376 



REPTILES AND BIRDS. 



so continuous. They inhabit the steppes of Tartary, and but rarely 

 venture into Europe. 



The Quail (Coturnix) has a small beak, a short back toe inserted 

 rather high up, tarsi furnished with a rudimentary spur in the shape 

 of a horny tubercle, a thick-set body, sharply-pointed middling-sized 

 wings, and hardly any tail. There are several species of this bird, 

 only one of which is found in Europe. 



The Common Quail {Coturnix communis, PLATE XIII.) is noted 

 for its migrations. Every year in spring innumerable flocks of them 



Fig. 151. Pin-tail Sand Grouse. 



leave Africa, cross the Mediterranean, and spread themselves over 

 Europe. In the month of September they return. The instinct 

 which impels them to migrate becomes so powerful in spring that 

 captive Quails become very uneasy, walk up and down their cages, 

 throw themselves against the bars with such force that they fall back 

 stunned, not unfrequently dead. 



The quarrelsome proclivities of the Quail have long been known. 

 In the East they are regularly pitted against one another, after the man- 

 ner of Game Cocks, and sums of money change hands on the issue. 



The fecundity of the Quail is extraordinary: if it were otherwise, 

 the species would soon be exterminated, partly from their heavy, awk- 

 ward flight, which renders them an easy prey to the sportsman's gun, 



