456 
FIELD BUSTARNELLE. 
the wing, and the upper tail-coverts, are pure 
white : the whole of the upper parts of the body 
are bright yellowish, varied with zigzag dusky 
stripes, following the outline of the feathers, and 
sprinkled with large black spots : beak and feet 
grey : irides orange. The female and young male 
have the throat white : the sides of the head, the 
neck, and the upper part of the breast, of a bright 
yellowish, varied with brown stripes, and a broad 
longitudinal bar in the centre of each feather ; the 
breast, the sides, the edge of the wing, and the 
upper and under tail-coverts, are white, varied 
with transverse black stripes : the upper parts are 
the same, but more varied with black. 
This species inhabits the arid and open plains 
of the southern parts of Europe, being most 
abundant in Turkey, Italy, and Spain ; in France 
and Germany it is rarer, and in this country is 
extremely scarce, not more than ten or a dozen 
specimens havdng been captured in the course of a 
long series of years, and those principally females: 
it is not found far to the north : it subsists prin- 
cipally upon grain, seeds, and other vegetable 
productions, also on insects and worms : the female 
lays her eggs in June, to the number of four or 
hve, of a glossy green-colour : as soon as the young 
are hatched she leads them about as the hen does 
her chickens : they are able to fly by the middle of 
August. It is frequently taken in France in nets, 
like the Partridge, for the sake of its flesh, which 
is excellent, and is said to resemble that of the 
hare : its eggs are also a great delicacy. Like 
