CURSORIUS CO ROMANDE LI CU S.
Indian Courser.
Charadrius Coromandelicus, Gmel. Edit. Linn. Syst. Nat. tom. i. pars ii. p. 6 9 2—Vieill. Ency. Méth. Ora. p a rt i.
p. 24.
Cursorius asUiims, Lath. Ind. Om. v o i t i p . rf flj-T em m . Man. d 'O n t! 2nde édit. thin; ii. ¡S. 514.—Sykes in
Proc. of Comm, o f Soi. and Coir, of Zool. Soc. p a r t ii. p. 165.—Less. Traité d’Orn. p. 530.
Courvite de la côte de Coromandel, Buff. PI. Enl. 8 9 2—lb . Hist. Nat. des Ois. tom. viii. p. 129.
Tachydromus Coromandelicus, 111. Prod. p. 250.
Coromandel Courser, L ath. Gen. Syn. vol. v. pi 217.—lb . Gen. Hist. vol. ix. p. 353.
Cursor frænatus, Wagl. Syst. Av. Cursor, sp. 2.
Tachydromus Asiaticus, Vieill. Gal. des Ois. tom. ii. p. 90.
--------------- Coromandelicus, Vieill. Ib. pi. 232.
--------------- Orientalis, Swains. Glass, of B irds, vol. ii. p. 365.—Ib . Anim. in Menag. &c. p. 339.
Cursorius Tarayensis, Hodgs. in Gray’s Misc. 1844, p . 86.
------------ coromandelicus, Gray and Mitch. Gen. o f Birds, vol. iii. p. 537, Cursorius, sp. 3, and App. p. 25. A pp. to
p. 537,—Blyth, Cat. o f Birds in Mus. Asiat. Soc. Calcutta, p. 259. —Gray, L ist o f B irds in Coll. Brit.
Mus. p a r t iii. p. 60.—Gray, L ist of Spec, and Draw, of Mamin, and Birds presented to Brit. Mus. by
B. H. Hodgson, Esq., p. 131:—J e rd . Madras Journ. Lit. and Sci. vol. xii. p. 216.—Layard, Ann. and
Mag. Na t. Hist. 2nd ser. vol. xiv. p. 108.
T he members of the genus Cursorius are but few in number, and all are natives of the Old World. India is
the natural habitat of two, if not of three species; of these, the one here figured has been noticed by nearly
every writer on Indian ornithology, and would therefore seem to be almost universally dispersed over the
country.
My son, the late Dr. J . H. Gould, says, in one of the last letters I received from him, “ I procured my
specimens of the Cursorius Coromandelicus in the neighbourhood of Kurrachee, where it is tolerably plentiful
on the arid plains that subtend the fiery rocks so characteristic of Scinde. I have observed it there from
May till September, that is, throughout the whol’e o f the hot season, but am unable to say whether it is
migratory or not. Towards the end of October it seems to collect and feed in small companies, six o r seven
being often seen within a short distance of each other. Although its structure is eminently adapted for
running, it does not depend upon this power alone for safety, but readily takes flight when closely pursued ;
and, moreover, being wary in the extreme, you can rarely obtain other than a long shot at it. Its habits are
very like those of the Houbara, and it frequents the same ground, being probably attracted by the same kind
of food. The stomachs o f those I examined contained the remains of grasshoppers and dragonflies, which
a t the time were very plentiful. The flesh of this bird forms no bad addition to the table.”
The following notice of this species occurs among the MS. notes on Indian Birds by Captain Boys:—
“ This beautiful bird is found at Sultanpore and Nusserabad, and is often seen on the way from Ferozepore
to Sukhur; it has therefore a very wide range. Its flight is remarkably easy, and when disturbed it generally
alights again at from fifty to one hundred yards. It is a very nimble runner, and does not stoop or crouch
while running as most of the Plovers do. I t is a very good bird for the spit.”
Mr. Jerdon states that “ The Courier is very numerous towards the m ore northern part of the table-land,
much less so towards the south. It frequents the open bare plains only, in numerous flocks, running along
with great celerity, and picking up various insects, beetles, and small grasshoppers, with their larvae. It
breeds in the more retired spots during the hot weather, laying three eggs o f a pale greenish-yellow colour,
much blotched and spotted with black, and also with a few olive spots. They are deposited in a slight hollow.
In length the bird varies from 8 | to nearly 10 inches. As I have frequently killed birds of different lengths