110 NATURAL HISTORY SKETCHES. 



quail in size and form, a long loose-feathered bird, with 

 pointed wings ; but it is much lighter in colour, and has 

 a kind of dark collar round the neck. Respecting this 

 bird, all I can say is, if it is a distinct species (which I 

 doubt), it must be very rare; for, during five years' 

 shootjng, I never met with a single specimen. 



Last and least on our list is the little Chinese or King 

 Quail, which, although small in size, for beauty of plumage 

 stands unrivalled among the game birds of Australia. 

 Scarcely so large as the common sparrow, a perfect 

 partridge in miniature, I think we may reckon it as the 

 smallest game bird in the world. The male is of a deep 

 velvet-black colour, with rich red chestnut and white 

 markings, and a dark crescent on the breast ; the female 

 and young birds are deep brown mottled, like the Euro- 

 pean grouse. It was not common in our districts, and I 

 generally found them in pairs or families (for they bred 

 with us, and, if they did not remain all the winter, they 

 left for a very short time), in the long grass on the edges 

 of the swamps, often in the wet swamps themselves, and 

 I have occasionally raised them in the heather. In some 

 seasons they appeared to be more common than in others. 

 It is a very local bird ; and one thing always puzzled me 

 in beating for game out here : there are certain localities 

 where you are almost certain to find birds ; while in other 

 places, precisely similar to all appearance, and apparently 

 just as well adapted to their habits, you never see a 

 bird. All the game in Australia appears to pack very 

 much. 



