THE SWAMP-QUAILS. 



I9T 



tail, 17-2-0; tarsus. 0-9. This stage of plumage represents 

 typical 5. australis (Temm.). In very old males {S. sordidtts, 

 Gould) most of the markings on the upper- and under-parts 

 disappear, and there is a general tendency to uniformity of 

 colour in the plumage. 



Adult Female. — Differs from the male in having the sides of 

 the crown black or mostly black : the black markings on the 

 upper- and under-parts inuch coarser : the centres of the feathers 

 are not grey : and the shaft-stripes are huff z.\\^ much 7i'ider than 

 in the male. From the female of 6". raalfeni^ it is distinguished 

 by having the chest pale rufous-buff, barred all over with black. 



The Australian Swamp-Quail, as will be seen from the above 

 list of names, was divided by Gould into four distinct species : 

 but, from the large series I have examined, it is quite clear 

 that the characters on which he relied are merely differences 

 due to age and sex, and that all the forms are merely stages of 

 plumage of one and the same species. It must also be noted 

 that individuals vary, one from another, considerably in size. 

 even in birds from the same locality, as may be seen from the 

 measurements given above, though this is of very little import- 

 ance. The changes in plumage of the upper-parts of the pre- 

 sent species are very similar to those found in the Painted Quail 

 {Excalfactoria chinensis). 



Range. — South-eastern New Guinea, Australia, and Tasmania. 



Habits. — This species is distributed all over Australia and 

 Tasmania, and seems to prefer thick grassy flats and damp 

 spots overgrown with undergrowth in the vicinity of rivers and 

 water-holes. Gould says: "'Its call is very similar to that of 

 the Common Partridge, and, like that bird, it is found in coveys 

 of from ten to eighteen in number, which simultaneously rise 

 from the ground, and pitch again within a hundred yards of 

 the spot whence they rose. It sits so close that it will often 

 admit of being nearly trodden upon before it will rise. Pointers 

 stand readily to it, and it offers, perhaps, better sport to the 

 sportsman than any other bird inhabiting Australia. Its wei^rht 



