;}0S The CoriDuoit or Migralor// (^iiail. 



and the reason it does not breed freely in our avi;iries, ac- 

 companying them with a photo -illustration of one of a pair 

 presented to me by my predecessor in oilicv?, Dr. Cieorg<' (;;res- 

 well. For several years this pair had a place in my aviary 

 at Shepherd's Bush, but neicher laid nor gave any indications 

 of nesting, which is scarcely to be wondered at, as, owing to 

 the number and kind kept in a limited space, not a blade of 

 grass was permitted to grow. 



First, a few general I'emarks. Of ail liAlng lurds I 

 suppose these are the most pi'olidc of any, for iii spitc of the 

 vast slaughter for edible purposes, the annual migration crowds 

 are not sensibly diminished, though they vary somewhat in 

 respective years. The cognomen of migratory is very appro- 

 priate, for the countless hosts of this species move their quar- 

 ters in September and October — vast quantities wintering both 

 in India and Africa. As regards their movements 1 will quote 

 Col. C. H. Smith as follows : — 



'' Enormous fliglits ai-e aamually observed at the spring and 

 " fall, after crossing- au hnmense surface of sea, to take a Urief 

 " repose in islands of Malta, Sicdy, Sardinia, Crete, in the kingdom' 

 "of Naples, and about Constantinople, where, on these occasions, 

 " there is a general shooting match, which lasts two or three 

 ■' days. This occurs always in the autumn. The birds, starting 

 " from the Crimea about seven at night, and with a northerly wind 

 "before dawn accomplish a passage of above sixty leagues in 

 "breadth, and alight on the southern sliore to feed and repose.- 

 ■■ in the vernal season the direction of the flight is reversed, and 

 "they arrive in similar condition on the Eussian coast. The same 

 "phenomena occur in Malta, etc." 



The following quotation fully indicates that many are 

 lost while crossing the sea when nearing the eiul of their 

 journey : — 



" Being at a small town on the coast, I saw some boats 

 " come in containing ten or a dozen sharks. They were all opened 

 " before me, and there was not one which had not from eight to 

 "twelve Quails in its body." — M. Pellicot. 



Tickell remarks as to their numbers in India, that on 

 suitable ground they were like locusts in number, and that: 



" A furtive scratch of the head, or a wipe of the heated 

 " l)row, dismissed a whole bevy into the next field .... 

 "^Quails at times abound to such a degree that sliooting them is 

 "mere slaughter." 



A sketchy description of my pair is as follows : — 



