94 ANDALUSIAN QUAIL. 



The possession of habits, such as we have mentioned, must render it a bird of very 

 little interest to the sportsman. 



Nothing is known respecting its nest or eggs, but it seems probable that it lays four 

 eggs, and places its nest under the shelter of some tuft of grass, or coarse herbage, as 

 its Australian congener, the Fast-flying Hemipode of Gould, has been ascertained by that 

 gentleman to do. 



Not having seen a specimen of this bird, we take the following description from Yarrell, 

 whose accuracy is well known : — "The point of the beak is light brown, the base pale 

 wood brown; irides, hazel; top of the head, dark brown, with a lighter brown streak in 

 the middle, passing backwards; the cheeks, brown, speckled with buff; upper surface of 

 the body, dark brown, with numerous narrow transverse bars of chesnut, black, and buffy 

 white. Tail, grayish brown ; wing coverts, yellowish brown, varied by a dark spot placed 

 on the centre of a larger spot of pale yellow brown; primaries, grayish brown, with a 

 light-coloured line along the edge of the outer web; chin, whitish; throat, neck in front, 

 and upper part of the breast, pale chesnut; sides and flanks, yellowish white, with a 

 crescent-shaped mark of rich brown occupying the centre of each feather; lower part of 

 the belly, vent, and under tail coverts, buffy white. Legs and toes, pale brown." 



The length is six inches and a half. Expanse of wings, twelve inches. 



