s^NrECUS. 177 



In X'ictoria it was very coniiiion in the low grassy Hats near the bridge crossin-,' the 

 Yana Kiver at Heidelberi,', ahout eight miles fr(jni Melbourne. In this locality its nests were 

 common ; I saw many bailt in crops of potatoes. 



There is a remarkable variation in the pluma;.;e of adult specimens procured even in the 

 same district, and ail shades may be found, ranj^in;^ from buff to ^;reyand brown. The localities 

 of the Australian Museum series of skins extend from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria on 

 the north, t>i Kin,i.; George's Sound on the west, and from there to Derby in North-western 

 Australia. An adult male obtained by Mr. Oscar Lkirrows on the 7th July, 1S95, at Wollongong, 

 New South Wales, and received by the Trustees the following day, is approached somewhat 

 by Gould's figure of Syuohiis sordiihis, but it shows a much larger extent of the grey colour than 

 is represented in Gould's figure in his folio edition of the "Buds of .\ustralia." Subsequently 

 I\Ir. Burrows sent me the ■following note :—" In answer to your letter, I shot the Ouail I sent 

 you in a dry paddock on the Dapto Road, about two miles out of Wollongong. Five birds rose 

 in a bunch, and I got four of them, three being like the specimen I sent you and the other in 

 the ordinary plumage of the Brown (Juail. I would have gladly sent the other two, but they 

 were rather mauled by the dog's feet m the bottom of the buggy when returning hnnie." 



While resident at Ripple Creek, Herbert River, North-eastern Queensland, Mr. J. A. Boyd 

 wrote me:— " I found a nest of Syiuvais aiistralis on the 6th Mav, 1892, containing seven eggs 

 on the point of hatching, and another on the same day with four fresh eggs." 



The late Mr. George Barnard, of Coomooboolaroo, Duaringa, Queensland, sent me the 

 following note : — " On the loth March, iSgo, we were mowing with a machine, and found a 

 solitary egg of Syiia-Liis aiislralis, and a little further on a nest with ten eggs on the point of 

 hatching. We covered them up with grass, and the bird was left sitting." 



From Alstonville, Richmond River, New South Wales, Mr. H. R. Fdvery writes; — "After 

 my arrival in the Big Scrub District of the Richmond River, until the year 1899, I frequently 

 found the nests of .Sr»(Cc7/i- i7;/57rii//5, since which season I have not seen an egg in the locality. 

 The nests were usually found in the rank- summer grass, in cultivation plots, and generally 

 contained eight eggs, the maximum number in my experience being nine." 



Mr. George Savidge wrote from Copmanhurst, Upper Clarence River District, New South 

 Wales: — "The Swamp (Juail ( SyiitViiis anstvalis) is decidedly the commonest species of the 

 family inhabiting the Clarence River District. It is very fond of low, wet, swampy ground and 

 the margins of rivers and creeks, and likes plenty of blady grass and other rank herbage growth 

 for its protection. It is also found in the maize fields and lucerne patches. To my idea it is 

 the best sporting bird we have, it sits well to a pointer, and when put up flies (juickly and strong. 

 So numerous were they about Copmanhurst at one time, that a pair of guns had no difliculty in 

 bagging upwards of one hundred or more in a day. During dry seasons they are almost 

 absent, appearing again with the rains and growth of cover ; that they leave the district at times 

 is c]uite certain, but that they travel very great distances and have a regular migratory period I 

 doubt, as I have noticed for several seasons when absent from this neighbourhood they were 

 very plentiful about the sea coast. The nesting season commences during the last days of 

 August, when I ha\-e shot several with matured eggs in the oviduct ; in September and October 

 the nesting season is at its height, and nests may be found on into May, a second or even 

 third brood being hatched during March, April or May; they are prolific breeders, as indeed 

 they require to be to hold their own against the many enemies that prey upon them. Butcher 

 Birds being particularly severe. I have seen this bird dart down on a Swamp Quail when shot 

 and carry it away in its strong bill, and on one occasion saw one taken while on the wing. 

 The nest is constructed of grasses and leaves, and is on the ground concealed in some rank- 

 growth of vegetation ; many are placed in the maize fields and other crops. One nest I found 

 contained as many as eighteen eggs, no doubt laid by two birds, but I should say the average 

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