74 BRITISH BIRDS 
Bird. Length 133 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 bein 
edged with a black band, below which again is a broader ban 
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, 159x121 in. Laying begins April—May. 
One brood. 
150. Quail [Coturnix coturnix coturnix (Linneeus) ; 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. 
Bord. 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. 
