GALUNM. 



COMMON QUAIL. 



123 



PHASIANJDjE. 



CoTURNix COMMUNIS, BonnateiTe.* 



THE COMMON QUAIL. 



Coturnix vulgaris. 



GoTURNix, Bonnaterref . — Beak strong, shorter than the head, upper man- 

 dible curved. Nostrils basal, lateral, half closed by an arched membrane. 

 Wings moderate : the first quill the longest. Tarsi, unarmed. Feet with four 

 toes, those anterior connected by a membrane as far as the first articulation. 

 Tail short, rounded, recumbent, almost hidden by the tail-coverts. 



The Quail has generally been considered as a summer- 

 visitor to Great Britain ; but so many instances have been 

 recorded of its occurrence in England, and particularly in 

 Ireland, as well as during the winter months, as to make it 

 clear that a portion of them do not return southward in 

 autumn. Early in February, 1844, I saw six Quails at a 



Tableau Encycloped. et Method., i. p. 217 (1790). 



f loc. cit. 



