146 GAME BIRDS OF INDIA AND ASIA. 



long tail-coverts. The general feathering is also of 

 a long type, but the wings are decidedly short, and 

 the colouring will at once distinguish the bird from 

 any other of the family. The cock and hen, though 

 neither is brilliantly coloured, are absolutely unlike 

 each other, the former being slate-grey, tinged with 

 olive above, and with black edgings to the sides of 

 the feathers, a black head streaked with white, and 

 black under-tail-coverts spotted with white; while 

 the latter is brown, spotted with black centres to 

 the feathers and the face a sort of pinkish grey- 

 Remnants of the young plumage on some speci- 

 mens in the British Museum seem to show that both 

 sexes when young have a garb of closely mottled 

 black, brown and buff, so that they might easily be 

 passed over as of no particular account if the com- 

 paratively large tail were not noticed. 



The biU is red, bright coral in the male and dusky 

 in the female, and the legs are dull red. In a pair 

 kept in England the bill and legs were yellow. The 

 length is about ten inches, with the tail three, the 

 wing being only three and-a-half, and the shank one. 



The mountain quail was described in 1846 by J. E. 

 Gray from living specimens in the fine collection 

 of the Earl of Derby at Knowsley Hall, and he gave 

 the locality as "India" with a query. Notching 

 more was heard of it till 1865, when Kenneth 

 Mackinnon shot a pair in November, in a hollow 

 between Budraj and Benog, behind Mussoorie, 

 at about 6,000 feet elevation. Again, in November, 

 but two years later, at least one party established 

 themselves at Jerepani, and remained till the sum- 

 mer of 1868 ; and five specimens were procured. 

 Then, in December 1876, Major G. Carwithen got 



