Genus COTUENTX. 

 Bill slender, slightly curved from the base ; the naral membrane partly feathered. Wings 

 longer than in Perdicula ; the 1st and 2nd quill, or the 2nd, the longest. Tail lax, very short, 

 concealed entirely by the coverts. Legs and feet moderately stout ; the outer toe joined by a 

 web at the base to the middle. 



COTIJKNIX CHINENSIS*. 



(THE CHINESE QUAIL.) 



Coturnix philippensis, Brisson, Orn. i. p. 454, pi. 25. fig. 1. 



Tetrao chinensis, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 277. no. 19 (1766), ex Edwards. 



Tetrao manillensis, Gmel. ed. Syst. Nat. i. p. 764 (1788), ? . 



Coturnix excalfactoria, Temm. Pig. et Gall. iii. pp. 515, 742 (1815). 



Coturnix flavipes, Blyth, J. A. S. B. 1842, xi. p. 808, ? . 



Synoicusl chinensis, Gould, B. of Austr. vol. v. p. 92 (1848). 



Coturnix chinensis, Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 255 (1849) ; Layard & Kelaart, Cat. 



B. Appendix, Prodromus, p. 60 (1853) ; Layard, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiv. 



p. 107 ; Sclater, P. Z. S. 1863, p. 221. 

 Excalfactoria chinensis, Jerdon, B. of Ind. iii. p. 591 (1864); Gould, B. of Asia, pt. 17 



(1867); Beavan, Ibis, 1868, p. 386 ; Swinh. P. Z. S. 1871, p. 401; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 



1872, p. 470; Ball, Str. Feath. 1874, p. 428; Legge, Ibis, 1874, p. 26; Salvadori, 



Ucc. di Born. p. 311 (1874); Walden, Tr. Zool. Soc. 1875, p. 224; Hume, Nests and 



Eggs, iii. p. 553 (1875) ; Oates, Str. Feath. 1875, p. 345 ; Hume, ibid. 1878, vii. p. 226, 



et 1879 (List Malay B.), p. 69; id. t. c. (List Ind. B.) p. 111. 

 'Excalfactoria australis, Gould, Handb. B. of Austr. ii. p. 197 (1865). 

 Excalfactoria sinensis, Hume, Str. Feath. 1878 (B. of Tenass.), p. 447. 

 Chinese Quail, Edwards, Illust. v. p. 77, pi. 247, <$; La Caille des Philippines, Brisson; 



Blue-breasted Quail, Painted Quail, Bain-Quail, Swamp-Quail, of Sportsmen. Pikau, 



Malay; Chaun-chan, China; Pipit-Jean, Borneo (Mottley). 

 Pandura-watuwa, Wenella-watuwa, Sinhalese. 



Adult male. Length 5-2 to 5-7 inches ; wing 2-5 to 2-9 ; tail 0-9 ; tarsus 0-8 to 0-9 ; middle toe and claw 08 to 0-85 ; 



bill to gape 045. 

 Iris crimson or deep red ; bill blackish leaden, bluish at the base, in some with the culmen only bluish ; legs and feet 



rich yellow ; claws olive-brown. 



Old bird (Galle). Crown, hind neck, back, and scapulars olive-brown, with a bluish cast on the back, and tinged with 

 rusty in parts, chiefly on the occiput, interscapulary region, and back ; on the occiput and nape the feathers have 



* This species has been placed by Bonaparte in a separate genus, Excalfactoria, based on the difference of plumage 

 in the sexes and the slightly rounder wing. The latter is a variable character as regards some of the species restricted 

 to Coturnix. The bill, legs, and feet in the present bird are those of a true Quail, and I therefore do not adopt 

 Bonaparte's genus. 



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