THE HEMIFODES OB BUS TAKB-QIT AILS 
Turnkifonties 
The hemipodes or bustard-quails, also well- known to 
Indian sportsmen as * 'button-quails", bt?ar a strong super- 
ficial resemblaoce to the true quails and by some naturalists 
they are indeed included among the game-birds or Gaili formes. 
The anatomist however recognizes that they have many 
peculiar structural characters of such importance that they are 
usually raised to the dignity of occupying an "Order" by 
themselves, the Turnklfonnes. At the same time it must 
be admitted that expert opinion is divided on this point. It 
seems sufficiently clear that they are closely allied to the 
game-birds and the only true scheme of classification is one in 
which they are represetued as an offshoot from the stock" 
that also produced the pheasants, partridf*-es, etc. Externally 
hemipodes are readily separated from quails by reason of the 
fact that they possess but three toes instead of four (there is 
an exception to this rule in Australia) and this is a very handy 
way of identifyinfr any *'quail" shot in Singapore^ or indeed 
anywhere in Malaya. 
The hemipodes of which not many species are known, are 
all small birds very similar in appearance and in habits to the 
tpiails. Only one species is known in Malaya and this is also 
common in Sing^apore. 
In America they are unknown, but in the Old World they 
are found tn Europe, Africa^ India, China and thence through 
the islands of the eastern archipelagoes to Australia where 
they are probably well-known to a number of Singapore folk 
as "plain-wanderers". 
A most interesting fact concerning hemipodes is that 
contrary to the more usual state of aflairs among birds the* 
female is the larger of the two sexes and also generally more 
handsome in plumage tlian the male. It may furthermore be 
remarked that this curious reversal of the normal condition 
of things is carried to its logical concIuMon in the domestic 
arrangements of these verv modeni little birds for once the hen 
has laid the eggs she washes her hands of the whole business 
and leaves, it to her smaller humbly clad husband to hatch and 
care for the young ! 
[36] 
