QUAIL, 107 



circumstances ; and the Quail in question, by changing his 

 ground from one Swede to another, gave us the oppor- 

 tunity of punishing the right offender by shooting it. 



Quails are not seen to arrive in the spring of the year, or 

 to leave us in the autumn, which proves the general suppo- 

 sition that they migrate during the night; we are able to add 

 our own testimony on this subject, corroborating the belief. 

 Among our numerous collection of British birds, we pos- 

 sessed a pair of Quails ; and one evening, towards the middle 

 of August, these birds became so restless, that we carefully 

 watched whether a cat or any other annoyance was near, for 

 with it the birds uttered their call-note, sounding somewhat 

 like pivoy-erie : this restlessness lasted during the whole 

 night, and was repeated for several nights in succession, 

 while the birds were quiet during the daytime again. 



The chosen locality of the Quail is open cultivated ground, 

 particularly where wheat-fields and meadows are close to- 

 gether, and where the richness of the soil produces diversity 

 of weeds. On the first arrival of the Quail, in the month of 

 May, young wheat and short grass-lands invite the bird more 

 than any other inducement to remain there for the season ; 

 but when the grass gets too long and thick, the Quail fre- 

 quents that field no longer. Neither mountainous districts 

 nor low, wet, marshy land is at any time preferred by 

 the Quail, but even or sloping ground, provided it meets 

 with standing corn of divers sorts, peas, turnips, or even 

 beans, where the bird is safe from the pursuit of hawks. 



In the latter part of the summer, when corn of all kinds 

 are housed, turnip fields, and the long grass along hedges, 

 shelter the Quail until the proper time for migration arrives. 

 Like many other migratory birds, a certain chosen spot is 

 generally frequented year after year, when the breeding- 

 season arrives ; and we were informed by a gentleman resident 

 near the place where we shot the Quail before mentioned, 



