94 



PARTRIDGE OR QUAIL. 



ably named an elk, while the moose (A/ces malchis) 

 is only entitled to that appellation. These mis- 

 nomers could be enumerated ad fiauseam ; but why 

 castigate our neighbours on such a point when the 

 same ignorance is to be found at home, being more 

 particularly displayed with reference to fish ? 



A friend in a communication has the following : — 

 " If these birds {Ortix Virginianus) e not quail, or 

 the California birds, what are qu.^l ? Only the 

 ' button ' sort found in the Mediterranean and South 

 Africa, I conclude." The italicized synonym in- 

 scribed above is mine. 



The " button quail," a well-known species of the 

 Cotinniix family, does not, to my knowledge, exist in 

 either of the places named, but in India, Malay 

 Archipelago, tropical China, and tropical East 

 Africa. It is very little larger than a wren, and is 

 almost invariably found in bevies, which, when dis- 

 turbed, all flush at the same instant, but not until the 

 intruder is close upon them. This sudden and 

 simultaneous action of taking flight has often before 

 now sent the heart of a sportsman up into his mouth. 

 This species generally comes with the rains, and dis- 

 appears soon after dry weather sets in. Does not, 

 therefore, my correspondent mean the common 

 quail, so abundant all over '\the East " } 



The painted quail is also not uncommon in the 

 habitat of the *' button quail." It is a trifle larger, 

 however, and very beautifully and brilliantly marked. 

 I have always found it in pairs. From this I con- 

 clude that it was simply a temporary visitor to such 

 places, and had come there to breed. 



The Harlequin qu?il is another species found in 

 Africa, but is far from abundant where I have been. 

 I have shot it upon the low-lying meadows that 

 sometimes occur along the Crocodile river. It is 

 said to be numerous near Lake N'gami and on the 

 upper tributaries of the Zambesi. 



