g . ®
' l O R T Y X I I . ;
EUPSYCHORTYX CRISTATUS.
Crested Partridge.
S p e c if ic C h aracter.
Em», lined superciliari n ig râ ; g u ttu re pallide fu h o , pectore albo g u tta ta , g u ttis singulis posticè
nigro marginatis.
Male.— Forehead, crest and throat buff ; ear-coverts white ; a broad black mark above and
another below the ear-coverts ; sides o f the breast strongly marked with black and white ;
mantle finely freckled with reddish brown, buff and black; centre of the back and
scapularies blotched and freckled with chestnut-grey and black ; the feathers bordered,
particularly the tertiaries, with buff ; primaries light brown ; tail grey, minutely freckled
and barred with zigzag lines o f buff and brown; chest spotted with white posteriorly,
bounded with black, on a reddish chestnut ground ; abdomen rusty orange-red ; the lower
part crossed with a few indistinct bars o f red ; flank-featbers white at the base, crossed by
broad bars o f black, tipped with huffy orange, and with a line o f orange-red in the
direction of the stem ; bill black ; irides brown ; feet greyish white.
Female.— Forehead, crown, crest and ear-coverts brown ; throat and line above the ear-coverts
greyish white ; tail strongly barred with zigzag lines o f black ; centre of the abdomen
huffy white ; the remainder o f the plumage very similar to that o f the male, but the
markings not so well defined, and the flanks, which are dull light buff, destitute o f spots.
Total leDgth, 7± inches; bill, x ; wing, 4 ; tail, 2p; tarsi, U ; middle toe and nail, 1;.
Tetrao cristatus, Linn. Syst. Nat., vol. i. p. 277- —Gmel. Syst. Nat., vol. i. p. 765.
P e rd ix cristata, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. ii. p. 652.—Temm. Pig. et Gall., tom. iii. pp. 446 and 736.
Coturnix Mexicana cristata, Briss. Orn., tom. i. p. 260. tab. 25. fig. 2.—Id. 8vo, tom. i. p. 72.
— Gerin., tom. iii. pi. 246.
Coturnix Indica, Ray, Syn., p. 158.—Will. Orn., p. 304.
Zonecolin, Buff. Ois., tom. ii. p. 485.— lb . Sonn. Edit., tom. vii. p. 118.
Caille huppée du Mexique, Buff. Pl. Enl., 126. fig. 1.
Crested Quail, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. iv. p. 784.— lb . Gen. Hist., vol. viii. p. 329.
Coturnix cristata, Bonn, et Vieill. Ency. Méth. Orn., Part I. p. 222. pi. 96. fig. 4.
O r ty x Temminckii, Steph. Cont. o f Shaw’s Gen. Zool., vol. xi. p. 381.
O rty x cristata, Jard. and Selb. 111. Orn., vol. i. Gen. Ortyx.—Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 508.—
lb . 111. de Zool., texte de pl. 52.
O rty x neoxenus, Vig. in Proc. o f Comm, o f Sci. o f Zool. Soc., Part I. p. 3.—Aud. Syn., p. 200.
Ib. Birds of Am., vol. iv. pi. 423. fig. 3. female.— Benn. Gard, and Menag. o f Zool. Soc.,
vol. ii. p. 311.
P e rd ix neoxenus, Aud. Orn. Bio., vol. v. p. 228.
Welcome Partridge, Aud. Birds o f Am., 8vo, vol. v. p. 71- pi. 292.
O rty x cristatus, List o f Birds in Brit. Mus. Coll., Part III. p. 44.
It will be seen from the long list of synonyms given above that this species has been included in the works
of nearly every writer on ornithology; yet, strange to say, in no instance has any account been given of its
habits and manners, and I regret that although it is one of the species most commonly met with, I cannot
myself communicate any information on those points. Numerous living examples have from time to time
adorned our menageries, and in all probability it might with suitable care be readily naturalized in Britain ;
at all events if our island should prove too cold for it, there can be no doubt that it would thrive in the
warmer countries of Europe, such as Spain, the south of France and similar localities. It is one of the
prettiest members of the genus, and is very sprightly and animated in all its actions.
The living examples from which Mr. Vigors took his description of Ortyx neoxenus proved on examination
after death to be all females, and upon carefully comparing them with females of this species, received
direct from Mexico, I have no doubt of their identity; hence I have placed his name among the synonyms
of this bird.
Habitat. Mexico.
The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.