366 TETRAONID^. 



THE VIRGINIAN COLIN. 



ORTYX VIRGINIANA. 



Throat, neck, and a banl through the eye, white ; a black band from the base of 

 the bill bounding the white neck ; upper plumage brownish chestnut, mottled 

 with black and grey ; breast reddish white, with transverse black lines ; belly 

 white,, with semicircular black lines ; flank-feathers chestnut, bordered with 

 black and white. Length nine inches. Eggs white. 



The Yirginian Colin, or Virginian Partridge, is a native of 

 the country after which it is named. Though, like the 

 Partridge, a terrestrial bird, it occasionally perches on the 

 boughs of low trees, and differs materially from it in 

 building a nest shaped somewhat like that of the Willow 

 Wren, with a dome. Repeated attempts have been made 

 to naturalize these birds in England, and, it would seem, 

 with some success, as they have been known to breed, and 

 specimens of various ages have been shot in different parts 

 of the country. 



THE COMMON QUAIL. 



COTURNIX VULGARIS. 



Head mottled with black and reddish brown, with three parallel longitudinal 

 yellowish streaks ; upper plumage ash-brown, variegated with black and straw- 

 colour ; neck reddish yellow, with a double crescent of dusky brown ; breast 

 ]iale reddish brown, streaked with white ; bill and feet yellowish brown. 

 J^'emaZc- paler, and wanting the double crescent on the neck. Length eight 

 inches. Eggs yellowish white, blotclied or speckled with dusky brown. 



I SHALL here depart from the method which I have 

 ]iursued, so far as to preface my description of the Quail 

 Avith two passages from the Holy Scriptures. ' The first 

 occurs in the 1 3th verse of the 1 6th chapter of Exodus : 

 "And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, 

 and covered the camp." The other is in the 12th chapter 

 of Numbers, verses 31, 32: "And there went forth a 

 wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea, and 



