122 THE ROCK BUSH-QUAIL. 



In THIS species I cannot discover any constant difference in 

 size in the sexes. Although the difference is not much, still, 

 collating all the measurements I have on record, this species 

 seems to be a trifle, a mere trifle, larger than the Jungle Bush- 

 Quail. 



Length, 67 to 7*25 ; expanse, io*o to u'2 ; wing, 3*1 to 3*5 ; 

 tail from vent, 1*5 to 1*9 ; tarsus, 075 to ro ; bill from gape, 

 0*5 to 0*67 ; weight, 2*25 ozs. to 3 ozs. 



The legs and feet are dull red to bright orange red, in 

 younger birds brownish fleshy, and every intermediate shade 

 is observable ; irides brown to light red ; bill, upper mandible, 

 black, lower paler, often bluish grey at base ; in younger birds 

 the upper is dark horny brown, the lower pale fleshy. 



THE PLATE is a very pretty and artistic performance, but it is, 

 from our point of view, eminently unsatisfactory. In the first 

 place, the beautifully drawn figure on the right, the standing 

 bird, is an old female of the Jungle Bush-Quail, and at any rate 

 usefully supplements the plate of that species. NOTE that the 

 plate is wrongly named, and should stand as P. argoondah and 

 not P. asiatica. The Central Quail in the fore-ground fairly 

 represents an old female of the Rock Bush-Quail. The figure 

 to the left, squatted down, will also pass muster for a young 

 female, but both old and young males (the old with his white, 

 closely-barred breast, pale dull rufous chin and throat and 

 no perceptible supercilium, the whole upper surface trans- 

 versely barred) are placed at such a distance in the back ground 

 that nothing can be made of them. It is simply hopeless 

 getting illustrations done at home unless you are there yourself 

 to supervise the artists. 



