CHAPTER XV. 



THE QUAIL. 



QUAILS are the smallest of all game birds, though whether they 

 are the least sporting; is quite another question. 



They belong to the genus Coturnix, which in turn is included in 

 the partridge sub-family of the pheasant family, and are characterized 

 by having the most extreme form of the partridge type of wing, which 

 means that the first flight feather is almost as long as the second and 

 very much longer than the tenth. Otherwise they are distinguishable 

 by their very much smaller size. 



In all there are not more than about three species of Coturnix, 

 though there are a few closely related forms. 



The common, or migratory quail (Coturnix communis) has a very 

 wide range indeed, being found all over Europe, in North Africa and 

 in Asia north of the Himalayas. Though it enters China, while on its 

 migrations, it is not the real inhabitant of this country. The quail 

 generally seen out here is the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). 

 The only other member of this genus is Coturnix capensis found in 

 South Africa. Both of these two latter species interbreed with the 

 migratory quail. 



Locally we have another bird, which is very like the quail, 

 and which, from a sporting point of view might be classed with it. 

 I refer to the bustard-quail (Turnix). The local birds belong to 

 the species T. blanfordi. They are about the size of the 

 Japanese quail, but their plumage differs considerably. In general 

 colour the two species are not unlike one another, except that the male 

 of the bustard -quail is lighter and more reddish than either the male or 

 female of the Japanese quail, while the female of the former is very 

 much darker and more inclined to greyness than in either sex of the 

 latter. The chief difference in the plumage lies in the markings, which 

 take the form of longitudinal streaks and transverse bars in the Japan- 

 ese quail, while the feathers of the bustard-quail are marked with large 

 round dots of black. The beak of the latter is longer than that of the 

 former, but the most marked difference in the two species is the entire 

 absence of the hind toe in the bustard-quail. Another peculiarity in 

 the last mentioned species is that the female is larger and more richly 



