Bush- Quails. 113 



resorts of the Jungle Bush-Quail, as re- 

 marked by Messrs. Hume and Marshall, 

 are " moderately thick forests and jungles, 

 hills, ravines and broken ground, not too 

 deficient in cover, and rich cultivation, if 

 not in too damp and undrained situations, 

 from near the sea-level to an elevation 

 of four to five thousand feet." There is 

 little to say regarding the general habits 

 of these birds. They keep in coveys and 

 are very tame, and are frequently found in 

 compounds, and in the vicinity of houses. 



This bird breeds from September to 

 February, but the majority of the eggs in 

 the Hume Collection were taken in Sep- 

 tember. The nest, consisting of a little 

 grass and some roots, is built in a hollow 

 of the soil under a bush or tuft of grass. 

 The eggs are from four to seven in number, 

 regular ovals, with little gloss, white to 

 very pale buff, and spotless. They measure 

 from '96 to 1*1 in length, and from 79 to 

 9 in breadth. 



The male has the crown brown or 

 reddish brown mottled with black at the 

 sides. The upper plumage is buff, barred 

 and vermiculated with black, many of the 

 feathers with pale narrow shaft streaks. 

 The closed wings are coarsely barred and 

 blotched with black, and many of the 



8 



