HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



CHAP. X. 



THE QUAIL- 



THE last of the poultry kind that I shall 

 mention, is the quail; a bird much smaller 

 than any of the former, being not above half 

 the size of a partridge. The feathers of the 



sequence, in the early part of the day; in the two first 

 hours only six brace of birds were bagged. The day 

 deared up after eight o'clock, and the sportsman amply 

 made up for his lost time. He found birds plentiful 

 among Mr Denny's fine crop of turnips on the Egmere 

 farm, and in one and twenty acre breck of Swedes, he 

 bagged thirty-five and a half brace of birds. He con- 

 cluded his day's sport soon after six in the evening, and 

 had then bagged eighty-eight brace of birds, and five 

 pheasants ; but a dispute having arisen among the umpires 

 about one bird, Colonel Dixon gave the point up, and 

 the number was ultimately declared to be eighty-seven 

 and a half brace of birds bagged ; pheasants and other 

 game not counted in the match : so that Mr VV. 

 Coke's number of birds bagged in the two days shooting, 

 stands 173 brace. He had much fewer shots in the 

 second than in the first day, but he shot better, as will be 

 seen from the comparative number of birds bagged. On 

 Saturday he bagged ISO birds from 327 shots, which was 

 considered good shooting in a match of this nature, when 

 a chance, however desperate it may appear, is not to be 

 thrown away. His uncle, T. W. Coke, Esq. loaded a 

 great part of the gun on Saturday, and as a finale to the 

 day's sport, shot at and killed the last bird, which his 

 nephew had previously missed. Lady Ann Coke was in 

 the field a great part of the day; her ladyship carried re- 

 freshments for the sportsmen in her pony gig. Lord 

 Kennedy chose for the scene of his exploits Montreith, 

 in Scotland, a manor belonging to Sir William Maxwell, 

 considered equal to any lands in Scotland for rearing 

 partridges. On the first day of trial his lordship bagged 

 fifty, and on the second, eighty-two brace, being in all 

 132 brace of partridges in two days." 



Varieties of the partridge frequently occur; the most 

 common are those varied with white, which sometimes 

 prevails through a whole covey. Specimens entirely of 

 a cream-colour are also not unfrequent, and here, although 

 the tint may be said to be uniform, the various markings 

 of the plumage appear conspicuous in different lights, as 

 if from a variation of the structure of the feathers. 



The Mountain Partridge has been said to be more 

 frequently found in alpine districts than in lowlands, 

 but they are known to mingle occasionally with those of 

 common plumage. The colour is remarkable to be as- 

 sumed as a variety, though it is often, we may say, 

 generally mingled with whitish or reddish-white. The 

 whole plumage is of deep sienna-brown, and this colour, 

 somewhat like that of the common grouse, prevails in 

 many species entirely upon the breast, lower parts, and 

 shoulders. The specimens are generally less than those 

 of ordinary plumage. 



The partridge, therefore, seems to have a more exten- 

 sive range of variation than almost any bird we are ac- 

 quainted with, and according to Temminck and some 

 other authors, is somewhat influenced by almost every 

 change of climate. Those broods which frequent and 

 are bred on the marshy grounds of the Zuyder Zee and 

 mouth of Meuse are less in size and of a duller tint than 

 those found in the drier lands of Belgium. Dry or parch- 

 ed districts, abundance of food and water, will always 

 influence their condition, and it is to the same causes, 

 with variation of climate that Temminck attributes the 



head are black, edged with rusty brown; the 

 breast is of a pale yellowish red, spotted with 

 black ; the feathers on the back are marked 

 with lines of a pale yellow, and the legs are 

 of a pale hue. Except in the colours thus 

 described, and the size, it every way resembles 

 a partridge in shape ; and, except that it is a 

 bird of passage, all others of the poultry kind, 

 in its habits and nature. 1 



migrations of the partridge on some parts of the continent, 

 and which are also said to be of a smaller size than those 

 which do not migrate. This migratory bird has by some 

 been also raised to the rank of a species, and named the 

 Damascus partridge. By the modern ornithologists of 

 this country, it is very little known, or its claims upon 

 which even the variety rests ascertained, beyond the fact 

 of its migration. And our latest, or indeed only au- 

 thority from actual examination, is that of Temminck, 

 who says that among many individuals he has been able 

 to discover no good distinctions. Naturalist's Library, 

 by Sir fT. Jardine. Vol. IV. 



1 The quails, forming the genus Coturnix of moderns, 

 are at first sight so similar to the partridges, that they 

 are not to be distinguished without a knowledge of their 

 habits, and examination of their forms. In the bill and 

 legs there are slight modifications, but the form of the 

 wing is quite different, the first three quills being long- 

 est, while in the partridges the third is the longest, and 

 a rounded wing of less power is the consequence. It 

 may be recollected that, though the partridges were said 

 to migrate in some countries, the migration is compara- 

 tively very partial, and often only from one part of a 

 continent to another; on the other hand, almost all the 

 quails migrate to a certain distance, and hence perform 

 lengthened journeys often across the seas. In their habits 

 they also show considerable difference, as they never 

 perch. They often assemble in large flocks after the 

 breeding season: and although they pair regularly, so 

 soon as the female commences to sit, she is left alone, 

 and the male attends no longer, nor afterwards assists in 

 protecting the brood. They delight in cultivated coun- 

 tries, and never frequent woods. They are found in 

 Europe, Asia, Africa, and New Holland. 



The common quail seems to be generally distributed 

 over the old world, though, in the south of Europe, it is 

 perhaps as abundant as elsewhere. In Britain they may 

 now be termed only an occasional visitant, the numbers 

 of those which arrive to breed having considerably de- 

 creased, and they are to be met with certainty only in 

 some of the warmer southern or midland counties of 

 England. Thirty years since they were tolerably com- 

 mon and regular in their returns ; and even in the south 

 of Scotland a few broods were occasionally to be found. 

 In these same districts they are now very uncertain. 

 We have known of broods twice, and occasionally have 

 shot a straggler apparently on its way to the south. 

 They are extremely difficult to flush after the first time. 

 The nest is made by the female, but, like the partridges, 

 the eggs are deposited almost on the bare ground ; these, 

 also, unlike the uniform tint which we find prevailing 

 in those of the true partridges, are deeply blotched with 

 oil-green, and, except in form, are somewhat similar to 

 those of the snipe. In France they are very abundant; 

 and besides supplying the markets' of that country, thou- 

 sands are imported alive by the London poulterers, and 

 fattened for the luxury of the metropolis. 



They are taken by nets, into which they are decoyed 

 by imitating their call. On the coast of Italy and Si- 

 cily, and all the Greek islands, they arrive at certain 

 seasons in immense numbers. An hundred thousand 

 are said to have been taken in one day. They are run 



