THE COMMON OR GREY QUAIL. 149 



entire throat and sides of the head rich rusty red. This last form 

 is but seldom seen in Northern and Central Europe ; but I have 

 seen examples from Southern Europe, and it appears to be the 

 predominant form in the Azores, in the Cape Verde Islands, 

 Mauritius, South Africa, China, and Japan : in some of these, 

 however, there is more or less black on the throat. A specimen 

 from Spain closely resembles examples from Japan in having 

 the throat rusty red, but has the rest of the plumage rather dul- 

 ler in colour. Examples from the Azores are much smaller 

 than the average of European examples, the wing measuring 

 only 3 '6 to 3 '8 inches, and are rather more richly and brightly 

 coloured ; the throat is rusty red, in some without any black, 

 whereas in others there is a small or large patch of blackish 

 brown on the chin and throat 



" Specimens from the Cape Verde Islands closely resemble 

 those from the Azores ; and there is one from Mauritius in the 

 British Museum which is very dark in general colouration and 

 has a red throat. I possess three males from Port Elizabeth, 

 South Africa, one of which has the throat pale rufous buff, one 

 still lighter, and the third rich rufous — all three having the black 

 on the throat much developed ; and the breast is more rufous 

 than in European examples, the upper parts being much darker. 

 A male from Yarkand has the throat white, the two semicircular 

 bands rusty brown, and a long blackish brown spot on the chin ; 

 and the upper parts are pale in colouration. 



" Specimens from China and Japan have the sides of the face 

 and the entire throat rich rusty red, with but seldom any trace 

 of a black spot, and are a trifle smaller in size than the average 

 of European birds ; and this extreme form seems almost to 

 be the only one found in Eastern Asia. I was at first inclin- 

 ed to treat this form as distinct, but I found examples from 

 southern Europe, the Azores, and Mauritius precisely agreeing 

 with others from China and Japan. 



" Naumann cites all the above varieties as occurring in Ger- 

 many, and says that those which have the throat and cheeks 

 dark rusty brown are called ' Mohrenwachteln'; those which have 

 the throat banded with dark brown on a white or a rusty yellow- 

 ish ground are called * Kreuzwachteln'; and those with the black 

 patch on the throat ' Kohlhane.' He also adds that there is 

 great variation in size, some being larger and others smaller." 



Though there are trifling variations in the extent of the mark- 

 ings and very noticeable differences in tint, some being every- 

 where paler, others darker and more rufous, still the great 

 majority of our Quail belong to one type. 



In the male, a band runs from the gape, under the eye, to 

 just the base of the ear-coverts ; immediately below this, a cross 

 band starts, sweeping across the throat with a downward 

 convexity ; from the same point where the first starts, a second 

 cross band also originates, which, running for less than a quarter 



