PREHISTORIC ORIGIN OF THE COMMON FOWL. 7 
ourselves to those parts of Africa inhabited by the dynastic 
Egyptians) is the Common Quail (Coturnix communis). 
Unless the U sign be the figure of some bird that is now 
extinct—and we have not the slightest reason for thinking this 
to be the case—we are safe in ascribing it to the young of one of 
two species, the Quail or the Common Fowl. There are many 
reasons for dismissing the first-named bird. Although common 
in Egypt in winter, and on migration in spring and autumn, 
the great majority of the birds cross the Mediterranean to breed ; 
few remain in the Nile Valley during the nesting season, and 
most of these are found towards the north of the country. It is 
quite clear that the figures of the earliest dynasties must have 
been made by scribes who were familiar with the originals. The 
chicken was one of the commonest signs, and is always wonder- 
fully true to nature, but it is hard to imagine how the scribe 
could get his knowledge from so skulking a creature as the 
young of the Quail, especially when we remember that the 
nesting period of wild birds is limited, and that the space of two 
or three days would spoil the young bird for the use of the artist 
desirous of drawing a down-covered chicken. The Quail does 
not (so far as our experience carries us) appear on the monu- 
ments of Egypt, nor have we met with it in the literature, and 
we think it need not be considered in connection with the U. — 
Personally, we have not met with any portrait of either sex 
of the adult Fowl in the hieroglyphics. A doubtful sign that is 
a variant of the U may perhaps be intended for a hen, but this 
solitary occurrence is too vague to be useful. Wilkinson 
(‘ Ancient Egyptians,’ i. 153) has described amongst the tribute 
paid by the people of Kufa, from the countries around Palestine, 
to Thothmes III. in s.c. 1550, a Rhyton, or drinking cup, 
fashioned in the form of a Cock’s head ; and the cautious way in 
which he approached the identity of another bird described and 
figured on the previous page leads us to take his authority for 
this early and important example. 
We have not been able to learn of more than two figures of 
the adult Fowl in the most ancient Egyptian art; both these 
are of the pre-Dynastic Period, and are rather doubtful crea- 
tures, but we append careful copies taken from photographs, and 
hope to show that we are not mistaken. The omissions of 
