182 



HHASIANIII.E. 



Excalfatoria lineata. 



KIN'(i (JUAIL. 



Oriohi.< liiii'n/iis, Scop., Del. Flor. ft Faun. Iiisubiv, II., p. 87 (1786). 



S;/noiciif! f .' J chiiii'uairi, (ioiild, IJils. Austr,, ful. Vol. V ., pi. '.12 (ISIS). 



Excalfatoria anxti-djin, Gould, Hauillik. Bils. Austr., Vol. II., p. 11)7 (ISG.')). 



Excalfiitiiria Uiipnla, (}va.ni, V,:\i. \'.>U. I'.rit. Mus., Vol. XXII., p. l2.5;5 (ls;)3): Sliarpe, Handl. 

 Cd.s, Vol. I., p. 32 (1S99). 



Adult .M.ALH. — (Trni'i-al rolunr ahori' hroii-n, On' ,<cii/iuliu-^ i/i^/.incth/ sltaih ,1 irilh yrfy, most of the 

 feathers /taring trnnsrerne Imrs ami li/otdie.s of black, and tlioni' of llo' mantle, hack, and rump having 

 ivhilisli shnjt stripes, hroader on tlie latter ; ii-inys brown, t/ie appi r iritw-corerts like tlie hack : doiva 

 tlie centre of tlif fortliead a hiil/)/ ichiti' lonjjitndirinl streak : sides of the hi'nd and ni'ck, tlie cJn'st and 

 sides of the body ihirk slat ipblnr : tliroal black ; cheeks and a crescentic band on the fore-neck trhite, 

 the former rilged nhorr and the latter edged below ivith black ; centre of t/n' breast, the abdomen, anil 

 under tail-corerts rich chestnut : bill black, legi auiljeel yellow. Total length in tlie jlesli ')\>5 inches, 

 wiitg '.'''/"o, tail VI, bill 0\'i, larsns OS..' 



Adult fkmalk. — Itesenhles the adult male on the upper parts, but has the sides of the head pale 

 redilish-hnjf' ; cliin irliitish, throat mfonsdjuff ; remainder of the nnder surface rnfous-buff, conspicu- 

 ously and Iransverselp barred with black, except on the centre of tlie Imver breast, n-hich is destitute 

 of tnarkings. Total length in the jlesh 5'J^ inches, iving J-S, tail 11. 



iJislriliiilioii. — (jiieensland, New South Wales, \'ictoria, South .\ustralia. 



•IjrV OULD figured this species in his beautiful work on the " Birds of iVustralia " under the 



V A. name of .^yiioiciis (? ) chincnsis, believing it at the time to be identical with the common 



Chinese (.)uail of Asia. Later on Gould, when he had the opportunity of examining a larger 



number of specimens, and who was very keen in 

 recognising new species, no matter how tri\ial 

 the difference, described it in his "Handbook to 

 the Birds of Australia " under the name of Excal- 

 fatoria auitralis. By this name it has been 

 scientifically l<nown to Australians for many 

 years, but more recent research has revealed the 

 fact that Giovanni Scopoli described it as Oviolus 

 Uucatus, so far back as lySfi, in his " Delicia? 

 Flora et Fauna- Insubricy " from specimens 

 obtained by Sonnerat. In the latter naturalist's 

 work "Voyage a la Nouvelle Guinee," published 

 at Paris in 1776, a figure of the female of this 

 species is there referred to and described as the 

 Little Quail of the island of Luzon. According to Ogilvie Grant in the " Catalogue of Birds in 

 the British Museum," its ultra Australian range is Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Palawan, Sulu and 

 the Phillipine Islands. The specimen figured is an adult male. 



This handsome little bird is very partial to open heath lands and swampy localities, especially 

 where there is a thick undergrowth, or plenty of cover in the shape of coarse grass tussocks, or 

 low rushes. It was at one time very abundant in the neighbourhood of Sydney, frequenting the 



KING QUAIL. 



