J37 



QUAIL. 



COMMON QUAIL. 

 PLATE CXLIV. 



Perdix coturnijc, LATHAM. JESYNS. 



Tetrao cot ur nix, 



FOE a nest the female scrapes out a small hollow in the ground, into 

 which she collects a few bits of dry grass, straw, clover, and such like. 

 She alone sits, and very closely, on the eggs, but the male assists her 

 in the care of the young. 



The eggs are yellowish white, orange-coloured white, or greenish, 

 blotted or speckled with brown. They vary much in number, from 

 six to fourteen, or even, it is said, twenty, though generally ten. Incu- 

 bation lasts about three weeks. The young follow the dam as soon as 

 they are hatched. 



One is of a brownish yellow, marbled over with darker brown. 



A second is of a greyish yellow, speckled over with small yellow 

 and brown spots. 



VOL. II. 



