PEDIONOMUS TOllQUATUS. 



(Collared Plain Wanderer.) 



Male.— Crown of the head, back, and upper surface, mottled with black, brown, and fawu color, the latter color occupying the external 

 edges of the feathers, and the black and brown forming alternate circular markings on each feather ; throat, neck, chest, and flanks, dull fawn 

 color; the feathers of the neck, chest, and flanks blotched with brown, which, on the latter, assumes the form of bars ; tail feathers, almost 

 invisible ; centre of abdomen and under tail coverts, buffy white ; irides, straw color ; feet, greenish yellow. 



Length, 4^ inches ; wing, 3i ; bill, 1L-I6ths ; tarsus, |. 



Female.— Crown of the head, reddish brown, speckled with black ; sides of the head and neck, light buff", speckled with black ; 

 neck, surrounded by a broad band of white, thickly spotted with black ; all the upper surface, reddish brown, each feather having several 

 transverse crescentic marks in the centre, and margined with buff"; tail, buff', crossed by numerous narrow brown bars ; centre of the breast, 

 rufous; the remainder of the under surface, buff"; the feathers of the breast marked in a similar manner to those of the upper surface, and the 

 flanks with large irregular spots of black ; irides, straw yellow, passing into black at the point ; feet, greenish yellow. 



Length, 7 inches ; wing, 3f ; tail. If ; bill, f ; tarsus, 1. 



Such is the description and measurement of this singular bird as given by Mr. Gould; The figure, which is that of the female, 

 is also copied from his plate. Up to the present time I have not succeeded in obtaining a specimen, and have every reason to believe that it 

 must now be of rare occurrence, the settlement of the country having driven it farther back into the interior. From the smallness of the 

 wing this bird flies with difficulty. When disturbed it generally hides by crouching among the grass. Its note is a sound not unlike that of 

 the emu, but much fainter, resembling the noise caused by tapping an empty cask. Dogs easily run it down, that being the general mode of 

 its capture. The true habitat of this species is the arid plains of the interior. 



COTURNIX PECTORALIS. 



(Pectoral Quail.) 



Male. — Lores, ear coverts, and throat, buff"; two parallel lines of white over the eye, and a central one of the same color from the forehead 

 to the nape ; the remainder of the head and neck, deep brown, each feather of the latter having a central streak of yellowish white, and 

 blotched with black on each side ; upper surface, brown, with zig-zag markings of black, each feather with a central mark of yellowish white ; 

 wings, brown, marked transversely with zig-zag lines of grey and black; primaries, black; sides of chest, brown; centre of chest, black; 

 abdomen, white, each feather marked with black down the centre ; flanks, rich brown ; the centre of each feather white, bounded by a fine line 

 of black on each side; bill, blackish brown; irides, hazel; feet, light flesh color. 



Female. — Diff'ers from the male in having the throat white, and in not having any black marks on the chest. 



Length, 6f inches ; wing, 3|- ; bill, i ; tarsus, |. 



This species, which much resembles the common European Quail, is found in almost every known portion of Australia, and also 

 in Tasmania. Its food consists of grass seeds, &c., and also insects. In the cultivated parts, after the harvest, the fields are frequented by 

 large numbers of these birds ; hence the name of Stubble Quail, by which it is popularly known. It breeds from September to December. 

 The eggs are numerous, seldom less than twelve being found in a nest, and the same is generally placed in a thick tuft of grass. The eggs 

 vary much, some being more profusely marked than others. The ground color is straw white, and the markings consist of blotches or spots 

 of brown. 



