THE SAXD GROUSE. 149 



trapped and sold for purposes of food. Waterton mentions the fact of 17,000 specimens being brought 

 to Rome in one day. They are to be found in large quantities on the coast of the Mediterranean, 

 and so abundant are they in the beautiful island of Capri, that it is said from this source the bishops, 

 in olden times, derived a large part of their wealth. The Quail is most rapid in its flight, and performs 

 long and fatiguing journeys. Sunset is the time for active exertions ; during the day they remain 

 quite quiet, reserving their energies for the evening, when off they go in quest of food. Their favourite 

 nourishment is insects, but they feed at times on grain and seeds ; small stones are also swallowed to 

 facilitate digestion. The habits of the Quail are most unamiable and unsocial, and generally when 

 they meet with one of their own species they display a very pugnacious disposition. The female has 

 a much better nature ; she is a most excellent mother, even protecting young birds who have been 

 deprived of their parents' care. She builds her own nest of small portions of plants, and lays eight 

 to fourteen eggs ; these are pear-shaped in form, of a light brown colour marked with a darker shade. 

 The young are full-grown at six weeks old, and are ready to join their parents in their long autumn 

 journey, which extends as far as the Cape of Good Hope, where they arrive in very large numbers. 



The Quail, unlike the Partridge, has several wives, and displays great spirit in keeping rivals at 

 a distance ; while the mother is attending to her young ones, the male amuses himself in the vicinity 

 with his companions. The flesh of this bird is esteemed a great delicacy, and the inhabitants of the 

 warm climates, which are periodically visited by the Quail, look forward to its arrival with anxiety. 



The length of the Quail is about seven inches and a half, and the general colour is brown, 

 varied with buff streaks on the upper surface. The throat is reddish, and above the eye a buffy- 

 white line passes along the sides of the crown and down the sides of the neck across the throat ; 

 the under surface is butty. In the female the colours are not so bright, and the reddish colour 

 on the throat is absent. 



THE SIXTH FAMILY OF THE GAME BIRDS. THE SAND GROUSE (Pteroclidee). 

 The Sand Grouse are a group of birds which bear considerable relations to the Pigeons, and in 

 India are often called "Rock Pigeons" by the English sportsman. They are inhabitants of 

 desert countries as a rule, being found over Africa, in Madagascar, the Mediterranean region, 

 Central Asia, and in the Indian Peninsula. Their favourite haunts are desert, open plains, and bare 

 fields with no traces of cultivation ; they live generally in large packs, and are rather shy, being 

 quickly on the alert, and evading capture in a most clever manner. They find a valuable aid in 

 their plumage, which is nearly the exact shade of the ground on which they rest, and which 

 renders them almost invisible to the hunter. They squat down at his approach, and when he 

 seems coming too close, fly off at an immense pace. Their flight is very rapid, and they make 

 u peculiar sound with their wings. Their habits seem very regular in the manner of feeding, 

 and morning, noon, and evening, large quantities assemble to drink at the rivers or tanks of 

 water, and the sportsman can quite count on seeing thousands if he should come at one particular 

 time. Their food consists of hard seeds, as well as little insects, <kc., which they procure in the 

 same way as the Pigeons or Partridges. Although the Sand Grouse live in such large companies, 

 they are not polygamists ; they, however, have frequent battles with their own species, particularly 

 at the breeding season. This season varies according to locality : in the Deccan and Southern 

 India it takes place from December to May ; in Central India, later still ; and in North Africa, 

 at the English spring. The female lays in a small hollow scraped in the sand, in which she 

 deposits three or four eggs, which are of a greenish stone-colour, spotted closely with grey and 

 brown. The male bird assists in attending to the wants of the little ones, and when arrived at 

 maturity, all fly off together. It is quite possible to keep the Sand Grouse in captivity, and they 

 are a great ornament to the aviary. Their flesh is good eating, if kept long enough; at first it 

 is rather hard and tough, but that of the young birds is delicious, and is much prized. Their 

 habit of squatting in close proximity to one another leads to the sportsman frequently bagging 

 a number of specimens, should he be so fortunate as to creep up within shooting distance. 



THE SEVENTH FAMILY OF THE GAME BIRDS. THE HEMIPODES (Turnieida). 

 These are some of the smallest Game-birds known, many of the species not being as much as 

 six inches long. They are found in Africa, India, the Malayan region, extending to China, and 

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