THE GUN AT HOME AND ABROAD 
birds which during the spring migration from Africa to Europe and 
Western Asia have been driven eastwards to India. 
Colour variations . — ^A curious variety or semi-melanistic form of the 
migratory quail has been met with in South Spain in the marshy neigh- 
bourhood of Valencia. In the male the general colour of the upperparts 
is black, with narrow buff or rufous cross-bars ; the pattern formed by 
the wide golden-buff shaft-streaks on the feathers of the mantle and on 
either side of the body is normal; the greater part of the sides of the head, 
chin, and throat are black, interspersed here and there with a few white 
feathers; the chest -feathers are mottled with black, and the feathers of 
the sides and flanks are black, dotted with rufous, and with a wide white 
shaft -stripe down the middle. In the female all the underparts are suffused 
with smoky-brown. These curious specimens, which formed part of Lord 
Tweeddale’s collection, were procured by the late Mr Howard Saunders, 
and are preserved in the Natural History Museum. Grey and white varie- 
ties are also sometimes met with. 
Distribution.— ThQ quail has a very wide range, extending over the greater 
part of Europe, Asia, and North Africa. In summer it is met with as far 
north as the Faeroes, and in Scandinavia and Russia up to about 65° N. 
latitude, but is more abundant southwards in Central Europe. In autumn 
immense numbers visit the countries bordering the Mediterranean, 
but the majority pass on southwards, many visiting North Africa and 
wandering to the Madeira, the Canaries, Azores and probably to South 
Africa. Across Siberia, south of about 60° N. latitude, its range extends 
to Japan, and it is a common summer -visitor to Persia, Afghanistan, 
Turkestan and North China, vast numbers wintering in India and 
South China. In its migrations from Central Asia to India the quail 
crosses the Karakorum (16,000 feet), and other high ranges of the Hima- 
laya. Many also arrive in Sind and Guzerat from the west, moving 
southwards from Persia, Baluchistan and other northern latitudes. The 
migratory habits of this species are well-known, but though, on the ap- 
proach of cold weather, the majority of the birds — to be numbered in 
countless hosts — shift their quarters in September and the early part 
of October and move southwards, in many places, in more southern 
latitudes, a certain number remain and spend the winter where they have 
been bred. The return journey in spring commences about the middle of 
March, and continues till the end of May. 
During the height of the spring migration between about April 20 and 
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