TURNIX. 185 



Order HEMIPODII. 

 Family TURNICID^. 



Turnix maculosa. 



BLACK-SP(i'r'l'i;ii 'I'n.'XlX (H; •■(i1;AM;|;.L!1;,K.\STKD (,iUATT,." 



II'iiii))i>ilhi,:i iiLnculosua, Teiiiiii,, Pii,'. et Uall., Tom. III., pp. (i.ll, 7ri7 (Isl.")). 



ll'tidiiodiii-i inelanolus, Gould, lids. Au.str., fol. Vol. V^., pi. si (l,S4s). 



Tnrui.c nirlanolus, Gould, Handbk. Bds. Austr., Vol. II., p. 1^2 (18G5) ; North, Rpc. Auatr. Mus., 

 Vol. I., p. 195 (1891). 



7'n'niic maculosa. Grant, Cut. Bds. Brit. Mus., Vol. XXll, p. 546(1893^; Sharpc, llaiuM. Bds., 

 Vol. r., p. 49 (1899). 



AuTLT M.\LE — Geiii'i-iiJ cdlonr nhdvi- ip-eyisli-hroii-n. On- U-al}i,>rx mi t/n- cro'cii nf thr licad luti-'ing 

 lilack rfi)i/r>'^, t/o/r/i the miiliUi' (if flu' head a Unr of Intjl'ijx-liitr' . /ore.-i, -sii/fs «/' /ire/- loid a 

 s/rrak or,' r and behind the eye liiijl' : sides of iierk Inijf the lipn ,,f ihr feathers ed<ir, I with black; 

 hack, riiiiip and upper tail-coverts (/reyish-bronm crossed /cifh uorron' transverse lines of r/ifniis-bnff', 

 and some of the feathers having a spot ofbhick near the tip : the scopulars similar, but brnadli/ muryitied 

 /nth rich, yell, iirish or ydldi'iiJniff : upper /ring-coverts yellotvishlnijl' ivith a black snbtertiiinal spot 

 un till' >iie,lian and greater series, the lesser series having cms/iicnons grey bases ; quills greyish-broivn, 

 the outer primaries e.vteritally edgi'd on. the outer irebs ivith pule bnjf, the apical purtioii of the 

 secondaries broadly margined or uotchcl u-itit yeUoioish-biUl\ cross,'d irith narroir trnu.sr,-rse luavy 

 lines ()/ rufiius-bntf, aud having a black spot more or less su rriiuwled with rufoua ; tail-feathers 

 greyishbroicu inilislinctly crossed near the lip ivith yellou-ish-bujf : chin and throat mhite tinged 

 with bu,(f : cJiest, breast and jianks rufous-bnjf, paler on the centre of the loiver breast and abdimieit : 

 feathers ou. the sides of the cliest spotted or hurre,l unth black ; nu,h-r tail-coverts rufius-liulf. Total 

 length in the jf'sli Jf^ inches, /ring .'-.S, toil Jl, bill O-'i, tarsus ()-,S .'. 



Adult ficmalk. — Reseinbles the adult male but is larger and has a broad rufous collar around 

 the himl-'iteck : sides of the face, tliroat and foreneck orange-rufous. Total leagtJi in the flesh li inches, 

 /ring -S-l.'i, tail V-J, bill Olf-'i, tarsus 0',S7 . 



Disti'ibutiuii. — North-western Australia, Xorthern Territ' iry of South Australia, Queensland, 

 New South Wales. 



/T^MIi dillerent species of the genus Turnix are easily distinr;uished by having,' only three 

 J- toes, the hind-toe being absent. The female, too, is as a rule a larger and handsomer 

 bird than the male. In the present species the more slender bill will serve to separate it from 

 any other member of the genus inhabiting Australia. In the preceding Family Pii.\siANir>-ii the 

 hind toe is present. 



The Black-spotted Turnix or "Orange-breasted Quail," as it is more popularly called, 

 is widely distributed over the coastal and contiguous districts of North-western, Northern and 

 Eastern Australia, frequenting chiefly low marshy ground. I have examined specimens of both 

 birds and eggs from North-western Australia, Northern Territory of South Australia and Queens- 

 land, where the late Mr. George Masters obtained its eggs at Cleveland Bay; Mr. J. A. Boyd also 

 found it breeding near the Herbert River ; Messrs. E. J. Cairn and Robt. Grant and the late Mr. 

 W.S. Day procured specimens near the Russell River and on the foothills of the Bellenden Ker 



47 



