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_).] THE COMMON SAND GROUSE.