QUAIL. 149 



QUAIL. 



COMMON QUAIL. 



PLATE CXLIV. 



Perdix colurnix, LATHAM. JENVNS. 



Tctrao ioturnix, LINNAEUS. 



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; a bevy 

 of ten birds has been known to be reared. Incubation 

 lasts about three weeks. The eggs are not laid till 

 June, or even July. 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. 



