THE QUAir..] 



LY FIELD, WOOD, AND WATER. 



[tue quail. 



always in the night), by their sottlinij on the I 

 niasts, sails, &c., as to bear down barks and i 

 yinall vessels, and finally sink them; and, on 

 that account, tho sailors have a great dread of 

 thetn, when they approach near to land." In 

 the autumn, large flocks of them cross tho 

 Mediterranean from Italy to Africa, taking in 

 their route, both in departing and returning, 

 the various islands of tho Archipelago as their 

 resting-places. They are often in such pro- 

 digious numbers as absolutely to cover the 

 entire face of the country. In Alexandria 

 they are so common, that they can be readily 

 bought for a farthing each Many of the 

 crews of merchant vessels have been so much 

 •onfiued to feeding on its flesh, that it 

 has been the cause of certain diseases break- 

 ing out among them, and complaints have 

 formerly been made on the subject to 

 the British consul at Alexandria. These 

 birds assemble in autumn on the northern 

 shores, to emigrate southward ; and it has 

 often been remarked, that they delay their 

 departure until the north wind rises, when, 

 towards sunset, the entire body take wing, and 

 display such swiftness as to traverse one hun- 

 dred and fifty miles by break of day. In Italy, 

 Sicily, and most of the Greek islands, tliey 

 arrive at a stated season in immense numbers, 

 and with singular punctuality, not diflfering, in 

 the average of years, above a day or two at 

 the utmost. One hundred thousand have been 

 known to be taken m a day. They are run 

 after during the night, and great numbers 

 perish in the chase In Sicily, there is quite a 

 sensation produced when they arrive. Ci'owds, 

 of all ages and ranks of life, are assembled to 

 witness the sight. The number of boats is 

 likewise astonishing ; and their passengers all 

 carry guns and pistols, to have a shot at the 

 feathered strangers. Ortygia was named from 

 them ; and so abundant were they on the island 

 of Capri, at the entrance of the Gulf of jS'aplcs, 

 that they constituted the chief source of reve- 

 nue of the bishops of the place. There were 

 a hundred and sixty thousand captured in 

 one season. In China, and in many of the 

 'slands in the Eastern Archipelago, they are 

 also extremely plentiful. 



"With respect to these birds having an in- 

 stmctive knowledge of the precise time for 

 emigration, we have a very singular fact in 

 4 V. 



sorao young quails, which, having been bred ia 

 cages from the earliest period of their lives, 

 had never enjoyed, and, therefore, could not 

 feel, tho loss of liberty. For four successivo 

 years they were observed to be restless, and to 

 flutter with unusual agitations regularly iu 

 September and April; and this uneasiness 

 lasted thirty days at each time. It constantly 

 began about an hour before sunset. Tho 

 birds passed the whole night iu these fruitless 

 struggles, and always, on the following day, 

 appeared dejected and stupid. 



It is observed in tho Rural Sports, that they 

 are birds of passage, some entirely quitting 

 our island ; others shifting their quarters, as it 

 is said, from tho neighbouring inland counties, 

 into the hundreds of Essex, in October, where 

 they continue all the winter. If frost or snow 

 drive them out of the stubble-fields and 

 marshes, they retreat to the sea-side, shelter 

 themselves among the weeds, and live upon 

 what they can pick up from the algce, &c., 

 between high and low water-mark. Their 

 appearance in Essex coincides with that of 

 their leaving the inland counties ; and this 

 same observation has been made in Hamp- 

 shire. The quail, like the partridge, makes no 

 nest, except a few dry leaves or stalks scraped 

 together may be so called ; and sometimes a 

 mere hollow in the bare ground suffices: in 

 this the female lays six or seven eggs, of a 

 whitish colour, marked with irregular rust- 

 coloured spots. Mr. Holland, of Conway, 

 once found a nest with twelve eggs, eleven of 

 which were hatched ; and Mr. Daniel saw a 

 bevy of nine young ones. 



In combative qualities the quail holds dis- 

 tinguished eminence. He fights long, and dies 

 hard. The Greeks and Eomans cultivated the 

 pugnacity of this bird to a great extent ; and 

 the conqueror in a regular pitched battle was 

 highly prized. Indeed, in such estimation was 

 he held, that Augustus put a prefect of Egypt 

 to death for having brougiit a conqueror to the 

 table to be eaten — a singular act of imperial 

 justice, that estimated the life of a man as of 

 no more value than that of a bird. During 

 the middle ages, quail-fighting was common; 

 and Henry III., kitig of Castile, devoted much 

 of his time to tiie catching of quails for tho 

 purpose of matching them in fights. His 

 subjects usually hunted them morning and 



553 



