File:Indian sporting birds (1915) (14748282384).jpg

Identifier: indiansportingbi00finn (find matches)
Title: Indian sporting birds
Year: 1915 (1910s)
Authors: Finn, Frank, 1868-1932 Hume, Allan Octavian, 1829-1912 Marshall, Charles Henry Tilson, 1841-
Subjects: Birds -- India Game and game-birds -- India
Publisher: London : Francis Edwards
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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erizingbirds, one would expect this species to be at least as handsomeas the black, its near ally, which indeed is also called Kala titarby the Mahrattas; but as a matter of fact it is not nearly soshowy a bird, wanting the white cheeks and chestnut collar,though the face and throat are chestnut, and having the whitespotting below so developed at the expense of the black back-ground that the general effect is light below variegated with dark,and the bird on the whole is rather more like the hen blackpartridge than the cock, though much purer in its colours. The hen of the present species is much like her mate—whohas no spurs—but may be distinguished by the throat being white,not chestnut like the cheeks, and by the light barring on thelower back being coarse and buff, as in the similar marking in thehen black partridge ; in the cocks the rump-pencilling is narrowand pure white in both kinds. That the birds are closelyrelated they themselves recognize, for cross-pairing takes place
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PAINTED PARTRIDGE 233 now and then on their borders, resulting in hybrids. It wouldbe interesting to know which way these are bred ; theoretically,the handsomer and better-armed male of the black partridgeought to be able to elope with the ladies of the present species,which is moreover a decidedly smaller bird, but questions likethese can never be settled theoretically, and observation oftenresults in a surprise. The mention above of the frontier of these two birds coincid-ing illustrates the fact that the painted partridge is a southernIndian bird, which ranges even to Ceylon, though curiouslyenough it is not found in Mysore, or south of Coimbatore orof Bombay on the Malabar Coast. In Ceylon it is confinedto some hills in the Newera Eliya district, and is not foundanywhere outside it. The name southern francolin wellexpresses its position, though painted quite well describes itin comparison with the ordinary grey partridge, if not with itshandsome dark northern cousin. Although so n

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