320 
Nenting of Quails. 
genus Eupsychortyx, in which the sexes differ in plumage, 
the crest is well developed, and the twelve tail feathers are 
more than half the length of the wing. It is almost as large 
(8.5 inches) as the well-known Californian Quail (9.7 inches) 
and exceedingly handsome, the crest of the male being huff, 
the ear patches pure white, margined with chestnut, eyebrow- 
stripe rufous, the breast rich chestnut covered with large 
white spots right up to the throat, the back ttnely mottled with 
black The female has a brown crest, the under part paler 
and is a good deal smaller. It is a South American species 
ranging from Veragua to Columbia. Its wildness I have 
already alluded to. It is somewhat arboreal in its habits, 
frequently roosting in shrubs and taking refuge in trees when 
alarmed. It is also very fond of sunning itself in the early 
morning on a roof, whereas the little Argoondah Quail is 
liardlj ever seen off the ground. Its call notes are somewhat 
like those of a Partridge, but are not frequently heard except 
during the breeding season. On the whole I should say that 
it is not a very easy .sijecies to breed. They had a beautiful 
pair of its close relative, Sonini's Crested Quail, in a breeding 
aviary, at the Zoo, some time since, but I have not heard 
that they had any success with them. 
I obtained my pair early in '08 but they made no 
attempt to nest that season in a medium sized out -door aviary. 
In'OiJ I shifted them to a larger aviary where they incubated 
a clutch of 13 eggs in the month of August, the result of which 
attempt I have partly described al>ove. I will only add that I 
released the adults and the young from the pen and allowed 
them to range at liberty in the aviary. They did well for a 
day or two, but the lirst rather wet and cold night destroyed 
the entire brood. They nested again in Septeml)er, laying 13 
eggs, but I removed the latter just before hatching, thinking 
it useless to attempt rearing the young so late in the season. 
I found that every single egg contained a live chick. The 
period of incubation appears to be unusually long. In the 
first instance it was 28 days (9th August to ()th September). 
This season they concealed their nest so well that I did not 
find it until the 9th August (the female having then been 
missing for several days): they hatched on the 30th. I do 
not think it has ever been suggested that any of the Quails 
