Quails. 97 



June and July are the months in which 

 this Quail nests in India and Burma, but 

 in Ceylon it breeds in March, April and 

 May. The nest is a pad of grass on the 

 ground or in a thick clump of grass. The 

 eggs are usually six in number, but four 

 or five only have been taken from a nest. 

 The eggs are oval, broad at one end and 

 pointed at the other. They have little 

 gloss, and they are olive-brown speckled 

 with a few minute reddish brown spots. 

 They measure from -95 to t"04 in length, 

 and from 7 to '81 in breadth. 



In the male, the upper plumage, wings 

 and tail are a mixture of black, grey and 

 rufous with some conspicuous yellowish 

 streaks, and a pale band down the middle 

 of the crown. The first ten quills of the 

 wing are plain brown. The chin and 

 throat are broadly black bordered by 

 a broad white gorget extending from one 

 angle of the mouth to the other, but 

 interrupted below the ear and behind the 

 cheek by a narrow black line. The white 

 gorget is margined below by a narrow 

 black band. The breast and sides of the 

 body are blue ; the belly bright chestnut. 



The female has the upper plumage and 

 the quills of the wing of a similar colour 

 to the same parts in the male. The black 



