228 



CASSELLS BOOK OF BIRDS. 



continement precisely resembles that of the Emu — not the whistle, but the hollow-sounding noise, like 

 that produced b}' tapping on a cask, which the Emu utters — but is, of course, much fainter." 



Gould received from Mr. Strange a fully-developed egg, taken from the ovarium of the female, 

 which in general character resembled those of the Tuniius. It was somewhat suddenly contracted 

 at the smaller end. The ground-colour was stone-white, sprinkled with small blotches of umber- 

 brown and vinous grey, the latter tint appearing as if beneath the surface of the shell, the sprinkled 

 markings predominating at the larger end. The egg was one inch and one-eighth long, and seven- 

 eighths of an inch broad. 



THE AFRICAN BUSH QUAIL {Tuniix Africamcs, or T. Cibrallaiiensis). 



The PJiasianidcB of Brehm comprise not merely the PHEASANTS PROPER, but all nearly 

 allied groups. The members of this important division generally possess a comparatively slender 

 body, medium-sized or short and much rounded wings, and a long or broad tail, composed of from 

 twelve to eighteen feathers. The moderately long bill is much vaulted, with its upper mandible 

 cui-ved over the lower part of the beak, and occasionally prolonged into a sharp, nail-like tip ; the rather 

 high foot is furnished with long toes, and in the male is armed with a spur ; the partially bare head is 

 sometimes adorned with combs and lappets of skin, and sometimes with horn-like appendages or tufts 

 of feathers. The plumage is glossy and brilliantly coloured. This family is almost entirely confined 

 to the Eastern Hemisphere, only two species being found in America ; and even in the Old World 

 their distribution is nearly completely restricted to the warmer part of the Asiatic continent and 

 its dependent islands. 



The TUFTED PHEASANTS {Lophophori) constitute a group distinguishable by their short, 

 rounded tail, the feathers of which are not placed as in most other Pheasants, but present a fan-like 

 arrangement. 



