756 COTUENIX CHINENSIS. 



small marginal spots of black ; on the interscapulary region are bars of the same chiefly confined to a web, and on 

 the lower back and scapulars there are bold blotches and markings of a like colour, with a whitish-buff mesial 

 stripe to each feather, vanishing by degrees towards the hind neck ; on the occiput there is an indication of a 

 light streak formed by the pale colour of the basal parts of the feathers ; quills, lesser wing-coverts, and primary- 

 coverts uniform brown ; tertials mottled with black at the tips ; median and greater wing-coverts, with the outer 

 webs and the margins of the inner, ferruginous chestnut : the centre of the feathers washed with slate-blue ; 

 upper tail-coverts (which entirely conceal the tail) slate-blue in the centre, and deep ferruginous chestnut at the 

 sides; some of the central feathers mottled with black. 



Chin, throat, and part of the cheeks black, enclosing a white pear-shaped patch on the face ; below the black gorget 

 there is a wide crescentic band of white across the throat, running up to, and narrowing to a point at, the ear- 

 coverts ; this is bounded beneath by a black border; through the lores a white stripe ; forehead, passing over the 

 eye and down the sides of the neck, chest, sides of breast, and upper flanks fine slate-blue, like the centre of the 

 upper tail-coverts ; centre of the chest, breast, abdomen, under tail-coverts, and tail deep ferruginous chestnut 

 or fine chestnut-maroon ; concealed feathers down the centre of the breast whitish ; under wing-coverts pale 

 greyish. 



Another example, equally old apparently, from Borella, has the white stripes on the lower back more indistinct, and 

 those on the upper part of the interscapulary region plainer; the latter part is more marked with black, as are 

 also the tertials ; there is much less chestnut on the chest, the blue colour monopolizing most of that part 

 and descending much upon the flanks. 



Immature males have the Stripe on the occiput plainly indicated; the hind neck, back, and rump boldly striated with 

 white, no bluish tinge on the back, and less of the chestnut-maroon on the wing-coverts ; in some the latter 

 characteristic is almost wanting. 



Female. Smaller. Length 5-0 to 52 inches ; wing 2-6 to 2-8. 



Iris yellowish red, in some dusky red ; bill dark leaden ; legs and feet paler yellow than in the male. 



COTUENIX COMMUNIS. 



(the common quail.) 



Coturnix communis, Bonnaterre, Tab. Encycl. Meth. p. 217 (1790) : Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 254 (1849) ; 



Jerdon, B. of Ind. iii. p. 586 (1864) ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, iii. p. 549 (1.^75) ; id. Str. Feath. 1879 (List 



B. of Ind.), p. Ill ; Dresser, B. of Eur. pt. 69, 70 (1878). 

 Batter, GJuxgas batter, Hind. ; Peria Jcadeh, Tamil (Jerdon); Budinah, Watwaleh, in Turkestan (Scully) ; Su/mmin, 



Moorish ; Codorniz, Spanish (Irby) ; Kwartel, Dutch. 



Adult mah tinil female (England). Length 7*50 inches; wing 4 - 2; tail 1*4 ; tarsus 1-1; middle toe 0'9 ; bill to 



gape 0-61. 

 Iris yellowish brown ; bill dark brown ; legs fleshy yellow. 



Male (summer). General colour of the upper surface rusty brown ; the feathers of the crown, hind neck, back, 

 rump, and tail marked with black, mostly on the crown and rump ; on the crown the feathers are tipped with 

 fulvous, and on the hind ueek, back, and tail centred with very broad rufescent-buff stripes, and the black lateral 

 portions pencilled with rufous, which rather predominates on the interscapulary region; throat, upper fore neck, 

 a broad eye-stripe, and another narrower one over the crown buffy white ; cheeks and ear-coverts dark brown, 

 mottled with rufous, and from the latter two curved stripes descend towards the centre of the throat, the lower 

 passing across it in a band of a darker colour ; wing-coverts and quills brown, the coverts striped and barred 

 with buff, and the quills indented on the outer webs with the same ; beneath fulvous, tinged strongly with rufous 

 on the chest and upper breast; the flank-feathers with broad lateral black stripes, edged with rufous ; chin spotted 

 with brown ; sides of the chest striped with blackish brown. 



