17G 



PH \SIANII),K. 



of the Iii^nd : si'les of ihi' lirad piijA hro/i'n or (jri'iiish-hrnirn : chin, ihrunl mi'l i-ln-rkri hnli : rfiiiain(h'r 

 of ike 1i,ii<h'r snrfaci' and innhr tni/-n)r,n-/s Imjf, fncli fnillnr crossul n-ifli s<-i;rnl V-s/ni/n'i/ bini'k Lars, 

 becoming hron'hr ninl ninrr i/islln'i on llir i/iu/.s, n-lip,; lli.p frnlh'-ra art' nmre or /<■<.< linij'-il ii^itli, 

 yrey : hill flecji li/m' at tin h(i.-<e, pnssimj iulo binck nt lln- lij) : /•//.•< and fift y,llon- ; iris iiranije. 

 Total 1,'nr/th in the jl-sl, 7 inchis, nnng -l-G, tail I'O, bill "-.'/S, tnrsns IfU.i. 



AoUI.T FKMAI.K. — fifiiiintbli'S thf ad nit inii'r, lint is larip'r and has mil tin- i/r' 1/ reiitrps to thr 

 feathers of the npper parts, ndi'udi are more conspicuonsly nnittlnl n-il/i //Ate/., n-hilr thr under parts 

 have broader Y-shapeil cross-bars. ^rinff -'rO inches. 



Distrihutiou. — North-western Australia, Northern Territory of South Austraha, (Queensland, 

 New South Wales, \'ictoiia, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania. 



F\ROM its habit of assembling in coveys of twenty to thiity or more in number, and when 

 flushed rising together, the Swamp Quail or " ISrown " (juail alfords better sport than 

 any other of our game birds. It is generally distributed over the greater portion of Australia 

 and Tasmania, frei]uenting chiefly swampy patches and thick beds oftjrass and herbage growing 



along banks of rivers and watercourses. Grassy 

 flats are also resorted to by the Swamp Quail, 

 especially if near dense patches of tea-tree or other 

 scrub which affords shelter to the birds when dis- 

 turbed. 



In New South Wales this species was in former 

 years very common in the neighbourhood of 

 Kandwick, Long Bay and Botany, but the e.xten- 

 sion of the suburbs of the metropolis on all sides, 

 continued clearing and burning of the low under- 

 growth, has driven all but a \ery few birds away. 

 Added to this, part of the once famous Quail ground 

 near Sydney isnow used as a iille-:ange. Swamp 

 Quail, however, are common enough during the 

 greater part of the year lower down the coast, and 

 the same may be said of all the coastal districts of 

 Eastern Australia. There is no game bird the 

 professional shooter relies upon so much to supply 

 the market with as the Swamp ( hiail, and if the long strings of game birds hanging at the doors 

 of poulterers shops be examined, as a rule three-tifths of them will be found to belong to the 

 present species. Except during the breeding season tiie Swamp ( )uail is gregarious, and lies 

 well to the dogs. When flushed they rise together, and afford a splendid opportunity of getting 

 in good work with both barrels before separating. After pitching into cover again they may be 

 heard calling each other in a low note, which may be audable some distance off. As a rule it is 

 difficult to make these birds rise if there is any thick cover in the neighbourhood, for they 

 invariably resort to it upon being disturbed. During the early part of the morning, and again 

 late in the afternoon, when they are engaged in searching for food, are the best times to secure 

 a bag, for although more scattered they rise better than when assembled in large coveys, during 

 the heat of the day. It is impossible to form any estimate of the numbers killed every year, for 

 in one season they are more abundant than another, but seventy-four Swamp Quail, amongst 

 others, fell to one gun in a day, and this was not considered an exceptional day's shooting. In 

 the eastern parts of Queensland and New South Wales the Swamp Quail is more abundantly 

 distributed in those damp situations, which are tenanted alike by the King (juail ( Excalfaioria 

 lincata) and the Black-spotted or Orange-breasted Quail (I iiniix luaiulr^ai. It is very rare in 

 the dry inland portions of the continent. 



.SWAMP QUAIL. 



