THE PAINTED BUSH-QUAILS. 1 57 



black spots, blotched, especially on the wings, with black ; the 

 latter being also marked with whitish shaft-streaks and buff 

 cross-bars; top of the head, except the middle of the crown, 

 black, with a narrow well-defined white band between the eyes, 

 continued backwards on each side of the head and forming a 

 U-shaped white mark ; throat white ; chest greyish-brown, with 

 a rufous wash, and shading gradually into rufous-chestnut on 

 the rest of the under-parts ; the sides and flanks with rather 

 large black white-edged spots. Total length, 7 inches ; wing, 

 3*4; tail, 1*9; tarsus, 1. 



Adult Female. — Like the male, but the black on the head and 

 the white throat are replaced by dull rufous-chestnut. 



Range. — South-western hills of the Peninsula of India, ex- 

 tending from Bombay to the Cardamum Hills in Travancore. 



Habits. — Davison says : " The Painted Bush-Quail is very 

 abundant on the Nilgiris and their slopes, and is not un- 

 common in the Wynad. They always occur in bevies, num- 

 bering eight to twelve birds. They of course avoid the inner 

 depths of the jungles, but are found on the outskirts, especially 

 where there is good dense cover, such as the common brake- 

 fern ; but their favourite resort is rather rocky ground, inter- 

 spersed with bushes and dense clumps of fern and high grass, 

 especially when such places abut on or are near cultivation, or 

 any road along which cattle, carrying grain, habitually pass. 



" About the station of Ootacamund they are, even to this 

 day, not uncommon ; and in the grounds of almost all the 

 outlying houses, where these are tolerably wooded, one or 

 more coveys are sure to be found. In the mornings and 

 evenings they are very fond of coming out into the open, and 

 I have met with a dozen or more coveys on the road in a 

 morning's ride between Coonoor and Ooty. They are tame 

 little birds and will seldom rise when met with on a road, 

 unless hard pressed or suddenly surprised ; they content them- 

 selves with running on ahead, occasionally stopping to pick up 



