126 HABITS OF BIRDS. 



says : " They put not themselves in their journey, 

 nor set forward without a council called before, and 

 a general consent. They flie aloft, because they 

 would have a better prospect to see before them j 

 and for this purpose a captain they chuse to guide 

 them, whom the rest follow. In the rereward behind 

 there be certain of them set and disposed to give 

 signal by their manner of cry, for to range orderly 

 in ranks, and keep close together in array : and this 

 they do by turns, each one in his course. They 

 maintain a set watch all the night long, and have 

 their sentinels. These stand on one foot, and 

 hold a little stone within the other, which, by falling 

 from it if they should chance to sleep, might awa- 

 ken them, and reprove them for their negligence. 

 Whiles these watch, all the rest sleep, couching 

 their heads under their wings ; and one while they 

 rest on the one foot and otherwhiles they shift to 

 the other. The captain beareth up his head aloft 

 into the air, and giveth signal to the rest what is to 

 be done." 



Authors also tell us that the quails have a king to 

 conduct their migrations ; and it is farther pretend- 

 ed that they are shrewd enough not to select for a 

 monarch one from their own body, but make choice 

 of a landrail (Ortygometra Crex) ; for, upon coming 

 to their place of destination, the first of the band 

 usually falls a victim to some bird of prey that is 

 waiting their arrival, and, foreseeing this, the quails 

 contrive to provide a victim from another species. 

 Such legends, as Buffon well remarks, by ascribing 

 incredible sagacity and design to birds, give us good 

 room to doubt whether the authors themselves pos- 

 sess any great share. As the landrail, however, 

 migrates about the same period with the quails, 

 this is not quite so extravagant a notion as that re- 

 corded by Aristotle, that the quails are led by an 

 owl as their king. 



M. Vaillant remarks, that the idea of these king- 



