DECREASE OF ANIMAL LIFE 



367 



fowlis ar not frequent, but in few noumer; and sa far haitis the cumpany of 

 man, that gif thay find thair eggis aindit [handled] or twichit be men, thay 

 leif thaim, and layis eggis in ane uthir place. Thay lay thair eggis in the 

 bair erd. 



I know of no later reference to the breeding of the Great 

 Bustard in Scotland. It has disappeared from our country 

 as completely as the Wolf or the Brown Bear, and others of 

 its kind are following. 



Once the QUAIL (Coturnix coturnix] was common 



in 



Fig- 63. Quails once common in Scotland, now scarce, f nat. size. 



Britain, nesting often, but more frequently appearing in 

 migrating flocks which stayed over winter into spring. Quail 

 hunting was a favourite sport in England, and "quail-calls" 

 for luring the quarry were articles of commerce. In Scotland 

 too, Quails seem to have been abundant up to the middle of 

 the sixteenth century for in 1551 their price was fixed at 2d. 

 apiece the price of a Snipe, half the price of a Woodcock. 

 In the succeeding century, however, a decrease in their 

 numbers, no doubt due to the advance of agriculture, caused 

 the law to impose a heavy penalty of /ioo upon any person 



