PHASIANID^. 



505 





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THE QUAIL. 



CoTURNix COMMUNIS, Bonnaterre. 



The Quail is principally a spring-visitor to the British Islands, and 

 the majority leave for the south in October ; but in mild winters 

 some remain with us — especially on the west coast of England ; 

 while in Ireland, up to about 1865, this species might be considered 

 as partially resident, though of late years a marked and unaccount- 

 able diminution in its numbers has been noticed. In England, 

 before drainage and high cultivation had broken up the coarse 

 tussocky land in which the Quail delighted, it was far more plentiful 

 than it is at present, particularly in Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, 

 Suffolk, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Lancashire &c. ; but from time to 

 time unusual influxes take place. One of these extended in 1870 

 from East Anglia to Cardigan, Pembroke and Cornwall; in 1885 a 

 remarkable increase was noticed on the high ground along the 

 north side of the valley of the Thames and as far as the Severn ; 

 while in 1892 there was a marked accession, and a still larger 

 immigration occurred in 1893. Northward, the Quail gradually be- 

 comes less numerous, yet nests have been found in Scotland as far as 

 Caithness, Sutherland, the Orkneys and the Shetlands, several times 



