23



Hvucultural flfoacjasine,


BEING THE JOURNAL OF THE


AVICULTURAL SOCIETY.



New Series— VOL. V. — NO. \.—AU rights reserved. NOVEMBER, 1906.


SOME NOTES ON THE QUAILS OF THE GENUS


CO TURN IX.


By D. Seth-Smith, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U.


The genus Cotumix, comprising the true Quails, consists


of but seven species or, if we consider the Cape form to be but a


subspecies, six species only, one of which, C. nov<z-zealandi<z is


now extinct or on the verge of extinction.


The species are as follows :

i. Cotumix cotumix, the common Migratory Quail which

ranges over the greater part of Europe, Africa and

Asia.


2. C. capensis, the Cape Quail, inhabiting South Africa, Mada-


gascar etc.


3. C. japonica, the Japanese Quail, inhabiting Japan, South-


East Mongolia and China.


4. C. coromandelica, the Rain-Quail, inhabiting the greater part


of the Indian Peninsula.


5. C. delegorgtiei, the Harlequin or Delegorgue's Quail, inhabit-


ing Central and South Africa.


6. C. pectoralis, the Australian Stubble Quail, confined to Aus-


tralia and Tasmania.


7. C. novce-zealandicB, the New Zealand Quail, now said to be


extinct.

With the exception of C. japonica and, of course, C. novce-

zealandicB I have kept all of the species of Cotumix in my aviary,

and have reared young from three of them, so I propose to give

some notes on these birds from observations made from my

living examples.



