryzonoides 158 PAGE Gallinula poliocepbala 154 phcenicura 164 gallinula, Gallinago 127 , Scolopax 127 Galloperdix bicalcaratus 69 lunulatus 68 • spadiceiis 67 zeylonensis 69 Gallophasis Vieilotti 64 albocristatus 60 Gallus ferrugineus 65 sonnerati 66 Stanleyi (Addenda) Gemitores 15 Gennceus lineatus 62 GeofEroyi, jEgialitis 106 , Cirrepidesvius 106 Geopelia striata 37 gig aniens, Argus 50 ,Argtisa 50 — ,Argusiana 60 glareola, Actitis I39 • , Bhyacophila 139 , Totanus 139 , Tringa I39 glaucion, Clangula 201 glottis, Totanus 140 goliath, Ardea ]66 GouRiD-E 36 Grallatores 94 gregaria, Chettusia m grisea, Pyrrhulauda 1 griseicapilla, Carpophaga 23 , Ducula 23 griseus, Eurynorhynchtcs 129 Gritid^ 118 Grus antigone ng • cinerea ...., 119 leucogeranus us gularis, Ortygoi-nis 76 , Perdix 75 guttatus, Pterocles 4^ H^MATOPODID^ Il5 Hajmatopus ostralcgns 117 osculans 117 214 GENERAL INDEX. PAGE Hamiltoni, Phasianus 60 Hardioickii, Perdix 68 Hauglitoni, Pseudototanus 142 , Totanus U2 Helodromas ochropus 139 helvetica, Squatarola 103 ,Tringa 104 Hemipodius Dussumieri 92 maculosus 92 plumbipes 9l Sykesi 92 himalayanus, Otis 100 Himantopus Candidas 151 intermedins 151 himantopus, Charadrius 151 hodgsoni, Alsocomus 29 ' — , Columba 29 . , Dendrotreron 29 • , Perdix 77 horsfieldi, Euplocamns 62 Houbara Macqueenii 98 humilis, Turtur 36 humilior, Turtur 36 Hydrophasianus chinirgus 153 ■ sinensis 163 hyperboreus, Phalaropus 136 hypoleucos, Actitis 138 . ■ , Totanus 138 • , Tringoides 138 Hypotsenidia striata 156 ohscurior 157 Ibidorhynchus Struthersii 150 ignitus, Euplocamus 64 impeyanus, Lopliophorus 53 indica, Chalcopbaps 37 , Pan-a 152 indicus, Anser 174 , Metopodius 152 • , CEdicnemus 114 ,Rallus 157 inomata, Chettusia 112 inomatus, Lobivanellus 112 insignis, Carpophaga..., 23 , Aidea 168 intermedia, Ai'boricola 79 PAGE intermedia, Arhorophila 79 , Columba 27 intermedius, Himantopus 151 interpres, Strepsilas 115 ■ , Cinclus 115 , Tringa 115 Itbaginis cruentus 56 Jerdoni, Crocopus 16 ,Mgialitis 109 joudera, Turnix 91 lapponica, Limosa 146 Lathami, Scityra 55 , Phasianus 61 leptogrammica, Colu^nba 30 , Macropygia 30 Lerwa nivicola 71 lerwa, Perdix 71 leucocepbala, Emberiza 10 leucogeranus, Grus 118 leucomelanus , Euplocamus 61 leuconota, Columba 28 leucoptera, Anas 179 ■ , Casarca 1/9 leucura, Chettusia 112 Lichtensteiuii, Pterocles 46 Limicola platyrhyncha 129 Limosa a3goceplxala 145 ■ lapponica 146 lineatus, Euplocamus 62 ' , Gennoius 62 ^~- , Nycthemerus 62 , Phasianus 62 livia, Columba 27 Lobivanellus inomatus 112 longipes, C/iaracZrms 106 , Pluvialis 105 Lophophorus sclateri 54 Impeyanus 53 Cuvieri 63 lunulatus, Gallopcrdix 98 luteola, Emberiza 5 Euspiza 5 GENERAL INDEX. 215 PAGE Macqueenii, Houbara 98 Machetes piignax 135 macroloplia, Pucrasia 58 Macropygia assimilis 31 leptogvammica 30 • tiisalia 30 Macbopygiin^ 30 Macrorham'plius setnifalmatus 144 maeulatus, Turnix 92 maculosa, Turnix 92 maculosus, Hemipodius 92 magnirostris, ^sacus 113 major, Dendrocygna 178 malabarica, Osmotreron 19 Mandelli, Arboricola 30 Mareca penelope 190 Megapodid^ 52 Megapodius nicobariensis 62 melanocephala, Emberiza 4 , Euspiza 4 melanocepbalus, Ceriornis 55 melanonotus, Euplocamus 61 , Savkidiornis 175 melanops, Emberiza 7 Meleagris satyi'i 55 Mergellus albellus 205 Mergus merganser 205 ■ serrator 203 Metopodius Indicus 152 Microperdix Blewitti 87 ■ erytbrorbyncba 86 minuta, Porzana 162 ,Tringa 130 minutus, JEgialitis 109 ■ , Anser 174 mongolica, ^gialitis 107 mongolicus, Charadrius 107 , Cirrepidesmus 107 mongolus, ^gialitis 107 • , Charadrius 107 muticus, Pavo 50 Myristicivora tricolor 24 neglectus, Porphyrio 164 nemoricola, GaUinago 123 PAGE Nettapus coromandelianus 176 • • coromandelicus 176 ■ coromandus 176 nicobariensis, Megapodius 62 nicobarica, Calcenas 38 nipalensis, Pucrasia 68 , Phasianvs 55 ■ , Treron 15 nivicola, Lerwa 71 Nyctliemerus cuvieri 63 lineatus 62 Numenius arquatus 149 lineatus 149 pliseopus 140 ohscurior, Hypotcenidia 157 ocellatus, Tetrao 82 , Turnix 91 ocliropus, Actitis 138 , Helodrovias 138 , Tetanus 138 ochropus, Tringa 138 oculea, Caloperdix 82 , Perdix 82 CEdicnemus crepitans 114 indicus 114 Scolopax 114 cedicnemus, Charadrius 114 Ocyrisoinops 3 oinops, Ocyris 3 olivacea, Perdix 77 Opbrysia superciliosa 85 Ortygometra maruetta 161 Ortygomis gularis ^Q ponticeriana 75 osculans, Hcematopus 117 Osmotreron bicincta 18 fiavogularis 20 fulvicoUis 20 pompadoura 20 Phayrii 19 malabarica ,.... 19 vemans 18 viridis Ig ostralegus, Haematopus 117 Otitid^ 94 216 GENERAL INDEX. PAGE Otis deliciosa 100 himalayanus 100 tarda 94 • tetrax 96 Paltjmbin^ 24 Palumbaena Eversmanni 26 Palumbiis piilcliricollis 24 casiotis 25 • ■ Elphinstonei 26 ■ torringtoni 26 Pareid^ 151 Parking 152 Parra indica 152 sinensis 153 parvus, Porzana 162 Pastor roseus 13 Pavo cristatus 49 muticus 50 • ■ tibetanus 52 Pavoninje 40 Pelidna subarquata 133 Peloperdix chloropus 79 pentah, Coturnix 84 Perdicin^ 70 Perdicula asiatica 84 Argoondah 84 ■ cambayensis 84 erythrorhyncha 86 Perdix hicalcaratus 69 coronata 83 gularis 76 — Hardwickii 68 Hodgsoni 77 ■ lerwa 71 megapodioe 77 olivacea 77 ■ oculea 82 • pictus 72 ■ zeylonensis 69 perlatus, Francolinus i.....^ 73 , Tetrao 73 personata, Podica 156 phaeopus, Numenius 148 pha;opii8, Scolopax 148 PHALAEOPINiK 136 PAGE Phalaroptis fulicarius 137 ■ hyperboreus 136 Phapidijst^ 36 PhasianidtE 49 Phasianin^ 52 Phasianus argus 50 cruentus 56 Gardneri 57 " Haviiltoni 60 leucomelanus 61 lineatus 62 • nipalensis 65 • roulroul 83 Walliclii 59 Pliayrii, Osmotreron 19 • • , Francolinus 73 phillipensis, JEgialitis 108 phillipinus, ^gialitis 109 , Charadrius 108 PMloinachus pygnax 135 plioenicopterus, Orocopus .". 16 phoenicura, Gallinula 164 ,Erythra 164 pithyornis, Eniberiza 10 pictus, Francolinus 72 , Perdix 72 placida, JEgialitis 107 platyrhyncha, Limicola 129 , Tringa 129 plumbipes, Hemipodius 91 , Turnix 91 Pluvianus cinereus 112 Podica personata 156 polioceplialus, (raZZiwwZa 154 , Porpliyi-io 154 Polyplectrou chinquis 51 thibetanum 51 pompadoura, Osmotreron 20 ponticeriana, Ortygomis 75 Porphyrio neglectus 154 poliocepbalus 154 Porzana Bailloni 160 akool 162 ceylonica 158 ■ maruetta 161 minuta 162 fusca 161 GENERAL INDEX. 217 PAOE Porzana ^arrws 162 pygmcea 160 porzana, Ballus 161 Peessirostees 94 Pseudoscolopax semipalmattis 144 Pseudototanus HaugMoni 140 Pteeoclid^ 39 Pterocles alchata 45 — — arenarius 43 — coronatus 40 exustus 44 fasciatus 47 guttatus 41 — — Lichtensteinii 46 • senegallug 41 • ■ senegalensis 41 setarius 45 Pucrasia macrolopha 58 castanea 58 nipalensis 58 pugnax, Machetes 135 , Philomaclius 135 , Tringa 135 • ■,Tumix 91 pulcliratus, Turtur 32 pulchricoUis, Palumbus 24 puniceus, Alsocomus 29 purpurea, Ardea 169 pusilla, Emberiza 2 pygmiBa, Crex 160 ■ , Porzana 160 . • , Zaporna 160 pygmaeus, Eurynortynclius 129 pyrrhotho}-ax, JEgialitis 107 , Charadrius 107 Querquedula circia 192 crecca 191 falcata 194 — — 'formosa 193 Rallina CanBingi 159 • ceylonica 158 ■ ■ euryzonoides 158 fasciata 159 28 B PAGE Rallina /ttsca 161 Rallid^ 160 Rallina 160 Rallua Bailloni 160 ceylonica 158 ■ fuscus 161 ■ indicus 157 phoRnicurus 164 ' porzana 161 • striatus 157 ■ zeylonicus 168 Rasokes 39 Recurvirostra avocetta .« 150 recurvirostra, ^sacus 113 Bhodonessa caryophyllacea 184 Bhyacophila glareola 139 Rhynclioea bengalensis 128 capensis 128 risorius, Turtur 35 , Columha 35 RoUulus roulroul .^ 83 — cristata 83 roseus, Pastor 14 roulroul, Rollulus 83 , Phasianus 83 ruficollis, Tringa 131 rufiventris, Chaulelasmus 186 rufogularis, Arboricola 80 , Arborophila 80 rupestris, Columba 28 rupicolus, Turtur 32 rusticola, Scolopax 122 rusticola, Scolopax 122 rutila, Casarca 178 , Citrinella 7 , Emberiza 7 ■ , Euspiza 7 salina, Tringa 131 Sarhidiornis melanonota 175 Sarcidiomis leucopterus 179 melanonotus 175 Satyrus Lnthami , 55 Sclateri, Lophophorus 54 Sclateri, Chalcophasis 54 SCOLOPACID^ 122 218 GENERAL INDEX. PAGE scolopacina, Gallinago 125 Qcolo-pax arquata 149 ■ calidris 141 coelestis 1'25 • canes cens 140' gallinago 125 (jallinula , 127 rusticola 122 ■ I'usticula 122 ' stenura 124 — totanus 14^^ scolopax, CEdicnemus 114 , Charadrius 114 scutulata,, Anas 179 , Casarca 179 semipalmatus, Mncrorhainphus 144 ■ , Pseudoscolopax 144 senegallus, Pterocles 41 senegalensis, Pterocles 41 ,Turtur '33 setarius, Pterocles 45 sclioenicola, Emberiza 2 sinensis, Hydrophasianus 153 — • , Parra 153 solitaria, Gallinago 12;] Sonnerati, G alius (56 spadiceus, Galloperdix ()7 Spatula clypeata 181 Sphenocercus apicaudua 21 ' splienurus 21 sphenurus, Sphenocercus 21 Spilopelia tigrina 35 epodocephala, Emberiza 7 Squatarola helvetica 103 stagnatilis, Totanus 140 stenura, Gallinago 124 , Scolopax 124 Btrepera, Anas 185 — ^— , Cbaulelasmus 185 streperus, Cliaulelasmus 185 Strepsilas interpres 115 striata, Geopelia 37 BtrisitvLB, Ballus 157 , Hypota3nidia 150 Stuknid^ 12 SxUENINiE 12 Stumu3 vulgarig 13 PAGE subminuta, Tringa I'Sl suporciliosa, Oplnysia 85 subarquata, Tringa 133 suiiiatrana, Ardea 1(J7 suratensis, Turtur 34 Sykesi, Turnix 92 , Hemipodius 92 sylvatica, Carpophaga 22 , Columba 22 Syx>lieotides auritus 101 bengalensis IPQ Syrrliaptes thibetanus 48 Tadorna casarca 178 cornuta IfO vulpanser 181 taigooi*, Turnix 91 tarda, Otis 94 Temmincki. Tringa 132 Terekia cinerea 143 Tetrao chinensis 73, !^0 coromandelica 89 ferrugiveus (i5 • ocellatiis 82 perlahis 73 , viridis 83 Tetraogallus Himalayensis 70 — ■ thibetanus 70 Tetbaonid^ 69 tetrax, Otis 96 thibetanum, Polyplectron 51 , Crossoptilon 53 thibetanus, Tetraogallus 70 , Syrrhaptes 48 tihetanus, Pavo 51 Tlchelli, Arhoricola 79 tigrina, Columba 34 , Spilopelia 34 tigrinus, Turtur 1^4 Tinamid^ 90 torqueola, Arboricola 77 torringtoni Palwmbus 26 Totanus calidris 141 canescens 140 dubius 142 ■ fuscus 141 GENERAL INDEX. 2]9 PAGE Totanus glareola ]39 ■ glottis UO ■ Haitghtoni 142 • liypoleucoa 13S — ochropus 138 semipalmatug 144 ■ stagnatilis 140 tranquebaricus, Turtur 36 Treron apicHiida 21 fulvicollis 20 nipalensis 15 vernans 18 Trebonid^ 15 Tringa alpina 135 — cinclus l'^5 ■ ci'assirostris 131 ■ damuscensis 131 ylnreola 139 • helvetica 104 hypolewcos 138 minuta 180 ochropus 138 platyrhyncha 129 ■ • ptignax 135 rnficollis 131 ■ salina 131 • subarquata 133 subminuta 131 ■ Temmincki 132 Tringoides hypoleucos 138 Tropicoperdix chloropus 79 Turnix albiveiitris 93 ■ Blanfordi 93 Dussumieri 91,92 • • joudera 91 . — maculatus 92 maculosa '. 92 ocellatus 91 • plumbipes 91 pugnax 91 taigoor 91 PAGE Turtur camhayensis H3 hiimilior 36 huniilis 36 pulcliratus 32 meena 32 risorius 35 rvpicolus 32 senegalensis 32 euratensis 84 tigi-inus 34 tranquebaricus 36 TURTURINJG 32 tusalin, Coccyzura 30 , Macropygia 30 Vanellus cristatos 110 vernans, Columba ... 18 • , Osmotreron 18 • , Treron..... 18 Vieilloti, Chettusia 112 , Euplocamus 64 , Galloi^hasis 64 Vinago spbenurus 21 virginicus, Charadrius 106 virgo, Anthropoides 121 viridifrons, Crocopus 17 viridis, CoZMm&a 18 , Osmotreron 18 , Tetrao 83 vulgaris, Sturnus 13 , Erancolinus 71 vulpanser, Tadorna ., 181 Wallichii, Phasianus 52 Zaporna pygmcea 160 zeylo7iensis, Gqlloperdix 269 Zeyonicud, Rallus 159 ENGLISH INDEX. PAGE ArgTis PBeasanfc 50 Armstrong's Yellow Shank 142 Arracan Hill-Partridge 79 Ashy Turtle Dove 82 Avocet, The 150 BaiUon's Crake 160 Bald Coot 155 Bamboo Partridge, Western 81 Barred Ground Dove 38 Barred-headed Goose 174 Bar-tailed Cuckoo Dove 30 Bar-tailed Godwit 146 Bengal Floriken 190 Bengal Green Pigeon 16 Bhutan Hill-Partridge 80 Black-backed Kalij 61 Black-breasted Kalij 62 'Rain Quail 89 Black-faced Bunting 7 Black-headed Corn Bunting 4 Black Partridge 71 Black-throated Hill- Partridge 78 Blood Pheasant 57 Blue-breasted Quail 90 Blue-winged Teal 192 Blue Wood Pigeon 28 Brahminy Duck 179 Bronze-backed Imperial Green Pigeon 23 Bronze- capped Teal ..^ 194 Brown and Ashy Crake 162 Brown-breasted Hill-Partridge 78 Bunting, The Black-faced 7 , The Black-headed Com.. 4 ■ , The Chestnut 7 — ^ , The Dwarf 2 , The Grey-headed 3 , The Grey-necked 8 FAffB Bunting , The Red-headed 5 , The White-capped 10 , The White-crowned 10 , The White-necked 9 , The Tellow-breasted & Burmo-Malayan Button Quail 93 Burmese Peafo-wl 60 Bush Quail, The Eastern Painted ... 87 , The Jungle 84 • •, The Painted 87 ' , The Rock 84 Bustard, The Great or European ... 95 ^, The Houbara 98 ■ , The Indian 97 , The Little 96 Bustard Quail, The Indian 91 Button Quail, The Indian 92 Ceylon Jungle Fowl 66 Ceylon Spur Fowl.;. 69 Cheer, The 59 Chestnut Bunting 7 Chinese Crimson Tragopan 54 Chukor Partridge 74 Close-barred Sand Grouse, The...... 46 Comb Duck, The 175 Common Crane ., 120 Hill Partridge 74 . Pea Fowl 49 Quail 87 Sand Grouse 44 Snipe 125 Coot, The Bald 155 , The Pui-ple 154, Coronetted Sand Grouse, The ...... 40 Cotton Teal 176 Crab Plover 117 Crake, Baillon's igQ , The Banded 168 222 ENGLISH INDEX. PAGE Crake, The Brown and Ashy 162 , The Little 162 , The Malayan Banded 159 - , The Ruddy 161 , The Spotted 161 Crane, The Common 120 , The Demoiselle 121 , The Siberian 119 , The Sarus 118 Cream-coloured Courier Plover 102 Crestless Monaul 54 Crimson Tragopan 55 Curlew, The U9 , The Pigmy 143 '.The Red-billed 150 Curlew Stint, The Indian 65 Cushat, The Himalayan 25 Darjeeling Wood Pigeon Demoiselle Crane, The Dove, The Ashy Turtle , BaiTed Ground , The Barred-tailed Cuckoo .. , Emerald Gi'ound , Indian E/ing , , Little Brown , , Malayan Spotted ■ , Red Turtle , Rufous Turtle ■ , Spotted , , Tenasserim , ., Duck, The Comb — — , The Brahminy , Pink-headed • .Spotted Bill , The White-faced StifP-tailed , , The White- winged Wood ... Dunbird, The -. .'. Dunlin The Dwarf Bunting, The Dwarf Goose, The L'5 121 32 38 30 37 35 3 35 36 33 34 31 175 179 184 184 202 180 199 134 2 174 Eared Pheasant, Hodgson's 53 Eastern Bar-tailed Godwit 146 Eastern Black -tailed Godwit 143 PAGE Eastern Golden Plover 1 04 Eastern Painted Bush Quail 87 Eastern Solitary Snipe 123 Emerald Ground Dove 37 European Golden Plover 105 Ferruginous Wood Partridge 82 Fire-back Pheasant, Vieillot's 64 Floriken, The Bengal 100 , The Lesser 101 , The Bastard 113 Francolin, The Chinese 73 Gadwall, The 185 Garganey Teal, The 192 Gemitores 15 Godwit, The Bar-tailed 146 Godwit, The Black-tailed 145 , The Snipe-billed 144 Golden Eye, The 201 Goosander, The 2(^5 Goose, The Barred-headed 174 , The Dwarf 174 , The Grey lag 171 --, The Laughing 173 , The Pink-footed 172 , The White fronted 173 Green Shanks, The 140 , The Little 140 Grey-headed Bunting 3 Grey-necked Bunting 8 Grey Plover, The 104 Grey Quail 87 Hackled Ground Pigeon 30 Heron, The Blue 169 , The Common 169 , The Dusky Grey 168 , The Green Slaty 167 , The Giant 167 Hill Partridge, Ai-racan 79 , Bhutan 80 , Black -throated 78 ■', Brown-breasted ... 79 ENGLISH INDEX. 223 PAGE Hill Partridge, Common 7 t , Rufous-throated ... 80 Himalayan Snow Cock 70 Hodgson's Eared Pheasant 63 Honbara Bustard 98 Imperial Green Pigeon 22 Indian Blue Hill Pigeon 27 Indian Bustard 97 Indian Button Quail 91 Indian Courier Plover 102 Indian Crim son Tragopan St Indian Ring Dove 35 Indian Stock Pigeon 26 Jacana, The Bronze-winged l-"2 Jack Snipe, The 126 Jungle Bush Quail 84 Jungle Fowl, Grey 66 ,/rhe Common 65 Kalij, Black-backed 61 , Black-breasted 62 , Nepaul 61 , White-crested 60 Kentish Plover, The 108 Koklass Pheasant 58 Kyah Partridge 76 Lapwing, The 11" •, Black-sided Ill , Grey-headed 112 .White-tailed 112 Large Sand',G rouse 106 Large Sand Plover 101 LargelStcme Plover 107 Larger Whistling Teal 178 Lark, The Crested 11 Lesser Sand Plover 107 Little Button Quail 91 Little Brown Dove 33 Little Indian Ringed Plover 109 Malayan Spotted Dove 35 MaUard, The 183 PAGE Marbled Teal 186 Masked Pinfoot 156 Megapode, The Nicobar 52 Merganser, The 205 , The Red- breasted 203 Monaul, The 53 ■ , The Crestless 51 Moorhen 164 Moitntain Quail ^5 Mute Swan 170 Neilgherry:^Wood Pigeon 26 Nepaul Kali] 61 Nepaul Koklass ••• 58 Nicobar Megapode 52 Nukhta, The 175 Orange-breasted Green Pigeon 18 Ortolan, The Rosy 2 Oyster Catcher, The 117 Pheasant, Anderson's Silver 64 , The Arracan Silver 63 ■, The Argus 50 , The Blood 57 ■ , The Grey Peacock 51 , The Koklass 58 • , The lineated Silver 62 , Yieillott's Pireback 65 Pigeon, Bengal Green 16 , Bronze-backed Impenal ... 23 , Darjeeling Wood 25 , Grey- fronted^ or Malabar Green 19 , Grey-headed Imperial 23 , Hackled Ground 38 •. Imperial Green 22 , Indian Blue Rock 27 .. , Indian Stock 26 ■ , Neilgherry Wood 26 , Orange-breasted Green ... 18 • , Phayre's Green 19 . , Pink-necked Green 18 224 ENGLISH INDEX. PAGE Pigeon, Pin-tailed Green 21 , Purple Wood 29 , Ruddy Green 20 , Southern Green 16 , Speckled Wood 29 -. , The Blue Hill 28 , The Malabar Green 20 ■ , The Red Imperial 24' , Thick-billed Green 15 , Wedge-tailed Green 21 ■ , Yellow-fronted Green 17 Pink-footed Goose 172 Pink-headed Duck 184 Pink -necked Green Pigeon 18 Pin-tailed Duck 188 Pin-tailed Green Pigeon 21 Pin-tailed Grouse 45 Pin-tailed Snipe 124 Plover, Ci-ab 117 ' — ^- , Eastern Golden 104 ■ , European Golden 105 .Kentish 108 ■ , Large Sand 106 , Large Stone 113 ' , Lesser Ringed 109 , Lesser Sand. 107 , Little Indian Ringed 109 . , Stone 114 , The Cream-colored Courier. 102 . , The Grey 104 . -, The Indian Courier 102 Pochard, The Crested 196 , Scaup 198 ■, Tufted 197 , , White-eyed 200 Pui-ple Wood Pigeon 29 Quail, Black-breasted Rain 89 . , Blue-breasted 90 , Burmo-Malayan 93 — - , Common 87 , Common Grey 87 . , Eastern Painted Bush 86 , Indian Button 91 , Indo-Malayan Bustard 91 PAGE Quail, Jungle Bush 84 , Little Button 92 , Mountain 85 - — , Nicobar Button 93 , Rain, The 83 , Red -billed 86 , Red-crested Wood 83 , Rock Bush 84 Rail, Blue-breasted 157 Red-breasted Merganser 203 Red-crested Wood Quail 83 Red-headed Bunting 5 Red Imperial Pigeon 24 Red Shank, The 141 Red Turtle Dove 36 Rock Dove 28 Ruddy Crake 161 Ruddy Green Pigeon 20 Ruddy Shieldrake 180 Ruff, The 135 Rufous Turtle Dove 33 Sanderling, The 136 Sand Grouse, Close-barred 46 , Common 4.4 jCoronetted 40 , Large 43 , Painted 47 ■, Pin-tailed 45 , Spotted 41 , Thibetan 48 Sand Piper, The Broad-billed 129 ■ , Common 138 , Green 139 Shieldrake, The 181 Shoveller, The 181 Siberian Crane 119 Silver Pheasant, Arracan 63 Smew, The 205 Snipe, The Common 125 , Eastern Solitary 123 ,The Great 123 , The Jack 126 , The Pin-tail 124 ENGLISH INDEX. 225 PAGE Snipe, The Painted 128 ,The Wood 122 Snow Cock, Himalayan 70 . , Thibetan 70 Snow Partridge 71 Snow-wreath 119 Southern Green Pigeon 16 Speckled Wood Pigeon 29 Spot-billed Duck 184 Spotted Dove, The 34 Spur Fowl, Ceylon 69 , Painted 68 , Red 67 Starling, The 13 Stilt, The 156 Stint, Coot-footed 137 , The Little 130 , Wliite-tailed 132 Swan, The Mute 170 Teal, Blue-winged 192 , Bronze-capped 194 .Clucking 193 , Common 191 PAGE Teal, Cotton 176 , Large Whistling 177 , Lesser Whistling 176 , Marbled 186 Thick-billed Green Pigeon 15 Tragopan, The Crimson 54 , The Indian 55 • .Western 55 Turnstone, The 115 Watercock 165 Waterhen, White-breasted 164 Whimbrel, The 148 White-breasted Kali] 70 White-eyed Pochard 200 Wigeon, The 190 Wood- Cock, The 122 Wood-Duck ISO' Wood- Snipe, The 123 Yellow-breasted Bunting 6 Tellow-Shanks, Armstrong's 142 .The AUied 142 29 B Distribution Table of Edible and Game Birds. Species. s- o a o o 1 i o g i o o .2 ''3 1— ( 3 n o X > < X Family— STURNIDiE. Sub-Family— STURxNlNiE. Gen. Sturnus. vulgaris, Lin / Gen. Pastor. roseus Lin Family— TRERONIDiE. Gen. Treron. nipaleiisis, Sodos .. . X Gen. Crocopus phoenicopterus, Lath chlorigaster, Plyth ., X X s. X X X X X X ... X * X X .. ... > viridif'ons, Blyth , X Gen. Osmotreron. biciiicta, Jerd X X X x§ s ... ■ • X ... ... * X ...> : X vernans, Lin . X malabarica, Jerd ... * ... X .. Phayrii, Blyth x§ s. . X fulvicollis, Waqler • • • . X pompadoura, Gmel ... X X Gen. Sphenocercus. sphenurus, Viyors ,. X X X X X § x§ s. X apicaudus, Hodgs x...'..'...l '...'.. . X • Malabar. J Sikkim. B. Bhootan. S. Sjlhet. ( ABBam. M. MuDipoor. Ehasia Hills. N. Nioobara. 228 DISTRIBUTION TABLE OF EDIBLE AND GAME BIRDS. Si'ECiEa. CO O _g '> o '5 > S ci Oi eS c Pi -5 "S" 13 1 a a 3 a 1 1 o pi cS ; Si O 1 =) rt d '. 3 ffl CJ cS »r^ Tl o £ 5 si P I— ( 0. a o S C '3 43 a T3 03 1 Q -5 1 4) a a o s eS a o » ^ u .s '> o u Pm 1 1 o e3 be a g c3 P 2 a i p- c o u 0) N 6 i o a o o p o 0) .2 p i-i p c o ■i s p pq 1 Gen. Euplocamus. albocristatus, Vig X X X X leucomelanus, Lath tnelanoiiottis Blijlh R horsfieldi, G. R. Gray s. B. ... § 11 lineatus, Eiiiot X cuvieri, Tem X Andersoni, Elliot X Vieillotti 1 X Sub-Family— GALLINiE. Gen. Gallus. ferrusjineus, Gmel X X X §x X X X X X Stanleyi -^<^*« Snnnprati 7V?W ... ... ... X " ... "x x» X X Gen. Galloperdix. spadiceus, Qtnel, ,. X X X .. X luuulatus Vtile^Lc X ... ... zeylonensis, Gwel' ... Family— TETRAONID^, Sub-Family— PERDICINiE. Gen. Tetraogallus. himalayeiisis, G. Ti. Gray X X thibetanus, Gould L. ... ... ... ... ... ... Gen. Lerwa. nivicolM, UofJfjs X X X Gen. Francolinus. vulgaris, !Ste!)h X X X X X X s. X X X X ... •• X ... pictus, Jard, ^ Selby chinensis, Osb ... X X X X X X X X X X X x§ B. §s X X X s. X Gen. Caccabis. Gen. Ammoperdix. bonhami, Gray Gen. Ortygornis. ponticeriana, Gmel X X x X X X X X X gularis, Teiiim Gen. Arboricola. torqiieola, Falenc X ... atrogularis, Blyth Ch • •• brunnei pectus, Ticlcell X cViloropus, Tickell ... intermedia, Blyth " • • • • •• AH ... rufogularis, Blyth X • • § • • • X Mandelli, Ilume Gen. Bambusicola. Fytcliii, Anderson ^ V. .•« X * Malabar. X Sikkim. J A ssam. II Khasia Hills. L. Luduk. DISTRIBUTION TABLE OF EDIBLE AND GAME BIRDS. 231 Species. Gen. Caloperdix. oculea, Temm , Gen. EoUulus. roulroul, Scop Gen. Perdicula. asiatica, Latham argoondah, Sht/es Gen. Oplirysia. superciliosa, J. E. Gray Gen. Microperdix. erythrorhyncha, Si/kes .. Blewitti, Hume X Sub-Family-COTURNICINiE. Gen. Coturnix. comxnums, Linn coromandelica. Gmel Gen. Excalfactoria. chinensis, Linn. Family— TINAMID^. Gen. Turnix. plumbipes, Hcdgs joudera, Hodqs . Dussumieri, Temm maculosa, Temm albiventris, Hume ORDER— GRALLATORES. Tribe— PRESSIROSTRES. Family— OTlTIDiE. Gen. Otis. tarda, Linn, tetrax, Linn Gen. Eupodotis. Edvvardsi, Gray. Gen. Houbara. Macqueenii, Gray Gen. Sypheotides. bengalcDsis, Gmel auritus. Lath , Family— CURSORIDiE. Gen. Cursorius. coromandelicus, Gmel gallicus, Gmel ^ . B. Bhootan. S. Sylhet. X Hastnagur X N, X X X X XX X o (/) pq X X X *x X X X M. Munipoor X X N. Nicobars. X X X X X X X I X X X X X X X X X X X X X X... 232 DISTRIBUTION TABLE OF EDIBLE AND GAME BIRDS. Species. 0) c t» B f3 rrt 3 OJ o Pm i< 55 o o oq Sub -Family— CHARADRIN^. Gen. Squatarola. helvetica, Linn. Gen. Charadrius. fulvus, Gm pluvialis, TAnn. . Gen. ^gialitis. Geoffroyi, Wagl, mongolicR, Pall. cantiana, Lath. dubia, Scop Jerdoni, Legge. . Sub-Family— VANELLINiE. Gen. Vanellus. cristatus, Meyer. Gen. Chettusia, gregaria, Pallas. leucura, Licht. ., cinerea, Blylh. ., Sub-Family— ^SACINtE. Gen. ^sacus. recurvirostris, Cuv . Gen. CEdicnemus. crepitans, Temm. . Family— HiEMATOPODIDiE. Sub-Family— STREPSILIN^. Gen. Strepsilas. interpres, Limi . Gen. Dromas. ardeola, Pat/hul , Gen. Hsematopus. ostralegus, Linn Family— GRUID^. Gen. Grus. Butigone, Linn leucogeranus, Pall , cinerea, Bechst, Gen. Anthropoides. yirgo, Linn ^ Malabar X X X X XX X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X... X X x^x X X X X X X X X X X x X x % Sikkim. § Assam. Khasia Hills. DISTRIBUTION TABLE OF EDIBLE AND GAME BIRDS. 233 Speices. m 0) CJ eS t> • P? -C o p E "5 ® o X i ci n c« 3 a, '5"' C i o 1 c o -4^ cS © 3 1 o 0) c 1— 1 o P-i 1^-. k5 c3 ff OQ « o O w O O Q OQ a Tribe— LONGIROSTRES. Family— SCOLOPACID^. Gen. Scolapax. rusticola, Linn Gen. Gallinago. nemoricola, Sorlgs solitaria, Hodgs stenura, Kuhl scolopacina, Bonap , gallinula, Linjt Gen. Ehynchsea, Cuv. capensis, Linn Gen. Limicola. platyrhyncha, Temm Sub-Family— TRINGIN^^. Gen. Eurynorhynchus. pygmseus, Linn Gen. Tringa. minuta, Leisl sub-minuta, Midd Temmincki, Leisler crassirostris, Temm subarquata, Gould cinclus, Linn. Gen. Machetes. piignax, Linn Gen. Calidris. arenaria, Lin X X X Sub-Family— PHALAROPIN^. Gen. Phalaropus. hyperboreus, Linn fulicarius, Linn , Sub-Family— TOTANINiE. Gen. Actitis. hypoleucos, Li'nra. ,, ochropus, Linn Gen. Totanus. glareola, Gm canescens, Ginel stagnatilis, Bechst , calidris, Linn fuscus, Linn Haughtoni, Hume diuhixi.^, Murray B. Bhootan. SO B X X X X X s X X X X X X ? X X X X X X X X X X X! X X X X XX X X X X X A N X X X X X X X X X AX X X X X X XjX XiXlx X XX X Sylhefc. M. Muuipoor. N. Nicobais. 234 DISTRIBUTION TABLE OF EDIBLE AND GAME BIRDS. Sl'ECIES. 6 u a ,0 n iri O U.| K? !fu (3 1 T! 1 cfl P 1 p t— 1 1 03 __, 1 crt ' 3 f. O. "S CO w Gen. Terokia. cinerea, GuU/etint Sub-Family— LIMOSINiE. Gen. Pseudoscolopax. semipalniatus, Jerd. Gen. Limosa. segocephfila, Linn... lapponica, Linn. Sub-Family- NUM ENIN^. Gen. NumeniuB. phseopus, Linn arquatus, Linn Gen. Ibidorhynchus, Struthersii, I'iyors Sub-Family— RECURVIROSTRlNiE. Gen. Recurvirostra. avocetta, Linn. .. Gen. Himantopus. Candidas, Linn. . Family— PARR ID^. Gen. Metopodius. indicus, Lath. Sub-Family— PARRIN^E. Gen. Hydrophasianus. chirurgus, Scop Gen. PorptLyrio. polioccphalus, Lath Gen. Fulica. atra, Linn Gen. Podica. pprsonata, G. R. Gray , Gen. Hypotsenidia. striata, Linn Ger.. Ballus. indicus, Bhjth ♦ Malabar. t Sikkim. X X X X X X X X X X X X X X $ Assam. X Khasia Hills. X X X X (S T3 a s P '"' a d J -w B 3 .-5 0) C GC X X X X X X X ,x X X X XX X L. Ladak. DISTRIBUTION TABLE OF EDIBLE AND GAME BIRDS. 235 Sl'KClES. o c8 (D o a P- a CD s ^ ^ 1 i3 n3 I g O 53 B o a *. ^ <1) ■^ CS o r-* n O 1 c 2 -a fe o! ?^ a a n P4 3 1 .2- 3 Q. 3- ■a a a 3 1 s 1 c o B c o 3 c a § 3 a" o (U O 0) n O P4 ;z; ^^ O M M 03 CJ O M o o Q CQ o Gen. G Gen. Sub-ramily— FULIGU LINiE. Gen, Fuligula. rufina, Pall cristata, Linn. marila, Linn ferina, Limi , nyroca, Gould. .... Clangula. glanciou, Linn Gen, Erismatura. leucocephala, Scop. Mergus. serrator, Li7in merganser, Linn. . Mergellus. albellus, Linn X. X X X X X X X X X X X X X X B. Bbootau. S. Sylhet. M. Muuipoor. N. Nicobars. 31 B ^^7 YU U^^.b7 5K5II UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNU LIBRARY