268 Allen's naturalist's library. 



caring for the young; here, in one insignificant little group of 

 tiny birds, you have the ladies fighting duels to preserve the 

 chastity of their husbands, and these latter sitting meekly in 

 the nursery and tending the young." 



Colonel Butler writes: — "I found a nest containing four 

 fresh eggs near Deesa on the 9th August. I laid a horse-hair 

 noose on eacli side of the tuft of grass under which it was 

 placed, and on returning to the spot about a quarter of an 

 hour later, I found the cock bird snared and sitting upon the 

 eggs, probably not knowing that he was caught, as he did not 

 move off the eggs until I frightened him." 



Nest.— A slight hollow in the ground lined with dry grass 

 and sheltered by an overhanging tuft of grass, &c. 



Eggs — Three or four in number ; pyriform ; ground colour 

 dirty white with pale lilac under-markings densely covered with 

 brown and yellow specks and with some larger black blotches. 

 Average measurements, 0*93 by 079 inch. 



SUB-SP. A. THE island BUSTARD-QUAIL. TURNIX PUGNAX. 



Hemipodiiis pugnax, Temm. Pig. et Gall. lii. pp. 612, 754 



(1815)- 

 Tiirnix pugnax, Blyth, Ibis. 1867, p. 309; Ogilvie-Grant, Cat. 



B. Brit. Mus. xxii. p. 534 (1893). • 



Adult Male. — Similar to male of T. taigoor. 



Adult Female. — Chin and throat black, but differs chiefly from 

 the female of T. taigoor in having a fairly defitied rufous collar 

 round the back of the neck contrasting with the colour of the 

 back, in this respect approaching T. fasciata from the Philip- 

 pine Islands. Total length, 6-6 inches ; wing, 3-5 ; tail, r2 ; 

 tarsus, I. 



Range. — South-Western Ceylon, Sumatra, Java, and Billiton. 



II. THE PHILIPPINE BUSTARD-QUAIL. TURNIX FASCIATA. 



Hemipodius fasciatus, Temm. Pig. et Gall. iii. pp. 634, 757 

 (1815). 



