<H popular Btcttarniri) of 'Hntmatrtf $aturr. 469 



most delicious, although so rich as soon to 

 satiate the appetite of even a professed gour- 

 mand. A great traffic was formerly carried 

 on from the island of Cyprus in these birds. 

 They are caught in vast numbers there, and 

 pickled in casks, each containing from three 

 to four hundred, prepared with spice and 

 vinegar. In some years the number of casks 

 exported has amounted to 400, or, upon an 

 average, 14,000 of these highly-prized mor- 

 sels The Ortolan frequents bushy places, 



but sometimes makes its nest on the ground 

 in corn-fields ; and lays four or five dull 

 white or grayish eggs, speckled and spotted 

 with black. 



ORTYGOMETRA. A genus of Gralla- 

 torial birds, containing the COMMON CKAKE 

 [which see]. 



ORTYX. A genus of Gallinaceous birds, 

 which may be regarded as the Partridges 



CAT.IFORNIAN QDAIL. (O. CALIFORNICD8.) 



and Quails of America, but differing from 

 those of the Eastern hemisphere in some 

 striking features. They have a shorter and 

 | stouter beak, more convex above ; and some 

 have remarkable recurved top-knots. They 

 perch on branches, and when disturbed, even 

 on trees. 



Mr. Gould has published a beautifully il- 

 lustrated monograph of them. Our first 

 figure represents the finely crested and grace- 

 fully shaped and coloured Californian Quail, 

 which, as the name implies, is a native of 

 California : our second represents a species 

 which has been long known and described as 

 the AMERICAN QUAIL, or PARTRIDGE, as it is 

 termed (Ortyx Virginanus'), and is found from 

 New England to Honduras. It is about nine 

 inches in length ; the bill is black ; eye dark 

 hazel ; crown, neck, and upper part of the 

 breast, red brown ; sides of the neck spotted 

 with white and black on a reddish brown 

 ground ; line over the eye, down the neck, 

 and whole chin pure white, bordered by a 

 band of black, which descends and forms a 

 crescent on the throat : the back, scapulars, 

 and lesser coverts, red brown, mixed with 

 ash, and minutely marked with black ; 

 wings plain and dusky ; lower part of the 

 breast and belly whitish, marked with black 

 arrow-heads ; tail ash, spotted with yellow 

 brown. Notwithstanding there is some re- 

 semblance in form and general appearance 

 between the Quails of the two continents, 

 they differ very widely in their habits. In- 

 Btead of being a bird of passage, scarcely any 

 of the feathered tribe appear t have such 



strong local attachments as the American 

 Quail. The female constructs her simple 

 nest, in May, generally at the foot of a thick 

 tuft of grass, that shelters and conceals it ; 

 and lays from fifteen to twenty eggs, which 



are perfectly whit*. Wilson is of opinion 

 that the common idea, that Quails occasion- I 

 ally lay in each other's nests, is correct. ! 

 About the beginning of September the young 

 birds nearly attain their full growth, and 

 associate in flocks or coveys of various sizes ; 

 at which time also their untiring persecution ! 

 by sportsmen and trappers begins. During j 

 the end of the summer and the beginning i 

 of the autumn, the note of the male is every- i 

 where heard ; and by the commencement of : 

 October they enter on what is termed their 

 running season, when they are to be met ' 

 with in swamps and thickets, instead of the . 

 open fields. They are particularly fond of I 

 buck-wheat and Indian corn ; but grain of I 

 all kinds, seeds, and insects, supply them 

 with food. Like the rest of the gallinaceous ! 

 tribe, they fly with a loud whirring sound, i 

 occasioned by the shortness of their wings 

 and the rapidity with which they move 

 them. During the winter they often suffer 

 severely from the inclemency of the weather 

 and whole coveys are found frozen in spots 

 where they had endeavoured to shelter 

 themselves. 



ORYCTEROPUS, or AARD-VARK. 



(.Orycteropus C'apennis.) This insectivorous 

 animal partakes of the nature both of the 

 Ant-eater and the Armadillo ; agreeing with 

 the former in its general habits, but, although 

 entirely destitute of scaly armour, more re- 

 sembling the latter as to its anatomical 

 structure. The skin is thick, coarse, and 

 covered with stiff hair; the limbs short, 

 thick, and very muscular. It is of a deep 

 gray colour, tinged with reddish brown on 

 the sides, and blackish legs : the fore-feet 

 have each four stout toes, armed with large 

 solid nails, the hind ones five ; and the nails 

 or claws on all the feet are remarkably 

 strong. This animal is very common in 

 some parts of South Africa, and has received 

 the name of Aard-vark [earth hog] from the 

 Dutch colonists at the Cape of Good Hope, 

 from its habit of burrowing (which its taper 

 head and powerful claws are admirably 

 adapted for), as well as from its fancied 



