TETRAONID^. 38l 



two or three feet from tlie ground^ and tlien drop- 

 ping to tlie eartli to conceal themselves among the 

 herbage, or run with great swiftness until they con- 

 sider themselves safe from pursuit. The nest is 

 composed of grasses, and is placed in a hollow on 

 the surface of the ground, under the shelter of a 

 tuft of grass. The female lays four eggs. 



The type of this sub-family is — 



The African Bush Ctuail {Turnix Africanus). Tlie 

 Turnix is a small Ijird resembling the Quail both in size 

 and plumage, but well distinguished by the absence of a 

 hind toe. It is found in many parts of Sicily and Spain, 

 and stragglers are sometimes seen in the plains of Lan- 

 guedoc ; it is met with also in the ISTorth of Africa, espe- 

 cially among the thickets and dwarf palms of Blount 

 Atlas. The birds of this sub-family are inhabitants (»f 

 the intertropical regions of the Old World \ two species, 

 it is true, have been discovered in the southern parts of 

 Europe, but in such limited numbers as to prove satis- 

 factorily that the northern part of Africa is their true 

 habitat ; consequently, the southern parts of Spain, Italy, 

 and the islands of the Mediterranean, are among the 

 utmost limits of their range northwards. They differ 

 from the true Quails {Coturnix) in the total absence of 

 the hind toe, and in the long and slender form of their 

 bills. These are the most dimmutive birds of the galli- 

 naceous tribe, being not more than half the size of tlie 

 common Quail. They are polygamous, and they give a 

 preference to sterile lands and the confines of deserts, 

 over which they run with surprising cpiickness. 



