THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Quail,’ and is by most people considered a rare bird ; but if its natural haunts 
be visited it will be found plentiful enough, although hard to ‘ raise.’ It 
shows preference for the long tall grass in low damp situations, particularly 
bordering swamps and lagoons. I have received the eggs from various locahties, 
as far inland as Lake Bathurst, from the Hunter River, and also from Sydney, 
or, rather, the Botany, swamps. 
“ The nest is like that of the rest of the family, a few pieces of grass, upon 
which the eggs are laid, but on the whole greatly depending on the nature of the 
ground. 
“ The breeding-season lasts from August to January. 
“ The young upon leaving the shell are of a dusky hue, almost black.”* 
Dr. G. Horn of Victoria observes : — “ We have frequently reared these 
beautiful birds. The female incubates the eggs, but when hatching 
commences the male takes his place by her side ; and the young, 
on chipping out, go at once to him. He takes charge of the brood when 
foraging, the female going in advance and calling up the party when 
food is found. The choice morsel is handed over to the male, to be passed on 
to the chicks. Such tiny mites are they that the half-inch mesh of our aviaries 
was not even recognised by them as an obstruction. Fortunately the male 
promptly calls up the stragglers with a sharp cheep, at the same time lifting his 
head and displaying the transverse markings of his throat. The male seems 
to have a natural aptitude for looking after young. Some Quail hatched in an 
incubator were put in a light coop in the aviary, and he never rested until 
he had scraped a hole beneath the coop and taken them into his care.” 
Mr. Campbell writes : — “ According to the season many of the Chestnut- 
bellied Quail reach their southern limit, Victoria, during spring and summer, 
and breed, retiring northward again on the approach of winter. 
“ Breeding season from September to February, and sometimes the 
autumn months. Mr. Harry Barnard has observed that March and April are 
the usual breeding months in Central Queensland for this quail.”! 
Of the birds figured, the male was collected on the Richmond River in New 
South Wales in November, 1874, and the female in Queensland, Nov^ember, 
1889. 
* Ramsay, Ibis, p. 279 (1868). 
7 Campbell, Nesis and Eggs Austr. B., 729 (1901) 
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