Order G"lli/oruies, Family rhn^ianidne, Genus < 'ctnriii.v. 



Order Galliformes, Family Phasianidae, 

 Genus Coturnix. 



Coturnix pectoral i.s. — Eastern Stubble Quail. 



Description. — Male, head, neck, and back, reddish brown, 

 streaked and lined with white and black, some of the fea- 

 thers of the back are black with narrow irregular markings, 

 a white line passing over the centre of the head, and one 

 from the base of the bill over the eye and down the side of the 

 neck ; rail coverts darker, some feathers almost bhick ; lores, 

 sides of the face and throat rufous with a line of darker and 

 mottled markings from base of bill to the neck. breast in 

 some birds being almost black, and in some instances with 

 outer webs white; feathers approaching the abdomen, white 

 with a broad dash of black down the middle; feathers of the 

 flanks, white bordered with black rufous on the outside, un- 

 der-tail coverts and abdomen dull white lined with black, in 

 some cases very faintly; under-wing coverts white; Iris yel- 

 lowish brown; bill, slaty grey; inside mouth, flesh colour: feet 

 and legs, pale flesh colour; nails, blackish brown. ^leasure- 

 ments in the flesh — length. 205 m.ni.; wing from body to tip. 

 154 m.m.; spread, 347 m.m. 



Female. — Xot so strongly marked, yet the mantle is much 

 lilce the male for it has the strange pointed white markings 

 down the centres of the feathers, and the black mark followed 

 by rufous on the outside, the strong white line down the centre 

 of the head and over the eye, and down the neck is also pre- 

 sent in the female, but she generally lacks the rufous chin and 

 throat which are dirty white, the long feathers of the flanks 

 are mostly dull white, with faint markings of black and 

 brown; the centre of the abdomen, dull white; length (in the 

 flesh) — 205 m.m.; wing from body to tip, 160 m.m.; spread 

 ■"►59 m.m. Occasionally the female assumes the male plumn<> '. 



Di.'^-frihufion.—'Sev>' South Wales, ^"icto^ia, Tasmania, and 

 Srmth Australia, with a sub-species in Western Australia 



Hcthitx. — Gregarious, moving fiom one district to an- 

 nth'M- in great numbers, generally moving south in the spring 

 to breed, they prefer the well gras.sed hill-sides or plains to 

 timbered country, although they are often to be seen in the 

 latter locality, they are also found in swampy coiinti v 



