Quails. 93 



form in shape. The shell is not very 

 glossy. The ground-colour varies, being 

 in some yellowish white, in others stone- 

 colour, and a few are of a rusty colour. 

 The marks, which are mostly specks, but 

 sometimes blotches and freckles, are black, 

 olive-brown or reddish brown, and are 

 closely set all over the egg. The eggs 

 vary in length from i to 1*21, and in 

 breadth from '8 to '89. 



The male bird has the upper plumage, 

 wings and tail a mixture of black, brown, 

 grey and rufous, with numerous conspicuous 

 long yellow streaks. The first ten quills 

 of the wing are plain brown on both webs. 

 The crown is blackish mottled with rufous, 

 with a yellow band passing down the 

 middle and a white band on each side 

 over the eye. The chin and throat are 

 narrowly black. A black band passes 

 from each angle of the mouth round the 

 white cheek to the base of the throat. A 

 broad white gorget succeeds this black 

 band and passes in a crescentic form from 

 ear to ear. This white gorget is again 

 succeeded by a similar black one. The 

 sides of the neck are rich russet. The 

 middle of the breast is black, and the sides 

 of this together with the sides of the body 

 are buff streaked with black and with 



