106 TETRAONID.E. 



August, but many remain to breed, and a few even remain 

 all the winter. , '' 



Although the Quail is not strong on the wing, the bulk 

 or greater number of them are obliged to cross the sea, in 

 order to escape the severity of our winters in Europe, and 

 many of those perish at sea ; they are frequently captured 

 when alighting on the deck of a vessel for the purpose of 

 recruiting their strength ; and it is a known fact, which 

 frequently occurs on the coast of Provence, that many 

 thousands arrive so worn out from fatigue in the course of 

 one night, that they are readily caught with the hand the 

 next day. 



It is not so extraordinary that the Quails are met with on 

 either side of the Mediterranean in such great numbers, if we 

 explain at the same time that these birds arrive in the 

 autumn in families from their summer retreats, and congre- 

 gate in large bodies on the shores of the Mediterranean, 

 awaiting favourable weather for crossing the sea. 



Some few birds remain frequently lingering behind, and 

 this accounts for the fact that Ave shot a Quail as late 

 as the 18th of September, 1841, in a field of Swedish tur- 

 nips, at Halliford, in Middlesex. Besides the lateness of 

 the season, the actions of this bird attracted our notice, and 

 annoyed our trusty old dog very much. When the clog 

 pointed and remained for some time looking to the right and 

 to the left, and no bird getting up on the word being given, 

 it seemed as if the animal was at fault ; we were, however, 

 induced to place full confidence in the honest old beast, and 

 after waiting for some time longer, we walked close up to 

 the spot, and saw a Quail spinning round and round, first 

 one and then another of the Swedes, and by that means 

 puzzling the dog, and, as it were, refusing to take wing. There 

 remains no doubt in our mind that many a dog gets a good 

 beating for making what is called a false point under similar 



