233 



COTURNIX DACTYLISONANS. THE COMMON 

 QUAIL, 



Tetrao Coturnix. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. 278. 



Perdix Coturnix. Lath. Ind. Orn. IL 651. 



La Caille. Perdix Coturnix. Temm. Man. d'Om. II. 49 L 



Perdix Coturnix. Common Quail. Jen. Brit. Vert. An. 174. 



Upper parts I'ariegated with reddish^ (j^^y-> (^^^^d hroxcnuh-hlack^ 

 and marked icith whitish longitudinal pointed streaks, of which 

 are three bands on the head. Male with the throat dark hrown^ 

 and a double interriqjted black band on the fore-neck. Female 

 u'ith the throat yeUoicish-grey. 



Male. — This beautiful bird, the smallest of its order found 

 in Britain, being inferior in size to the Corn Crake, has its 

 colours disposed in so intricate a manner that it is difficult to 

 describe them. The plumage is soft and rather glossy, the 

 feathers generally ovate on the upper parts, and oblong on the 

 lower. The quills are twenty, and the tail-feathers fourteen. 

 The first three primaries are of almost equal length, but the 

 second is the longest ; the second and third slightly cut out on 

 the outer web near the end, the first with a slight sinus on the 

 inner edge. 



The bill is greyish-brown above, greyish-blue beneath, the 

 tips yellow^ish. The feet and claws greyish-yellow. The 

 upper part of the head and hind-neck is black, the feathers 

 edged w^th brown ; a narrow band of yellowish- white, formed 

 by central marks on the feathers, occupies the middle of the 

 head ; and a broader band of feathers of the same colour passes 

 over each eye and down the side of the neck. The upper parts 

 are variegated with brownish-black, light red, and yellowish- 

 grey, and on the back and scapulars are four longitudinal bands 

 of yellowish-white pointed streaks. The wings are wood- 



