]\lr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Cotuniix. 171 



islands surrounding the coast, and the results are seen in the 

 many male birds from South Africa and Southern Europe &c. 

 in which the white parts on the sides of the head and throat 

 are more or less suffused with the bright rufous-clicstnut of 

 the resident bird. 



The females of course are not to be distinguished. I may 

 add that Indian examples of C. coturnix are, generally 

 speaking, very pure bred and seldom show any trace of 

 rufous on the sides of the head and throat. 



There are two specimens in the British Museum of the 

 curious melanistic variety of C. coturnix which occurs in 

 Spain. They were obtained by Mr. Howard Saunders in the 

 marshy neighbourhood of Valencia. In the male the general 

 colour of the upper parts is black, with narrow buff or rufous 

 cross bars; the pattern formed by the Avide golden-buff 

 shaft-streaks on the feathers of the mantle and on each side 

 of the body is normal ; the greater part of the sides of the head, 

 the chin, and throat are black, with here and there a white 

 feather 5 the chest-feathers are mottled with black, and the 

 feathers of the sides and flanks are black dotted with rufous 

 and with a wide white shaft-stripe down the middle of each. 

 In the female all the underparts are suffused with dull brown. 



-'>-g^^^^^^^ 



TE. 



I. 



I. Coturnix coturnix^ $ ad. 

 II. Cotui"nix japonica, 2 ad. 



Coturnix japonica. (Woodcut, fig. II.) 



Coturnix ruh/aria japonica, Temm. ifc Sclil. Faun. .Tap. p. 10.'5, pi. Ixi. 



(1842). 

 Coturnix japoniat, Blakist. Ibis, 1802, p. ."^29. 

 Orti/f/>o7i'cofnr)ii.r, Radde, Reise Ost-8ib. ii. p. 306 (1803). 

 Coturnix mufri, Dybowski, J. f. O. 1868, p. 337 (descr. nulla) ; I'rjev. 



J. f. O. 1872, p. 138. 



12 



