482 THE QUAIL. 



the eye and runs along the sides of the neck over the breast, wheae it is very broad. A num- 

 ber of black dotted streaks extend from the black stripe so as to form an interrupted band of 

 black over the shoulders. The breast is gray, the abdomen is fawn, and the feathers of the 

 flanks and sides are marked with curved bands of gray, white, black, and fawn. The legs and 

 beak are red. The total length of this bird is between thirteen and fourteen inches. The 

 female is like the male, but smaller and not quite so brightly colored. 



THE SANGUINE PRANCOLIN may fairly be reckoned as the finest of its group. 



This splendid bird inhabits the great Himalayan range, and is thought to be peculiar to 

 that region. Very little is known of its habits, the fullest account being that given by Dr. 

 Hooker, and quoted by Mr. Gould in his "Birds of Asia." 



"This, the boldest of the Alpine birds of its kind, frequents the mountain ranges of 

 Eastern Nepal and Sikkim, at an elevation varying from 10,000 to 14,000 feet, and is very 

 abundant in many of the valleys among the forests of pine (Abies Webbiana) and juniper. It 

 seldom or never crows, but emits a weak cackling noise. When put up, it takes a very short 

 flight, and then runs to shelter. During winter it appears to burrow under the hills among 

 the snow, for I have snared it in January, in regions thickly covered with snow, at an altitude 

 of 12,000 feet. I have seen the young in May. 



"The principal food of this bird consisting of the tops of the pine and juniper in spring, 

 and the berries of the latter in autumn and winter, its flesh has always a very strong flavor, 

 and is, moreover, uncommonly tough ; it was, however, the only bird I obtained at these great 

 elevations in tolerable abundance for food, and that not very frequently. 



" The Bhoteas say that it acquires a distinct spur every year ; certain it is, that they are 

 m9re numerous than in any other bird, and that they are not alike on both legs. I could 

 not discover the cause of this difference, neither could I learn if they were produced at differ- 

 ent times. I believe that five on one leg and four on the other is the greatest number I have 

 observed." 



The coloring and arrangement of their plumage are very complete, and entirely different 

 in the two sexes. In the male, the forehead and a line round the eyes are black, and the crest 

 is gray with buff streaks. The chin and throat are deep blood-red, and the upper part of the 

 breast is white streaked with black. The feathers of the back and whole of the upper surface 

 are slaty-gray, each having a streak of white crossed with black down the centre ; and the 

 breast and upper part of the abdomen are light green, streaked with blood-red and white. 

 The lower part of the abdomen is brown-gray. The upper tail-coverts are blood-red, with 

 a long narrow streak of yellow down the centre of each feather ; and the tail is white at the 

 tip, and each feather is broadly crossed with blood-red at the base. The bill is black at the 

 tip and red at the base, and the legs and feet are deep pinky-red. The female is a bird of very 

 sober plumage, being reddish-brown, lighter on the head and neck, and freckled with black 

 on the back. The under surface is rather redder than the upper. In size, the Sanguine Fran- 

 colin about equals an ordinary fowl. 



THE odd, short-legged, round-bodied, quick-footed QUAIL is closely allied to the partridge 

 in form and many of its habits. Of these birds there are many species ; but as all are much 

 alike, there is no need of many examples. 



The common Quail is found spread over the greater part of Europe, and portions of Asia 

 and Africa, coming in the summer, though not in very great numbers. In Italy and some of 

 the warmer lands which the Quails traverse during their periodical migrations, the inhabitants 

 look forward to the arrival of the Quail with the greatest anxiety. In those countries they are 

 shot, snared, and netted by thousands ; and it is chiefly from the foreign markets that our game 

 shops are supplied with these birds. When fat, the flesh of the Quail is very delicious ; and 

 the most approved way of cooking the bird is to envelop it in a very thin slice of bacon, tie it 

 up in a large vine-leaf, and then roast it. 



In their migrations the Quails fly by night, a peculiarity which has been noted in the 

 Scriptural record of the Exodus, where it is mentioned, that "at even the Quails came up and 



