A brown bird much spotted and barred with black, having some white streaks along the length of the back. Short legs.
A winter visitor to India. (Illus. I. G. II., p. 133.)
The Partridges
These are game birds, and so lie outside the scope of this book. I will, however, describe briefly two common species, whose calls are to be numbered among the commonest sounds heard in the jungle.
[172]. Francolinus vulgaris: The Black Partridge, or Common Francolin. (F. 1372), (J. 818), (+III.)
The cock is a handsome black bird, with everywhere narrow bars of white or grey. The sides of the head are white, and there is a broad chestnut collar all round the neck.
The hen is reddish brown in most places where the cock is black.
Its cry is a curious harsh crow, so high-pitched as to be inaudible to some human beings. Indian Muhammedans declare that the bird calls “Sub-hān, teri kudrat.” Blanford syllabises it as, “Juk-juk, tee-tee-tur.”
It is found in N. India, most abundantly in the U. P. (Illus. I. G. II., p. 9.)
[173]. Francolinus pondicerianus: The Grey Partridge. (F. 1375), (J. 822), (+III.)