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Mr. D. Seth-Smith.



THE COMMON QUAIL.


Coturnix coturnix.


By D. Seth-Smith, F.Z.S.


Most people are familiar enough with the subject of this

paper, from seeing it, either alive or dead in the poulterers’ shops.

Many again, know it perhaps too well, when roasted and served

on toast!


Some years ago, at certain seasons of the year, generally in

the Spring, there might be seen in almost every large poulterer’s

shop large flat boxes with canvas tops and a row of wooden

bars in front, between which appeared numerous small heads,

stretched out to obtain the millet seed and water which was

placed in long troughs attached to the front of these boxes.

Live Quails were packed in these boxes with just enough room

to enable them to move about sufficiently to get to the cage

front for food and water.


It is extraordinary that these little birds managed to exist

under such conditions, even for the short time which usually

elapsed between their capture and execution for the table, but,

unlike the majority of birds which would certainly pine and die

under similar treatment, Ouails appear to feed well and to fatten.


For some years past it has been illegal for a poulterer to

expose for sale live Quail, and, consequently, these birds are not

now seen except when dead. Nevertheless, there are probably

plenty of live Quails behind the scenes, and hardly a public

dinner is served in which these little birds do not form an item

in the menu during the time when they are in season.


Whence come these birds in such numbers? Let us look

into the life history of the Common Quail, and its presence on

the table of the gourmand will be explained.


The distribution of Common Quail is very wide. It occurs

over nearly the whole of Africa and most of Asia. In the Spring

a general northward migration takes place, the birds suddenly

appear in vast numbers along the coasts of the Mediterranean,

the majority passing on to their nesting homes in Kurope.

Occasionally considerable numbers visit Great Britain, but since

the rough land which this species loves has been broken up for



