74 BRITISH BIRDS 



Bird. Length 13 J in., therefore somewhat larger than the 

 grey-partridge, from which it may at once be distinguished in 

 adult plumage by the conspicuous black, white, and chestnut 

 barrings on the lavender-grey flanks. Female somewhat 

 duller. No seasonal change. Upper-parts brown, except the 

 crown, which is grey. Throat white, this white area being 

 edged with a black band, below which again is a broader band 

 of tawny-rufous with black tips. Breast lavender-grey. Belly 

 buff. Legs red. The fledgling has the head and neck dull 

 buff. Upper-parts mostly greyish-brown with black and pale 

 buff or whitish markings. Under-parts mostly a dull greyish 

 tawny-rufous tint with paler tips to the feathers. Flanks 

 unmarked. 



Nest. Place : as grey-partridge. Slightly lined with grass 

 and leaves. 



Eggs. Usually 10-18. Buff to rufous, finely speckled with 

 red-brown, and more sparingly blotched with the same or 

 purplish. Av. size, 1'59 x 1'21 in. Laying begins April-May. 

 One brood. 



150. Quail {Coturnix coturnix coturnix (Linnaeus) ; Coturnix 

 communis Bonnaterre], Chiefly a summer visitor in fluctuating 

 and apparently diminishing numbers to the southern parts 

 of England and E. Ireland. Scarce elsewhere. Some stay 

 through winter. 



Bird. Length 7 in., therefore much smaller than the 

 partridge. General coloration is pale brown or dusky above 

 with pale buff or whitish stripes, and chestnut and pale buff 

 beneath. The male has the crown and nape black, tipped brown, 

 with a central longitudinal buff stripe, and a similar stripe 

 passing backwards over each eye, bounded by a dusky stripe 

 below. Back dusky or black, barred pale brown, streaked 

 whitish. Scapulars and wing -coverts pale brown with whitish 

 or buff shaft streaks, and barred or spotted buff and dusky. 

 Wing quills brownish -grey barred buff. A black inverted 

 " anchor " on the throat. Forebreast pale chestnut striated 

 with buff. Flanks marked with black and buff. Rest of 

 under-parts pale buff. Female lacks the "anchor," and the 

 black on the upper-parts duller. 



Nest. A scrape among crops or among grass in rough 

 pasture, lined with grass, stems, leaves, &c. 



Eggs. Usually 7-12. Generally a yellowish ground-colour 

 with dark brown markings varying from a few heavy blotches 

 to innumerable spots. Av. size, 1*14 x "88 in. Laying begins 

 May-June. Broods 1-2. 



