50 
FIGHTma QUAILS. 
were seen ; and in the summer of 1854, in cutting a field 
of grass, the mower came upon a nest, containing about a 
dozen eggs, with the bird crouching close to the ground.' 
The proprietor of the ground, wishing to keep the nest 
from harm, placed the leafy branch of a tree over it as a 
shelter ; and soon the parent bird, who had fled at the 
approach of danger, returned, and sat out her time, 
although the gentleman and members of his family went 
frequently to look at her ; and so little timidity had she, 
that she even permitted her visitors to approach within a 
foot of her, without exhibiting any signs of alarm : even- 
tually, she led forth her brood unscathed. Again, in 1857, 
as we learn by the above-named periodical, the Quail has 
again been found breeding in the same locality. Thirty 
years ago, according to Sir WilHam Jardine, these birds 
were tolerably common, and regular in their returns, and 
even in the south of Scotland a few broods were occasionally 
to be found. Macgillivray mentions their occurrence in 
Mora}^ shire, and that he received a nest and eggs from 
Aberdeenshire. ^ Its occurrence further north,' he says, 
^ has not been recorded. In these same districts they are 
now very uncertain ; we have known of broods only twice, 
and occasionally have shot a straggler, apparently on its 
way to the south.' In England we meet with Quails 
chiefly in the southern coimties ; in the midland districts 
they are always rare, and more so as we advance north- 
ward. They cling pretty much to the low cultivated 
lands, but may sometimes be found on chalk hills of 
moderate elevation, especially where barley grows ; their 
food consists of grain and seeds of various plants, with 
insects and their larva). They are decidedly polygamous, 
and at the breeding season very fierce and pugnacious. In 
consequence of this disposition, the Quail has been, and 
still is, in some countries, used as a fighting bird. There 
is a Greek proverb which runs — 'As quarrelsome as 
Quails in a cage,' and among the ancients. Quail-fighting 
seems to have been as favourite an amusement a» Cock- 
fighting was at one time in this country. With the Greeks, 
this bird seems to have been celebrated for its sweet 
voice. Athenius, we may remember, notices tlie eong of 
