Two species of jungle-fowl have partitioned the Indian peninsula between them. The red species (_Gallus ferrugineus_) has appropriated the part of India which lies between Kashmir and the Godavery; while the grey jungle-fowl (_G. sonnerati_) has possessed itself of the territory south of the Godavery. The third jungle-fowl (_G. lafayetti_) has to be content with Ceylon, but the size of its name very nearly makes up for its deficiency in acres! Davison is my authority for stating that the _Strobilanthes whitiani_, which constitutes the main undergrowth of many of the forests of the Nilgiris, seeds only once in about seven years, and that when this plant is seeding the grey jungle-fowl assemble in vast numbers to feed on the seed. They collect in the same way for the sake of bamboo seeds. The crow of the cock, which is heard chiefly in the morning and the evening, is not like that of the red jungle-fowl. It has been syllabised _kuk-kah-kah-kaha-kuk_. The call of the hen may be expressed by the syllables _kukkun-kukkun_. The red spur-fowl (_Galloperdix spadicea_) is perhaps the most abundant game bird of the Nilgiris. It is quite partridge-like in shape. Both sexes have red legs and a patch of red skin round the eye. The feathers of the cock are dull red with blue edges, while those of the hen are black with broad buff margins. The cock may be described as a dull red bird with a grey head and some buff scale-like markings, and the hen as a grey bird, heavily barred with black. The only quail commonly seen on the Nilgiris is the painted bush-quail (_Microperdix erythrorhynchus_). A bird in shape like a partridge, but not much larger than a sparrow, is probably this species. The prevailing hue is umber brown with coarse black blotches. The cock has the breast white and the head black with a white eyebrow. The head of the hen is dull red. The bill, legs, and feet of both sexes are red. THE CHARADRIIDAE OR PLOVER FAMILY This very large family includes the plovers, sandpipers, and snipes. It is not very well represented on the Nilgiris. In winter snipe and woodcock visit those mountains and afford good sport to the human residents, but all have gone northward long before the summer visitors arrive. Several species of sandpiper likewise visit the Nilgiris in winter; one of these--the wood sandpiper (_Totanus glareola_)--tarries on until after the beginning of summer. This is a bird as large as a dove; its plumage is speckled brown and white. It looks somewhat like a snipe with a short bill. It lives on the margins of ponds and constantly wags its apology for a tail. THE RALLIDAE OR RAIL FAMILY The rails are not well represented on the Nilgiris. The water-hen (_Gallinula chloropus_) is common on the lake at Ootacamund. This is an olive-green bird about the size of a pigeon. Its bill and forehead are red; there is a patch of white under the tail. This species swims like a duck.