224 BIEDS OF EGYPT. 



known from their peculiar call, which may be constantly 

 heard from among the crops, especially in the early morning 

 and towards sunset. These are the best times for shooting 

 Quail ; for during the heat of the day they retire to the thicker 

 crops, and are very unwilling to rise. 



Female. — Upper parts brown, shaded with rufous and grey, 

 and marked with black ; a buff line extends over each eye, 

 and another one down the centre of the head ; the feathers 

 on the neck, scapulars, sides of the back, and tail-coverts have 

 pointed streaks of buff edged with black down the centre of 

 the feathers ; wings brown, with irregular narrow bars ; 

 underparts creamy white, shaded and spotted with brown on 

 the crop and flanks, a distinct semicircular collar of brown 

 spots on the tliroat; beak brown; legs flesh-colour; irides 

 hazel. 



Male in summer. — Chin and centre of throat black; the 

 crop and flanks more rufous and less spotted. 



Entire length 7'5 inches ; culmen 0-5 ; wing, carpus to 

 tip, 4*5 ; tarsus 1. 



Fig. Gould, B. of Eur. pi. 263. 



219. TuRNix SYLVATICA, Desfont. Andalusian Hemipode. 



This bird appears to be of very rare occurrence in Egypt, 

 and probably never ranges into -Nubia. Von HeugUn (Syst. 

 Ueb. p. 52) only once met with it, in a clover-field, in Lower 

 Egypt. 



Upper plumage of a general sandy-brown colour ; the top 

 of the head has a plain sandy-coloured central line, extending 

 on to the nape, with a dusky black and rufous line on each 



