38 Wild & Tame Hoopoes 



nasty, sickly, mawkish odour, which used to be wafted 

 all over the vessel at times. 



The new regulation with regard to their importa- 

 tion from Egypt may possibly make some difference 

 in an increase of wild quail in England during the 

 summer months ; for thousands that would be caught 

 round Alexandria and other places will now be -allowed 

 to continue their migration to France and Italy ; some 

 of which, escaping capture in the latter countries, may 

 perhaps find their way to England. 



How birds that are caught by thousands and thou- 

 sands every year, on their way to their breeding quarters, 

 manage to keep up their numbers, is a mystery. 



It would be very pleasant to hear the musical note 

 of quails in our English pastures and cornfields, as 

 one hears them in Egypt amongst the fields bordering 

 the Nile, where they are often within a few feet of 

 one, hidden amongst the rich green of the young 

 wheat and barley. 



To catch such a sporting little game bird as a quail 

 in nets by night, when the poor little chaps are 

 wearied out by their long flights, seems a mean kind 

 of a trick, just for the sake of putting some money 

 into people's pockets, and for gratifying the palate of 

 the Upper Ten, for the most part. 



I shall mention these little fellows again in another 

 chapter, when writing on cruelty to birds. 



I do not know whether the English Government 

 has forbidden the importation of quails from Egypt, 

 but it would be a very merciful action to take, for 

 they are terribly cramped and crowded in the voyage. 



