THE QUAIL. 45 



ticularly interesting to observe the manners of the 

 young chickens. They had adopted all the shyness, 

 and timidity of young Quails ; running with great ra- 

 pidity, and concealing themselves as young Quails 

 do, among the grass. Even when they were larger 

 than the Quail herself, they continued to follow her 

 and obey her commands. Thus it appears that birds 

 of different kinds, when hatched and brought up by 

 each other, can understand each others' language. For 

 that they have a kind of language there is no doubt, 

 otherwise, the young could not understand the calls 

 or warnings of their mothers. 



Quails are gregarious birds, associating in flocks, 

 or coveys, of from five or six, to thirty or forty. 

 In this country they remain all the year, only migra- 

 ting from one part to another, as the seasons change. 

 In other parts of the world they migrate from one 

 country to another, going and coming at stated times, 

 like the stork and other birds. In some countries these 

 birds have occasionally appeared in such vast flocks 

 as to cover the ground with their numbers, and destroy 

 all the grain in a neighbourhood. In Egypt, and on 

 the borders of the Red Sea, the inhabitants at particu- 

 lar seasons live almost entirely on them. And in the 

 kingdom of Naples, one hundred thousand Quailshave 

 been taken in a day, within a space of a few miles. 

 In the south of Russia, at the time of their migration, 

 they abound in such numbers, that they are taken by 

 thousands, and sent in casks to the cities for sale. 



Quails are birds of the most undaunted courage, their 

 quarrels frequently terminating iu the death of one or 

 both the parties. Among the ancient Greeks and Ro- 

 5* 



