RASORES. 179 



under tail-coverts brown, freckled and crossed with black ; 

 bill light brown; feet flesh-colour. 



Total length 8| inches ; bill 1 ; wing 4^ ; tail | ; tarsi l^. 



Sp. 480. TURNIX VARIUS. 



Varied Turnix. 



Perdix varia, Lath. Ind. Orn., Supp. p. Ixiii. 



New Holland Partridge, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 283. 



Varied Quail, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. viii. p. 344, no. 88. 



Hemipodius varius, Temm. PI. Col., 454. f. 1. 



Turnix varius, Vieill. 2nd Edit, du Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat., 



torn, xxxiv. 

 Moo-ro-lum, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western Australia. 

 Painted Quail, Colonists of Tasmania and Swan River. 



Hemipodius varius, Gould, Birds of Australia, fol., vol. v. pi. 82. 



Among the game birds of Australia the Varied Turnix 

 plays a rather prominent part, for although its flesh is not so 

 good for the table as that of the Uttle Partridge and Quail, 

 Synoictcs australis and Coturnix jpectoralis, it is a bird which 

 is not to be despised when the game-bag is emptied at the 

 end of a day's sport, for it forms an acceptable variety to its 

 contents. Although it does not actually associate with either 

 of the birds mentioned above, it is often found in the same 

 districts, and all three species may be procured in the course 

 of a morning's walk in many parts of New South Wales, 

 Victoria and South AustraHa, where it frequents sterile stony 

 ridges, interspersed with scrubby trees and moderately thick 

 grass. 



It is also very common in all parts of Tasmania suitable to 

 its habits, hills of moderate elevation and of a dry stony 

 character being the localities preferred ; it is also numerous 

 on the sandy and sterile islands in Bass's Straits. Specimens 

 from Western Australia, which at first sight appear to be 

 identical with the bird here figured, are found to be smaller 



N 2 



