234 A MANUAL OF THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



forming a wing patch ; quills sepia-brown, with ashy or dull rufous marginsj and 

 slightly paler ends, the first primary externally whitish, the next ones edged with 

 hoary -grey, inner secondaries spotted with white, like the coverts ; head pale slaty- 

 grey with a line of chestnut feathers on each side of the crown which are barred with 

 black ; sides of face and ear-coverts ashy -grey spotted with minute specks of white ; 

 chin white followed by buff on the throat which spreads over the breast, where it is 

 washed more or less with ashy -grey ; on the sides of the body the feathers are vinous- 

 chestnut edged with pale grey ; abdomen whitish, more or less suffused with buff ; 

 flanks and under tail-coverts sandy-buff ; under wing-coverts, axillaries and the 

 under aspect of quills pearly -grey with a certain amount of pale vinous on the under 

 wing-coverts ; the margin of the wing below is dotted with black ; bill brown ; iris 

 yellow ; feet yellow. Total length 190 mm. ; culmen, from base of skull, 21, wing 

 106, tail 42, tarsus 25. 



The only known specimen of this bird is the type which is in the Tring Museum. 



Immature, Nest, Eggs and Distribution. Unknown. 



159. Austroturnix castanota. CHESTNUT-BACKED QUAIL. 



Gould, Vol. V., pi. 85 (pt. xiii.), Dec. 1st, 1843. Mathews, Vol. I., pt. 1, pi. 16, Oct. 31st, 



1910. 



Hemipodius castanotus Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. (Lend.), 1839, p. 145, March 1840 : Port 



Essington, Northern Territory. 



Turnix castanota magnifica Mathews, Nov. Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 181, Jan. 31st, 1912 : East 



Kimberley, North-west Australia. 



Turnix castanota melvillensis Mathews, Austral Av. Rec., Vol. I., pt. 2, p. 27, April 2nd, 1912 : 



Melville Island, Northern Territory. 



Turnix castanota aUigator Mathews, ib. : South Alligator River, Northern Territory. 



DISTRIBUTION. Northern Territory. North-west Australia. 



Adult female. General colour above vinous -chestnut, the feathers edged on 

 either web with white, producing a streaked appearance ; these white marginal 

 lines accompanied by an inner line of black ; towards the end of the feathers some 

 more or less broken bars of black ; lower back, rump and upper tail-coverts, dull 

 vinous -chestnut shaded with ashy-grey, and having nearly obsolete blackish bars ; 

 scapulars like the back, but with somewhat broader white margins externally ; 

 wing-coverts vinous -chestnut, the marginal coverts edged with black, the median 

 and greater series slightly ashy -grey on the edges, and having ovate spots of white, 

 bordered with black on their upper margins ; primary -co verts and quills sepia-brown, 

 almost black, with narrow rufescent edges, the first primary whitish along the 

 outer web ; tail-feathers vinous -chestnut with faintly indicated dusky cross-bars ; 

 crown vinous-chestnut, with a line of ashy-grey down the middle of the crown to 

 the nape, the sides of the crown with scarcely any spots or bars of black, forming 

 a broad band of vinous -chestnut on each side of the mesial grey band ; fore-head, 

 lores, and a broad eyebrow mottled with small white spots, each of which has a 

 black margin, this spotted appearance being continued on to the sides of the nape ; 

 ear-coverts streaked with white, the feathers narrowly edged with black ; sides of 

 neck, hinder neck and upper mantle vinous-chestnut, with ovate spots of white, 

 each spot narrowly margined with black ; this vinous colour extending down the 

 sides of the breast, where the spots are somewhat larger ; throat dull white, tinged 

 with pale ochre on the lower part ; fore-neck, chest, and upper-breast ashy with a 

 slight ochreous tinge and plentifully marked with ovate spots of pale ochre, increasing 

 in size, on the sides of the breasts, which are also somewhat ashy ; centre of breast 

 and abdomen white, the sides of the body and flanks pale ochreous -buff, the flanks 

 more dusky and having ashy bases to the feathers ; under tail-coverts sandy-buff ; 

 axillaries and under wing-coverts leaden -grey, the former slightly washed with 

 rufous ; quills leaden-grey below, tinged with rufous along the inner web ; iris 



