Mr. R. Swinhoe's Ornithological Notes made at Chefoo. 127 



form. Testes enormous, "6 by '4. The dai'ker-throated 

 male is evidently an old bird ; for its testes are much lai-ger 

 even than the above. 



Fma/e.— Length 6-5. Wing 3-82. Tail 1-50. Tarse -9 ; 

 middle toe "9, its claw •2. Bill rather paler than in male. 

 Iris hazel. 



There is little difference in the measurements of the two 

 sexes, but a good deal in the bulk of body when stripped of 

 skin. When alive they utter low, short, plaintive whistles. 

 In the south the European Quail is the ordinary species 

 brought to market, and some reside all the year, the males 

 assuming in summer the black throat-patch. I have had 

 Quails^ eggs brought to me at Amoy. In winter there you 

 occasionally see some with red-speckled throats, which in all 

 probability are migrants from the north. I missed the 

 distinction between the two races, so cannot speak with cer- 

 tainty of their respective ranges ; but I believe that in winter 

 they overlap one another, in what latitude of this vast conti- 

 nent I am not informed. 



78. Yellow-billed Button-Quail. Hcmipodius macu- 

 latus, Vieill. Gal. des Ois. iv. p. 5, pi. 217. 



On the 15th May the birdcatchers brought the first couple 

 of a Button-Quail, which, from their golden bills and red 

 napes, I took to be a species with which I was unacquainted. 

 They called them Hwang-Ian ; and I found a figure of a pair 

 of the same in the MS. illustrations, under the same name 

 (M.D. 4398, 7173). The couple brought were confined in a 

 small cloth bag, and made small mutteriugs like young 

 puppies. They were of equal size, though one was more richly 

 coloured than the other. They were both females on dissec- 

 tion, with their ovaries not much developed. 



Length 6*75. Wing 3*8, rounded ; 1st, 2nd, and 3rd quills 

 nearly equal and longest, 4th a little shorter ; '35 short of 

 tail-tip, "4 longer than tertiarics. Tail of 8 soft graduated 

 feathers, 1'35 long. Iris cream-white. Bill, legs, toes, and 

 claws fine golden yellow. Inside of mouth flesh-colour. Bill 

 from forehead "55, from gape '82, depth at base '25. Tarse in 



