92 



CHAPTER XXV. 



THE QUAIL. 



BECHSTEIN" considered the Quail a very charming bird, 

 and never liked to be without some of them in his aviary. 

 Well, tastes differ, and no doubt it is very wisely arranged 

 that this should be so, for if every one were of the same 

 mind, the world, I fancy, would soon come to an end. 



However that may be, my advice to any one who is thinking 

 of keeping these birds, is that given long since by a facetious 

 public character to persons about to marry: "Don't" — advice 

 which I repeat with regard to keeping Quails, for really, le 

 jeu ne vaiit pas la chandelle. 



A pretty bird, and a neatly made little bird, the Quail is 

 nevertheless an extremely undesirable bird to introduce into a 

 mixed aviary, for it has a nasty habit of bouncing about, 

 especially during the night in the migratory season, without 

 looking, or seeing, where it is going, banging violently against 

 everything that happens to be in its way, often injuring 

 itself seriously, generally knocking all the feathers, and some- 

 times the skin, off the top of its own head, and setting the 

 whole place in an uproar. The Quail is hardy, and not 

 difficult to keep as regards feeding. 



Tetrao coturnix, la Caille, in French, die Wachfel, in Grer- 

 man, is about seven or eight inches in length, plump and 

 round, with close lying feathers, and a quick bright eye of 

 a dark olive brown; the upper part of the body is covered 

 with dark and rusty red spots, and white streaks and lines, 

 on a pale chesnut ground. The throat is dusky, surrounded 

 with chesnut -coloured bands; the front of the neck and the 

 breast are light rusty red, with long dark streaks; the belly 

 is greyish white, the thighs reddish grey: the wing feathers 



