MARTINETA 229 
violent, is not so sounding as that of the Rufous 
Tinamu, and differs remarkably in another respect. 
Every twenty or thirty yards the wings cease beating 
and remain motionless for a second, when the bird 
renews the effort ; thus the flight is a series of rushes 
rather than a continuous rush like that of the other 
species. It is also accompanied with a soft wailing 
note, which appears to die away and swell again as 
the flapping of the wings is renewed. 
The call-note of the Martineta is never heard in 
winter ; but in the month of September they begin 
to utter in the evening a long, plaintive, slightly 
modulated whistle, the birds sitting concealed and 
answering each other from bush to bush. As the 
season advances the coveys break up, and their call 
is then heard on every side, and often all day long, 
from dawn until after dark, The call varies greatly 
in different birds, from a single whistle to a per- 
formance of five or six notes, resembling that of 
the great Partridge, but inferior in compass and 
sweetness. They begin to breed in October, making 
the nest at the roots of a small isolated bush. The 
eggs vary in number from twelve to sixteen; they 
are elliptical in form, of a beautiful deep green in 
colour, and have highly polished shells. 
It is probable, I think, that this species possesses 
some curious procreant habits, and that more than 
one female lays in each nest; but owing to the 
excessive wariness of the bird in_a state of nature it 
is next to impossible to find out anything about it. 
No doubt the day will come when naturalists will 
