DENDRORTYX BARBATUS.
Bearded Partridge.
S p e c if ic C haracter.
Dend. g u la cinered ; pectore nitide awrantiaco-fusco ; lateribus olivaceo-cinereis, singulis plumis
lined centrali castanea, e t g u tta marginali obliqua alba postice nigro marginata ornatis.
Head slightly crested, the feathers o f which are dark brown ; forehead brownish buff; stripe
above and behind the eye, throat and sides o f the neck leaden g r e y ; mantle deep rich
chestnut, each feather edged with grey; upper surface mingled brown, black and buff,
presenting a very sparkling appearance; primaries reddish brown, mottled and freckled
with dark brown; tail dark chestnut-brown, the four central feathers strongly marked with
black and buff, assuming the form o f broad bars; the outer feathers slightly freckled with
black ; chest uniform bright orange-brown; flanks olive-grey, with a chestnut mark down
the centre, and with an oblique spot o f white on the margin, bounded posteriorly with
b la ck ; under tail-coverts sandy brown, with a crescent-shaped mark o f a lighter hue at
the extremity ; bill, orbits and feet red.
Total length, 12* inches; bill, 3.; wing, 6$.; tail, 4q.; tarsi, ; middle toe and nail, 2.
P e rd ix barbatus, Licht. in Mus. Berlin.
For our first knowledge of the existence of this species we are indebted to the discrimination of Professor
Lichtenstein of Berlin, in the Royal Museum of which city specimens are deposited. With a liberality only
equalled by his kindness, M. Lichtenstein permitted me to bring this and other rare birds to London, for the
purpose of figuring them in my Monograph.
The Bearded Partridge belongs to that section of the family of which the Dendrortyx macrourus is the
type ; it equals that bird in size, and may he regarded as one of the finest of the Odontoplorinoe ; it differs
chiefly in having a shorter and more uniformly coloured crest, and in having a shorter and squarer tail ; its
toes are also rather more lengthened and its claws straighter ; modifications of structure which evidently
ally it to the members of the restricted genus Odontophorus.
Habitat. Jalappa in Mexico.
The figures are of the natural size.