170 HISTORY OF 



CHAPTER XI. 



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 par- 

 tridge. The feathers of 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 poul- 

 try kind in its habits and nature. 



The quail is by all known to be a bird of pas- 

 sage ; and yet, if we consider its heavy manner of 

 flying, and its dearth of plumage with respect to 

 its corpulence, we shall be surprised how a bird so 

 apparently ill qualified for migration, should take 

 such extensive journeys. Nothing however is 

 more certain : " When we sailed from Rhodes to 

 Alexandria,'* says Bellonius, " about autumn, 

 many quails, flying from the north to the south, 

 were taken in our ship ; and sailing at spring-time 

 the contrary way, from the south to the north, I 

 observed them on their return, when many of 

 them were taken in the same manner." This 

 account is confirmed by many others ; who aver, 

 that they choose a north wind for these adven- 



