100 BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



Family PERDICID^. 



Genus COTURNIX, Mcshring. 



One true Quail is all that has yet been described in Aus- 

 traha ; this, as might be expected, is a denizen of the plains, 

 and of all the open districts of any extent where grass-lands 

 occur ; but it also resorts to the arable districts in great 

 abundance. Another species occurs in New Zealand and 

 others in India, Africa, and Europe, but not in America. 



Sp. 486. COTURNIX PECTORALIS, Gould. 

 Pectoral Quail. 



Cotwnix pectoralis, Gould ia Proc. of Zool. Soc, part v. p. 8. 

 Stubble Quail of the Colonists of Tasmania. 



Coturnix pectoralis, Gould, Birds of Australia, foL, vol. v. pi. 88. 



The present species is very abundant in Tasmania, South 

 Australia, and New South Wales ; I have also received speci- 

 mens from Western Australia and a single example from the 

 north coast, from both of which localities the specimens are 

 smaller, and have a more bufFy tint pervading the under sur- 

 face; I am not, however, prepared to affirm that they arc 

 specifically distinct. Open grassy plains, extensive grass flats, 

 and the parts of the country under cultivation, are situations 

 favourable to the habits of the bird ; in its economy and mode 

 of life, in fact, it so closely resembles the Quail of Europe 

 {Coturnix communis) that a description of one is equally de- 

 scriptive of the other. It powers of flight are considerable, 

 and when flushed, it wings its way with arrow-like swiftness 

 to a distant part of the plain ; it lies well to a pointer, and 

 has from the first settlement of the colony always afforded 

 considerable amusement to the sportsman. It is an excellent 

 bird for the table, fully equalhng in this respect its European 



