136 GAME BIRDS OF INDIA AND ASIA. 



this, however, it is very widely distributed, al- 

 though it has not yet been reported from Kashmir, 

 Tenasserim, or the Shan States ; but its resem- 

 blance to the common quail no doubt often causes 

 it to be overlooked. It has much the same habits 

 as its larger ally, affecting grass and cultivated 

 ground, and shifts its ground locally according to 

 the rains, whence its name. Thus to Northern 

 Bengal, Oudh, Behar, the North-West Provinces, 

 the Punjab, Sind, and the open parts of Upper 

 Burma it arrives in the monsoon, apparently wish- 

 ing to escape from unduly damp localities. In 

 many parts of Central and Southern India the bird 

 resides permanently. 



It is found in pairs for about half the year, from 

 April to October, and at other times singly. It 

 nests in India from June to October, laying from 

 four to nine eggs in a hollow on the ground, usually 

 unlined. These eggs are a little smaller than those 

 of the common quail, and are much speckled with 

 dark markings ; the ground colour varies from 

 yellowish white to rusty. 



I may mention that the species has been recentlv 

 bred in captivity in England by Mr. Seth-Smitli, 

 a Member of the Avicultural Society ; this is inter- 

 esting as showing that this bird, naturally confined 

 to a warm climate, can nevertheless, like so many 

 such species, bear and propagate in a colder 

 one. 



The note of the male Rain Quail is quite different 

 from that of the common quail, consisting of two 

 notes only, like "whit-whit." 



