COTUENIX. 



95 



from poles at the end of the field ; a large stop net is then spread at this end, reaching from 

 the ground, and resting so as to cover some 6 or 8 feet on the top of the barley ; two men then 

 go off with a long rope to the other end of the field, and beating is commenced by drawing 

 this rope backwards and forwards through the tops of the barley ; the rope is very gradually 

 brought forward, and the Quail, disturbed by the rustling noise, are supposed to run forward 

 into that part of the field which is covered by the stop net. When the rope has been drawn 

 to the net, the beaters drop the rope and enter the field, taking the net in one hand, and beating 

 the barley with the other, while the birds, scared by the noise, jump up and catch themselves 

 in the net. The birds so caught are at once operated on by the wily Afghan, who draws the 

 whole of the quills of one wing by a simple bite of his teeth, and the game is popped into a bag 

 for market, the stronger male birds being selected and reserved for fighting purposes. Many of 

 the birds fly back, and probably alight in a field less grown ; a hawk is then fiown across the 

 field to make these birds lie till they are secured by a small hand net drawn over the spot. 

 Quail-fighting seems to be a favourite pastime, for, go where you will, every other urchin you 

 meet will have a quail in his hand, handling and smoothing its feathers, and training it to be 

 strong by jumping it up and down. Again in the market-place of a morning, the farmers in 

 the intervals of buying and selling will have a round or two, betting one, two, and even three 

 rupees, and for the moment all thoughts of business are absorbed in the issue of the bet" 

 (Kcmdahar in 1879, pp. 180, 181). The system of netting is also the same in Hazara. — A. Le M, 



(J. 829. B. 1355. 0. 14. O.G. i. 180. H. & M. ii. 133.) 



58. Cotumix japonica. Thk Japanese Quail. 

 $ 5-7". Eesembles C. communis, but in males the throat and sides of head 

 are brick-red, without any black bands, and in females the throat is pale buff, 

 with feathers on chin and throat lengthened and pointed. Japan, Mongolia, 

 China, and K India. (O. 15. O.G. i. 184.) 



Also C. caperisis. The Cape Quail from S. Africa and adjacent islands. $ 6-3". Differing 

 from C. communis in having the head, chin, and throat bright chestnut. (O.G. ii. 183.) 



(ii.) With outer webs of primaries uniform brown without bars. 



59. Cotumix coromandelicus. The Black-breasted or Eain Quail. 



Bateyr, Upper India; Ch&n&c, Nepal; ^a.Xa.\ro, Bind ; Kade (Tamil); Chinna-yellichi 

 (Telugu) ; Ngon, Pegu. 



Sapoora, 7.8.75. 



3- 6J" to 7i"; 2 to 3 oz. Legs fleshy yellow. Bill dusky. Chin pure white. 

 Primaries unspotted brown. — Male: Like G. communis, but black bands on 

 throat and neck more strongly marked, and there is a large black patch on 

 breast. Sides of body buff-streaked black. Below pale buff. — Female : Larger 

 than male, breast merely spotted with black. 



The Eain Quail is a resident or partially migratory bird, shifting its ground 

 with the seasons and extending from India to Assam, Sylhet, Burma, and Pegu. 

 Not observed in Ceylon. (In 1875 they were in full breeding at Sapoora, in 



