The LARGE PIN-TAILED GROUSE, or KHATA (_Pterocles alchata_), is somewhat
smaller than the Ganga, and has the feathers more highly coloured. Like
that bird, the plumage is principally of a sandy yellow, the brow and
sides of the cheeks being reddish brown, the throat and a delicate line
commencing at the eye and passing to the back of the head are black; the
nape and the back brownish-greyish green, spotted with yellow; the small
wing-covers greyish crimson, their upper feathers striped with reddish
brown, then with light yellow, and again with deep brown; the feathers
of the larger covers are greyish-greenish yellow, bordered with blackish
brown; the lower part of the throat is reddish fawn-colour; the upper
breast bright crimson-brown, surrounded above and below by a narrow
black line, and the belly white. The quills are grey, with black shafts
shading beneath to a deeper tint; the shoulder-feathers are greenish
grey above and fawn-grey on the lower surface; most of the tail-feathers
are striped grey and yellow on the outer, and grey tipped with white on
the inner web; while the long centre pair are greenish grey, marked with
faint stripes. The plumage of the female resembles that of her mate, but
is readily distinguished by the stripes upon her mantle, a double line
upon her throat, enclosing a patch of greyish yellow, and by the white
hue of its upper portion. The eye is brown, the beak dark grey, and
the foot of a brownish shade. The length of the male is twelve inches
and three-quarters, the breadth twenty-two inches and a half; the wing
measures seven inches, and the tail five inches. This well-known Sand
Grouse inhabits Northern Africa, Western Asia, and the south of Europe,
especially Spain, Sicily, and the Levant, and it occasionally penetrates
through Central Asia to the Punjaub and Scinde.
"The Khata," says Jerdon, "is a comparatively rare bird in India, only
a few finding their way across the Sutlej. I presume that, like _P.
arenarius_, it is migratory to this country, and only found in the cold
season." It is a very beautiful bird, and the bill is thicker and stronger
than that of any other of the genus.
This species has a peculiar call, resembling the syllables "kaa-kia,"
and not unlike the cry of the Jackdaw. It flies in flocks of from ten to
seventy, or more, and is said to be very shy and wary, and more difficult
to approach than the Large Sand Grouse. Its specific appellation is taken
from its Arabic name, _El-chata_ or _El-katta_, which, however, is also
applied to _P. arenarius_. It breeds among rocks in Central and Western
Asia, Northern Africa, and the south of Europe, laying four or five eggs
of a reddish grey colour, with brownish spots. We are told that it swarms
in countless hosts in Palestine, and Mr. Blyth believes, with justice,
that this bird, rather than the _Coturnix communis_, is the "Quail" of
the Israelites. Colonel Chesney, indeed, writes of it as "a kind of Quail
about the size of a Pigeon, which at times literally darkens the air with
its numbers;" and Burckhardt tells us that the number of Khatas in the
stony district beyond the Jordan is beyond description; the whole plain
seems sometimes to rise and fly off in the air in masses, that appear like
large moving clouds. In the mountains of Edom they so abound that two or
three are often killed at a time by a stick thrown among them by the Arab
boys. At some seasons of the year an ass-load may be taken at one shutting
of the clasp-net. "This species," according to Tristram, "abounds in the
central and southern districts of the Great Sahara, and in winter may be
seen in packs or in large flocks. There is scarcely," he observes, "a bird
in nature which surpasses the male _Pterocles alchata_ in softness of
colouring or delicacy of pencilling. Alas!" he adds, "that such handsome
plumage should clothe such very dry bones. Their flesh being black and
hard, is never seen at the table of the Franks, but is nevertheless eaten
by the Turks. The Khata lays two or three eggs at a time, merely placing
them on the ground. In size they resemble those of a Pigeon, and have a
greenish black shell. The Arabs eat them fried in butter."
[Illustration: THE KHATA (_Pterocles alchata_).]