130 THE EASTERN PAINTED BUSH-QUAIL. 



" This Quail is invariably found associated in coveys of from 

 four to a dozen, and even more. A bevy will, when suddenly 

 alarmed, rise all together, but, owing to their softer plumage, with 

 a less noisy whirr than the other Bush-Quails. Indeed, in its 

 habits this species is identical with the others ; if there is a 

 difference, it is in the call notes, which, in M. bletvitti, is more 

 soft and melodious. When feeding, chiefly in the early morn- 

 ings and evenings, they run actively about, diligently searching 

 for and picking up seeds of sorts and insects. From the state- 

 ments of the villagers and others, the period of nidification 

 would appear to be from November to January. It was some 

 time in the former month or December that my men brought 

 certain Quail eggs, which they positively stated to be of this 

 species, but without the parent bird. There is, however, this 

 fact to be noticed, that very young birds were shot and snared 

 in February and March in the Raipur district. This Bush- 

 Quail is netted in great numbers in the cold and hot seasons. 

 The flesh is very delicate and well flavoured." 



Mr. R. Thompson says : — " It affects lands covered with tall 

 grass on the banks of nallas and rivers. It occurs in small 

 parties of six or seven, and when disturbed, the whole bevy 

 rise en masse y all uttering a short piping note. The flight is 

 vigorous and rapid, but not prolonged. 



"The breeding season begins in June-July, shortly after the 

 setting in of the rainy season. Young birds are on the wing 

 in September. 



° The male, during the season of courtship, utters a single 

 loud note often repeated. 



"In 1873-74, I kept several caged specimens, which soon be- 

 came tame and made very pretty pets. The males are 

 extremely pugnacious." 



As IN the preceding species, so in the present one, the females 

 average rather smaller than the males, but I shall not separate 

 the dimensions of the sexes. 



Length, 5*9 to 6*5 ; expanse, 97 to 10*5 ; wing, 2*8 to 3*15 ; 

 tail from vent, 1*4 to r6 ; tarsus, 0*87 to 0*91 ; bill from gape, 

 0*5 to 0'6 ; weight, 1*85 ozs. to 2*3 ozs. 



Irides brown ; bill, legs and feet coral red. 



THE PLATE is fair ; it gives some idea of the difference in tone 

 of plumage between this and the last species, but it totally 

 misrepresents the colour of the legs, feet and bills, which are 

 red (if anything brighter than in the other species), and it fails, 

 partly owing to the positions chosen, to bring out sufficiently 

 clearly the more striking differences between this and the 

 southern bird. 



