123 
THE VIRGINIAN QUAIL OR PARTRIDGE. 
Oriyx Virginianus Bonaparte. 
PLATE X, 
Quail or Partridge, Perdix Virginianus, Wilson's American 
Ornithology^ pi. xlvii. — Perdix borealis, Temminck, Pig. et 
Gallin. — Ortyx borealis, Stephens, Continuation . — Ortyx 
Virginianus, Bonaparte, Synopsis, p. 124. 
The genus Ortyx was formed by Stephens, the 
continuator of Shaw’s General Zoology, for the re- 
ception of the thick and strong-billed partridges of 
the new world. They hold the same place there 
with the true partridges, fraiicolins, and quails of 
the other parts of the glohe, living on the borders of 
woods, among brushwood, or in the thick grassy 
plains, and occasionally frequenting cultivated fields 
in search of grain or roots. During night they ge- 
nerally roost on trees, and occasionally perch on them 
by day, particularly when alarmed, when they im- 
mediately take refuge, aud even walk with ease up- 
on the branches. Their general shape is robust, the 
bill is strong, and apparently fitted for a mode o. 
feeding requiring considerable strength, such as the 
digging up of bulbous or tuberous roots. The co- 
lours of the plumage are generally diflferent shades 
