178 PIIASIANID.E. 



clutch is nine to tweUe e^'^,'s, and frequently that number of birds may be found togetlier. On 

 one occasion, at Copmanhurst, I found near the marj^'in of a field of lucerne a nest of the Swamp 

 Quail containing four fresh eggs, also three fresli fowl's eggs. When the shooting season opens 

 many of the eggs of the large clutches are not hatched, the l)irds not being able to cover 

 them, and when the spring fires come they may be found on the bare ground. Just before dark 

 these birds may be heard calling to one another, especially after being shot at and separated ; if 

 quietness is kept for a few minutes they rise up out of the grass, and soon get together again." 



From Broken Hill, in Suuth-western New Soutli Wales, 1 >r. W. Macgillivray wrote me: — 

 "I have met with Syiiorciis dnilni/is on Kooweerup Swamp, X'ictoria, where it frequented the grassy 

 paddocks of reclaimed areas, or the rush and grass covered drier parts of the swamp. I also 

 met with it at Coleraine, in the Western District of the same State, where it used to nest in the 

 long grass on the town reserve. I have skins from as far north as the Gregory River, Queens- 

 land, where the birds are plentiful in a good season. In my aviary I ha\ekept several tor three 

 or four years ; the males are very pugnacious, quarrelling amongst themselves and bullying any 

 smaller Quail or Turnices that may be in the same enclosure. Their call is a plaintive piping 

 note in two parts, the lirst short and the second long drawn and higher pitched. They eat seed 

 as their staple article of diet, but are fond of green stiill anil insects of any kind." 



The late Mr. Henry Newcombe, Deputy Ivegistrar General of the Titles Office, Sydney, 

 and a donor of specimens to the Australian Museum for nearly half a century, handed me 

 the following notes : — " A few words regarding Quail shooting in former years, dating as far back 

 as the year i'S5i, along the coast from Coogee Bay, e.xtending south to Botany Bay, as also 

 between Ivandwick and La Perouse, e.xtending as far west as the Botany-road via Waterloo. 

 It must be premised that a sand track extended from the first mentioned bay, along the coast 

 near the ocean, sliirting tlie clilfs, upon each side of which was an almost impenetrable scrub 

 with very thick undergrowth, and at times it was almost impossible, except in certain places, 

 for a person to push his way through, so that finding one's birds in such rough places was no 

 easy task, and indeed to save time and spare the dogs frequently tlie birds had to be given up as 

 lost. To secure our best bird, the 'Brown' (_)uail (SyiiiCiiis uiisli-alis) one had to start just at dawn 

 of day (and so indeed for all birds) to have a shot at them during their feeding time, which 

 took place just about sunrise, and an hour or so before sundown, so shooting over the dogs from 

 the bay along the coast to Maroubra, thence to Long Bay and on to Little i;!ay, now the Coast 

 Hospital (where some of the finest were usually bagged, the birds there being so heavy and 

 magnilicent that the place became quite noted for the same), the sportsman would continue on 

 towards the North Head of Botany and Henry Head near La Perouse; by this time he 

 would have a fine bag of Quail ; having thus skimmed, as it were, the line of country 

 mentioned, the sportsman would make for ' Brown's Gardens' at I5unnerong, i'M the ' Frenchman' 

 and ' \'arra ' Beaches, where numerous birds were to be tound in the long grasses amongst the 

 orange plantations and other fine fruit trees, as well as in the drains overgrown with wild herbage, 

 which afforded plenty of food and also shelter from the heat of the sun ; in these damp and 

 sheltered spots would be found some fine sport for dogs and gun. The homeward bound 

 journey would then be undertaken, shooting on the way through a place known as ' Dave 

 Howell's ' grounds (vacated) and now owned by Mr. George Hill, and other deserted gardens in 

 the vicinity, and then striking due north and bagging odd birds on the way home to Surry 

 Hills, in which suburb the writer resided for a great number of years. .A regular weekly trip 

 of this kind took place for years, winding up invariably with a splendid bag of the Icing of 

 all Quails (in the writer's opinion) the ' Brown ' Ouail. It may not be out of place to 

 mention that in 1S51, when the gold discovery took place, the market gardeners in many 

 instances, in the vicinity of Bunnerong and the Sir Joseph Banks Hotel, Botany, abandoned 

 their occupation and made for the land of gold ; the gardens so vacated were taken possession 



