07i the ge?uis Coturnix. 31


has taken place as I feared it might with such closely allied

forms as C. coromandelica and C. delegorg7iei. In the spring the

call-note of the males is ve^ frequently heard, the shrill double

note of the Rain-Quail being audible at a considerable distance.


The female generally selects for a nesting-spot a thick

clump of grass, under which she draws together a few blades of

dry grass, the growing blades being carefully arranged over her

back so as to render her invisible from above when on her nest.


The clutch varies somewhat with the species, six being the

lowest number and thirteen about the highest for a single bird.

The eggs are laid daily until the clutch is complete when, pro-

viding the surroundings are to the birds liking, and she is not

disturbed in any way, incubation commences. At this time the

male deserts the female entirely and seeks another mate, so that,

if the enclosure is sufficiently large, it is well to have two females

to each male. If however there is no other female present it is

advisable to remove the male as soon as incubation commences,

otherwise he may worry the hen and cause her to desert her nest.


A note should be made of the date on which incubation

commences so as to be able to calculate the date of hatching.

Incubation varies from sixteen to eighteen or nineteen days in

the case of Coturnix, and probably depends slightly upon the

temperature of the weather.


A critical time arrives when the hen leaves the nest with

her brood. If she should get frightened she may run some dis-

tance, calling her chicks which will do their best to follow her,

though some may be too weak to do so and promptly die from

cold. My own plan, which has worked most successfully, is to

confine the hen and her brood in a small run by themselves for

at least the first fortnight. The runs I use are about six feet long

by four feet wide, about twelve or eighteen inches high, boarded at

the sides and wired over the top, and with one end made to open

to facilitate the often difficult task of driving the birds in. Part

of the top is made to open for feeding. This run is placed upon

a flat piece of ground on which is plenty of good grass, and care

has to be taken that no space is left anywhere below the sides

through which a chick could squeeze. Over part of the top

brushwood is placed as a shelter. The hen and her chicks are



