PKHD1C1DJJ. 



PEROICID.E. 



171 



n~ r- M those of the domestic fowl, but with all that secrecy and 

 precaution for their safety which their helplessness and great danger 

 require. In this situation, .houM th little timid family be unex- 

 pectedly lurprixtl, the utmost alarm and consternation instantly pro- 

 vaiL The tu utter throws horeelf in the path, fluttering along, and 

 boating the ground with her wing*, at if aorely wounded ; using erery 

 artifioe ah* U muter of to entice Uie passenger in pursuit of henelf, 

 uttering at the same Urn* certain peculiar note* of alarm well under- 

 stood by the young, who dire separately amongst the gnu, and accrete 

 IheouelTM till the danger U over; and the parent, having decoyed the 



punuer to a safe dittMio*! rrtumi by a circuitoui route to collect and 

 U*d tbeui off This well-known manomvre, which nine times in ten 

 b successful. U honourable to the feeling* and judgment of the bird, 

 but a severe attire on man. The affectionate mother, a> if sensible 

 of the avaricious cruelty of his nature, tempts him with a larger prize 

 to save her more helpless offspring; and pays him, as avarice and 

 cruelty ought always to be paid, with uiurtiticatiou and disappoint- 

 ment" 



Wilson adds, that " the flesh of this bird is peculiarly white, tender, 

 and delicate, unequalled in these qualities by that of any other of its 

 genus in the United States." 



Loflortyj- (Bonaparte). Separated by Prince C. L. Bonaparte from 

 UM other Ortyges, and differing from them in the ornament of 

 a carious crest, Ac. 



/.. I'alifvntictu is a native of California and may be taken as an 

 nple. 



$fe 



Lopkortyr Cali/arnicul. 



The editor of the ' Voyage of La Peyrouse' figured this species in 

 the Atlas, stating that they were plentiful in the low woods and plains 

 of < 'alifornia, where they assembled in bands of two or three hundred, 

 and became fat and well flavoured. Mr. Archibald Menzies brought 

 home >kins of them from Vancouver's voyage. Captain Beechey, U.N., 

 laudably anxious to naturalise so elegant and delicious a bird iu this 

 country, where they would be a great addition to the game preserves, 

 brought a number of living specimens with him as he returned from 

 hi* well-executed voyage of discovery. His good Intentions were how- 

 ever frustrated by the death of all the females on the passage. The 



rere presented by him to the Zoological Society of London, 

 and one of the** lived in the gardens for a considerable time. It in 

 not Improbable that these birds might be naturalised in this country. 



//'n/xx/iu. Toinm. ; Turnir, Honn. ; Tridaclyliu, Laccp. ; and 

 Ofiyyit, III Bill moderate, slender, straight, very much compressed, 

 curved towards the point; nostrils basal, lateral, linear, slit longi- 

 tudinally down to about the middle of the bill, and partially cloned l.y 

 a naked membrane. Tar-rus long; only three toes, all of which are 

 directed forwards and entirely divided. Tail-feathers weak, hidden 

 by the upper coverts. Wings moderate ; first quill longest. 



The species are found in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and 



Colonel Sykec, In his paper above alluded to, describes three species 

 -a. fumajr. II. Taigoor, and //. Itajatunuri. In the stomach of the 

 found the remains of black ante, minute coleopterous insecte, 

 pa gnes-eeeds ; the flesh was in brown and white layers, and the 

 Colonel stetr. that He pugnacious qualities are quite unknown in 

 Dukbun, and even in Java. They were frequently in pairs, but mostly 

 oliUry. haunting cultivated lands, especially chillee fields (Capticttm 

 amnmm). Thnr flight he describes as lazy and short, nor are they 

 readily put on the wing. He adds that the Zoological Society had a 

 i from Madras, and that it would appear therefore to have an 

 I geographical range over the Eastern islands and India. We 



ahull presently notice II. Taigoor. Of II. Duuumieri, the Button- 

 Quail of European sportsmen in India, he says that it affects short 

 thick grass and fields of pulse of ZWicAo* brfonu, Pkateolui Max, 

 and i'rvum Lent. He never found the bird otherwise than solitary, 

 and says thst it is so difficult to flush, that it not unfraquently rises 

 from beneath the feet ; and when on the wing, its flight is so Ibrupt, 

 aiigular, and short, that it is generally down before the gun is well up 

 to the shoulder. 



//. Taigoor is chestnut above, feathers margined with straw colour, 

 and with undulated band* of black ; wing-coverts straw-colour banded 

 with black; quills brown, chin and throat white, breast banded with 

 black and white, belly and vent dilute ferruginous, irides pale-yellow, 

 bill blackish. Length of the body i inches 8-lOths, of the tail 

 1 inch T-IOths. (Sykes.) 



' 

 ^j^H 



: -- T 



5 



~^. 



Hewtipodiiu Taigoor. (Sykes.) 

 If. Lfpurana (Smith), is an African form of this geuus. 





Iltmipoditu (7Wix) Lepwano, female. (Smllh.) 



Only n very few specimens of this quail, says Dr. Smith, were 

 obtained, and these not until after the expedition had reached the 

 country north of Lstakoo. The grassy valleys south-east of Kurri- 

 chano were the only localities in which they were discovered, and oven 

 then they appeared to be but thinly scattered, for more than a single 

 individual was seldom found in or even near the same place. When 

 the birds were disturbed, they seldom flew far before they alighted 

 upon which it would seem that they continued their retreat, for none 

 of those flushed a second time were ever found near the situations 

 where they had been marked down. The food consists of seeds and 

 small insect*, with which the birds swallow a considerable quantity of 

 fine gravel. 



Dr. Smith remarks that in the Museum of the Army Medical Depart- 

 ment at Fort Pitt, Chatham, there arc the male and female of an 

 Indian species of Hemipodiut very closely resembling the Doctor's 

 nemipodita Lepurana. They differ however, he observes, in so many 

 minor jwiuts, that he feels disposed to regard them as belonging to a 

 distinct species. In the Catalogue of the Fort Pitt Collection, Dr. 



