THE QUAIL. 
M3 
Mr. Douce supplies a few particulars relating to Quail fights in his “ Illustra¬ 
tions of Shakespeare.” “ Quail combats were well known among the ancients, and 
especially at Athens. Julius Pollux relates that a circle was made in which the 
birds were placed, and he whose Quail was driven out of the circle lost the stake, 
which was sometimes money and occasionally the Quails themselves. Another 
practice was to produce one of these birds, which being first smitten or filliped 
with the middle finger, a feather was then plucked from its head; if the Quail 
bore this operation without flinching, his master gained the stake, but lost if he 
ran away. The Chinese have' been always extremely fond of Quail-fighting, as 
appears from most of the accounts of that people.” The regins morbus or 
jaundice, it was believed at Rome, could be cured by swallowing the brain of a 
partridge or Quail in three glasses of wine. Those Quails which are brought 
over to London for the market are fattened before being sold. In Ireland, during 
the winter of 1836-7, it is upon record that one gentleman shot in one day on 
the stubble fields bordering Belfast Bay ten brace of Quails; but he who would 
enjoy this sport must seek it in the south of Europe and the warmer parts of 
the Continent. The island of Ortygia, off Syracuse, was so named from the 
abundance of this bird on its shores. Excellent shooting, too, may be had in 
India. The district round Trichinopoly is famous for its abundant supply of game ; 
snipe, wild fowl of all kinds, partridges, and Quail are especially plentiful. Several 
species are found of the latter bird, the Florikin Quail, the Rain, Button, and Brown 
Quails. Best of all these varieties, however, is the Grey Quail, of which a hundred 
brace have been killed by a single gun in a day. The “ Old Shekarri ” gives 
a good account of this sport, and of the bird’s habits, which will suit, with a few 
alterations, the characteristics of our bird. “The ordinary way of shooting all 
kinds of game in India is by beating it out with a line of men, but for sport 
I much prefer shooting in the early morning when the scent is good with a team 
of well-broken Sussex spaniels. The Grey Quail (Tetrao coturnix ) is a pretty, 
bright-eyed little bird, not much larger than a lark, but resembling a partridge 
both in shape, plumage, and in the build of the legs. A ‘bevy’ of Quail 
generally consists of about a dozen birds, and as a rule they lie very close, and 
may easily be passed over if the sportsman has no dog with him. When they 
rise, they do so with a whirr, and instead of soaring sweep along in a straight 
line with great velocity. 
“ The shrill whistling of a Quail, which is generally repeated three times in rapid 
succession, is so seldom heard when the breeding season is over, that the males are 
