394 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXIll 



Yala district, where Mr. Bligh writes me it was abundant; 



and in the Northern parts of the low country it is found in 



old clearings overgrown with grass and shrubs, and also on 



open bushy lands on the borders of tanks. It is common in 



the Cinnamon Gardens, Negombo, Colombo, and Morotuwa, 



and breeds even in public resorts, such as the Circular, etc., 



where there are bushes to afford it the necessary cover." 



Legge did not find it at any great elevations, but I have received 



it from nearly 4,000 feet, and doubtless it will be found even 



higher than this, provided there is suitable open country. 



Niclification. — The nidification of this Bustard Quail is similar to 

 that of the other sub-species, that of ]plmnbi]06s being described at 

 length hereafter. 



Legge says that in Ceylon it lays " from February till May, 

 and most likely has another brood later in the year." As with all 

 these birds, it is the male which incubates the eggs, and Legge and 

 Captain Butler both found the cock bird sitting on eggs. Appar- 

 ently in Ceylon two eggs only are sometimes laid, a nuinber which 

 is very exceptional elsewhere. The eggs themselves cannot be 

 distinguished in any way from those of atrogularis and ijlumbipes 

 though they average a trifle smaller. Those which I have been able 

 to personally measure averaged •93"x*75" (==2-37 x l'90mm), and 

 Legge records their length as varying from -90" to '98", and the 

 breadth from -69" to •75". 



Hahits. — Writing of the Ceylon Bustard Quail, the author above 

 quoted, writes that it is — 



" an inhabitant of open scrub, long grass dotted with bushes, 

 the outskirts of low jungle, cinnamon plantations, and such- 

 like situations where cover is combined with grass and rank 

 vegetation. It is rarely found in damp spots and in fact is 

 especially partial to sandy soil, which is the driest soil to be 

 had anywhere in the maritime regions of Ceylon. It is only 

 when accompanied by their young brood that these birds are 

 found in coveys ; they are generally met with singly, or 

 two at some little distance from each other; they lie close, 

 and when they rise, either fly back straight over your shoiilder, 

 or dart like an arrow round the nearest bush, suddenly 

 alighting when out of reach of danger." 

 Legge also refers to their polyandrous habits, which they share 

 with others of the genus, and describes the way the hens fight for 

 the possession of the cock. He writes, " they fight like the common 

 hen, stretching up their heads and trying to circumvent each other, 

 pecking out vigorously all the while," and elsewhere he records that 

 so intent do they become on their fights that he has driven up to 

 and stopped his carriage within a few yards of a pair fighting by 

 the roadside, without their taking any notice of him. 



