134 BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



abundant that it was a common and daily occurrence for per- 

 sons to leave the settlement for an hour or two and return 

 with several brace ; in the latter part of November they again 

 appeared, but were not so numerous as before ; and in the 

 January and February following they were rarely to be met 

 with, and then mostly in pairs inhabiting the long grasses 

 clothing the moister parts of the meadows. 



" It incubates from August to October, making no nest, but 

 merely smoothing down a small part of a clump of grass and 

 forming a slight hollow, in which it deposits two eggs, which 

 are greenish white, one inch and a quarter long by seven- 

 eighths of an inch in breadth. The young bird on emerging 

 from the egg is clothed with down like the young of the 

 Quail." 



Eyes surrounded with a large naked space of a bright 

 reddish orange colour ; head and all the upper surface olive- 

 brown ; throat white, the tips of the last feathers grey, form- 

 ing a surrounding margin of that colour ; on the cheeks a 

 large brownish grey spot, nearly insulated by the large space 

 of the eyes being surrounded by a narrow band of white, the 

 feathers of which are tipped with black ; chest reddish brown ; 

 on the centre of the breast a few of the feathers are clear grey, 

 margined at the tip with black ; breast and abdomen purplish 

 olive-brown ; flanks white ; lower part of the abdomen and 

 vent buff ; primaries and secondaries dark brown, margined 

 with pale brown ; the outer webs of the three or four last 

 secondaries and one or two greater coverts for two thirds of 

 of their length from the base rich purple with greenish wavy 

 reflexions ; two centre tail-feathers olive-brown, the remainder 

 deep slate-grey at base and black at the extremity ; under 

 tail-coverts dark brown margined with light brown ; irides of 

 three colours, first a narrow ring of red next the pupil, then a 

 broader ring of pure white, and lastly a narrow one of grey t, 

 bill blackish grey ; legs and feet bluish grey ; back of the 

 tarsi and 'inner side of the feet yellowish grey. -^ 



