GAME-BIRDS. 29 



In the Quails (Coturnix) (135-1 37), of which seven different kinds are [Case 15.] 

 known, we find the most highly-developed type of Partridge-wing, the 

 first flight-feather being slightly shorter or equal in length to the 

 second (see wing exhibited) . All the species are more or less migratory, 

 their movements being regulated by the changes of season, but the 

 Common Quail (C. coturnix) (135) is by far the greatest wanderer of 

 all. Though small numbers of this bird are resident and remain 

 throughout the year in suitable localities, the majority travel thousands 

 of miles every year, countless numbers going northwards in spring to 

 breed, and returning south to their winter-quarters in the autumn. 

 The Black-breasted or Rain-Quail (C. coromandelicd] (137) is peculiar 

 to India and the countries to the east of the Bay of Bengal, migrating 

 during the monsoon (rainy season) from the damp low-lying districts to 

 the drier parts of Upper and Western India. The closely allied New 

 Zealand Quail (C. novte zealandiee) , though a common bird in the early 

 days of the Colony, is now doubtless quite extinct. A skin of this bird, 

 and that a female, recently sold for 75. 



The Swamp-Quails (Syncecus) (138, 139) are very closely allied to the m&se 16.1 

 Common Quail and its allies. Van Raalten's Swamp-Quail (139) 

 inhabits the islands of Timor and Flores, and is the handsomest of 

 the three species known. 



The smallest of all the Game-Birds are the Painted Quails (Excal- 

 factoria) (140, 141). Only four tiny forms are known, the males 

 having the plumage very beautifully coloured. As in the other Quails, 

 the first and second quill-feathers are the longest, and the flight is 

 extremely rapid. These little birds are remarkable in possessing only 

 eight very short tail-feathers, or two less than any other bird of the 

 group. The common Painted Quail (140) is plentiful enough through- 

 out the Indo-Chinese countries, being chiefly found in open, swampy 

 grass-lands and meadows. Of recent years it has frequently been kept 

 in confinement in this country and breeds freely : the young, when about 

 a week old and scarcely larger than walnuts, are able to fly, and 

 when about six weeks old they are scarcely distinguishable in plumage 

 from their parents. 



In the Crested Wood-Partridge (Eollulus) (142), of which only one [Case 15.1 

 species is known, the male has a beautiful hairy crest, and both sexes 

 possess a tuft of long hair-like bristles on the forehead. The grass- 

 green plumage of the female is very remarkable, this colour being 

 almost unknown among Game-Birds, and only found elsewhere in the 

 Blood- Pheasants (Ithagenes). 



The Tree-Partridges (Arboricola) (143, 144), of which fifteen species [Case 15.] 

 are known, inhabit the Indo-Chinese and Indo-Malayan countries and 

 some of the adjacent islands. All the birds of this genus are peculiar 



