108 BIRDS OF TASMANIA. 



men who were opposed to the proposal stating that in tlieir oijinioii 

 native cats and domestic cats run wild were responsible for more 

 havoc than shooters, for they (the cats) destroyed birds all the 

 year round. From my own experience I know there is much 

 truth in this assertion. The Brown Quail is fairly well distributed 

 throughout Tasmania and some of the Bass Strait islands, where 

 it is very plentiful some j'ears. 



As an aviary bird this species does well, breeding freel}^ and 

 is fairlv easy to rear. 



GEEATEK BROWN QUAIL (Swamp-Quail) 

 {Sy)ioccus dicinciiensis, Gould). 



MaJc. — licsembles S. ausiralis save that the rufous on the 

 upper parts is more distinct. Altogether the species is brighter 

 and more distinctly marked than the preceding one. Furthermore, 

 it is looser feathered, having a somewhat Ifuffy appearance. The 

 dimensions are also greater, but I am imable to give figures, as 

 mj' skins met with a mishap. 



Female. — Besembles the female of S. anstralis, but is slightly 

 larger, and more distinctly marked. 



Nest. — A hollow lined with grass, &c., usually in thick herbage 

 or under the shelter of a grass-tussock in marshy localities. 



Eggs. — Seven to thirteen; roundish oval in shape; texture 

 somewhat coarse; surface glossy; colour greenish-yellow, spotted 

 with olive-green. Dimensions in mm. of a portion of a clutch : — 

 (1) 32 X 24, (2) 31.75 x 24, (3) 32 x 24.25, (4) 32.5 x 25, (5) 32 x 

 24.75, (6) 31.75 x 25, (7) 32.25 x 24.5. 



Breeding Season. — October to Januarj' or later. 



Geographical Distribution. — Tasmania and Victoria. 



Observations. — Shooting begins 1st May, ends 30th June. 

 The Swamp-Quail, or Silver Quail, as Mr. A. J. Campbell 

 states it is called in Victoria, is not recognized by the British 

 Museum authorities as a valid species. But then they have not 

 had the opportunity of seeing it in its native haunts and stand- 

 ing behind a gun to it, but have only the evidence of "skins," 

 which as substitutes for the live birds leave very much to be 

 desired. Very much the same localities are frequented as by 

 the Brown Quail, with the difference that the Swamp-Quail very 

 seldom finds its way to cultivated fields. I have frequently found 

 it in the proximity of a river where the soil was sandy and grew 

 practically nothing but sedges. 



