MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 597 



bold and apparently careless way in which they habitually expose them- 

 selves, I had supposed that they must for some reason be safe from attack 

 by larger birds of prey ; but evidently hawks will take them, if they get 

 the chance. 



G. B. F. MUIR, i.c.s. 

 Mayo College, Ajmere, 



March 1916. 



No. XIII.— NOTES ON THE PAINTED BUSH QUAIL {MICROFERDIX 

 ERYTHRORHYNCHUS), F.B.I, 1359. 



As its name implies this bird is seldom found in any but light scrub 

 and is very partial to the scrub thart springs up in fields that have lain fallow 

 for some time. This scrub as a rule mainly consists of what is known in 

 Tamil as " Verali " ( ? a species of senna). 



It is rarely found in heavy or even moderate jungle unless this be on the 

 edge of cultivation. These birds are generally found in small coveys of 

 6 to 10 in number and with a dog there is never any difficulty in flushing 

 them. (Note. — I find this applies also to M. inc/lisi as in 1913 my dog kept 

 constantly putting up parties of this bird — Alex M. Primrose.) When thus 

 dispersed they, after a short interval, begin calling to each other and in a 

 short time get together again. This call is a very soft whistle of about 2 

 seconds, duration repeated after about the same interval and rising 

 gradually till it reaches a certain pitch which note is repeated a few times 

 and then dies down rather more rapidly ; this same call constitutes that of 

 the hen, the male's call is graduated in the same way but has a " kill " in it 

 and I think is best expressed on paper as " kirikee,'' " kirikee, " etc. I 

 have tried imitating this call and find that with a little practice it is very 

 easily done. The birds come to the call readily from short distances, that 

 is up to about 80 or 100 yards. You can, if you hear the birds calling a little 

 distance away, start answering them ; soon you hear the bird calling nearer 

 you and a little more answering on your part brings him nearer still. Now 

 you hear him calling close by and very often spot him standing on a small 

 rock or other eminence waiting an answer to his challenge. Then once he 

 has located the sound he comes along at a very fast walk or run, now and 

 again making a sort of chuckling noise and looking about for his would-be 

 antagonist, but should the bird see you instead, which it generally does, 

 being by this time not more than one or two yards distant, he retires 

 uttering an alarm note. The best time for calling them in this way is when 

 they are mating as then they seem to be "on the war path " in earnest. 



The nesting season or rather seasons, for I am sure this Quail nests 

 twice in the year, are March, April and May and again in September 

 and October. The nest is very diflicult to find and consists of a small 

 depression in the ground with perhaps a thin lining of grass. It is generally 

 placed at the roots of a bush or clump of grass. The eggs vary from 8 to 

 10 in number. They are a pale bufi" with a fair gloss and are conical, that 

 is, there is a fair amount of taper from the broad end. 



C. PRIMEOSE. 



KiL KOTAGIRI, NiLGIEIS, 



9th August 1911. 



[On looking over some old bird notes the other day I cams across the above note 

 by my brother A. M. t'rimrose. — C P.] 



^rd April 1916. 



