THE GUN AT HOME AND ABROAD 
At the present time more quails are probably netted in Egypt than else- 
where, and the majority are shipped to Marseilles. In addition to the long 
nets stretched across the line of passage, numbers are taken at night with 
the aid of a landing net and a flaming torch stuck in the man’s hat, 
when, the birds being dazed with the light, make no attempt to escape. 
It is greatly to be hoped that some international action may be taken 
without delay to limit the wholesale extermination which at present exists. 
Allied species . — Of the allied species I have already mentioned the 
small resident chestnut -throated form, C. africana^ found in South Africa 
and in the islands off the African coast, including the Azores ; also the 
Eastern Asiatic, C. japonica^ with a brick-red throat, met with in Man- 
churia, South-east Mongolia, China, and Japan. In addition to these there 
is the well-known Indian and Burmese species, C. coromandelica^ commonly 
known as the black-breasted or rain-quail, the chestnut -breasted C. dele- 
gorgueif peculiar to Africa ; the Australian quail, C. pectoralis, found in 
Australia and Tasmania, which has been introduced into New Zealand to 
take the place of C. novce-zealandice, now extinct. The latter species, the largest 
of the group, was a common bird in the middle of the last century; in 
1848 as many as forty -three brace were killed in a day’s shooting, but it 
has long since entirely disappeared, and is now one of the rarest species 
in collections. 
Food . — Seeds of various kinds of grasses and weeds, such as chickweed 
and plantain, form the principal food of the quail, but it also feeds on all 
kinds of grain and millet. In their season small berries are also eaten, 
likewise slugs and insects, especially small beetles, bugs and ants. Like 
other game-birds, it swallows a considerable quantity of quartz and sand 
to aid digestion. 
Flight . — As is indicated by the pointed shape of the wing with the outer 
flight -feathers longest, the quail is capable of protracted flight during its 
extensive migratory movements. Generally, however, it is extremely 
reluctant to rise, and prefers to escape by running, or squatting in thick 
cover. Once on the wing it flies fast and straight with rapid wing-beats, 
seldom rising more than a few feet above the ground. After scurrying 
along for a hundred yards or so, it sails and pitches, dropping quickly 
back to cover. To flush the bird a second or third time, even with the 
aid of a good dog, is an extremely difficult task, and it will sometimes 
allow itself to be caught sooner than rise. 
Breeding habits . — ^In the pairing season in March and April quails love 
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