444 THE BIRDS OF HELIGOLAND 



I have in my collection a very handsome specimen of this species, 

 in which the throat and the upper part of the foreneck, as well as 

 a broad band extending upwards from the latter to the ear, arc of a 

 pure deep black colour. From the ear the black band is continued, 

 in the form of a narrow stripe, to the upper mandible. A second 

 band, composed of black spots, passes from one ear to the other 

 along the sides of the neck and the foreneck ; and a third stripe, of 

 equal breadth, extends from above the ears along the nape of the 

 neck down to the back. Usually the markings — which are black 

 in this specimen — are, in typical examples, of a reddish-brown 

 colour, slightly paler and fainter than that of the general plumage 

 of these parts. 



The Quail is a very widely distributed breeding species, its nest- 

 ing area extending from the Azores through the whole of temperate 

 and southern Europe and Asia, as well as through North Africa. 



