220 
QUAIL-FIGHTING. 
and obscured by Caesar’s fortune ; and therefore he coun¬ 
selled him utterly to leave his company, and get him as 
farre from him as he coulde. Howsoever it was, the event 
ensuing proved the Egyptian’s words true ; for it is said 
that as often as they drew lots for pastime, who should 
have anything, or whether they played at dice, Antonius 
always lost. Oftentimes when they were disposed to see cock¬ 
fights , or quails that were taught to fight one with another , 
Ccesar's cocks or quails did ever overcome. The which 
spited Antonius in his mind, although he made no out¬ 
ward show of it, and therefore he believed the Egyptian 
the better.” 
In Kircher’s “ Musurgia ” the note of this bird is thus 
faithfully rendered*:— 
Bi - ke - bik, Bi - ke - bik, Bi - ke - bik. 
Quails have always been considered a delicacy for the 
table, and those who may have the curiosity to visit the 
London markets in the spring of the year, will see large 
boxes full of live quails, which have been taken in nets 
and imported to this country for food. 
In the same way immense numbers of Lapwings 
(Vanellus cristatus ), or Green Plovers, as they are called, 
find their way into the London markets. This bird has 
been noticed by Shakespeare chiefly on account of a 
peculiar trait in its character, with which most naturalists 
# “ Musurgia Universalis,” 1650, p. 30. 
