192 Breeding of the Nezv-Guinea Quail. 



fcniLilit o'er ai^ain. I spent two days and three nights at Woolton 

 Tower and bade ,qood-bye to my host and hostess on the Monday 

 morning at Lime Street Station, Liverpool, where 1 entrained 

 {o\- Xewton Abbot. To he eontinucd. 



The Breeding of the New-Guinea Quail 



{Synaceus plumbeus). 

 Bv W. Shore Baily, F.Z.S. 



My first introduction to these attractive Httle birds took 

 place two years ago at Hamlyn's. Whilst look around his 

 cages I noticed in one of them a rather sombre-looking bird 

 brooding an egg. I recognised it as a Quail of sorts, but as 

 it was a species I had not seen before, I decided to buy it. 

 Having" been kept for so long in a small cage it was very tame, 

 and it would come on one's hand for mealworms when called. 

 It was quite a charming little pet. I kept it indoors all winter, 

 where it laid one or two more eggs. In the spring I turned it 

 into an outdoor aviary, giving it, as a mate, a cock Common 

 Quail, but although the latter paid her every attention, she would 

 have nothing to do with him for a long time. At last, w'hen 

 she did make up her mind to suffer his attentions, she suddenly 

 succiuubed to an attack of pneumonia. 



'I his Spring the London Zoo offered me another pair, 

 and I was very glad to get them. They were extraordinarily 

 wild, and, on being turned into the aviary, in which there was a 

 good deal of cover, they promptly disappeared, and it was only 

 occasionally that I caught a glimpse of them for a moment. 



About the middle of June I felt sure that the hen was 

 sitting, and a careful search revealed the nest, which was very 

 well hidden in a clump of grass. This contained seven eggs, 

 somewhat smaller than those of the Californian Quail, and very 

 large for the bird. These were covered with fine spots, and I 

 have occasionally seen those of the Californian bird marked 

 very like them. 



( Jn June J4th I surprised the hen with three young ones, 

 apparently about a couple of days old. The four eggs left in 

 the nest had all young ones just ready to hatch; something had 

 probably disturbed the hen, causing her to leave the nest too 

 soon. I saw no more of either the young ones or their pairents 



