•CALL I 1PE PLA E LIB CAMS'.
Elegant Partridge.
S p e c if ic C h aracter.
Cali, crista saturate f u l v a ; g u la nigro g u tta ta ; pectore e t abdomine cinereis, hoc albido
g u tta to ; nucha, etp lum is scapularibus fe rru g in e is.
Male.— Forehead grey, with a fine line o f black down the stem; crest deep b u ff; back o f the
head striated with black and w h ite ; throat spotted with black on a white ground, so
numerously that the former colour predominates; mantle, chest and abdomen dark grey;
the feathers o f the mantle with a spot o f rich ferruginous red near the tip o f each feather,
and the abdomen ornamented with large spots o f greyish white; centre of the flank-
feathers rich ferruginous; back and upper tail-coverts olive-brown; wings brown;
scapularies rich ferruginous at the extremity, and with a spot o f white on either w eb ;
tertiaries rich ferruginous with a line o f white, bounded interiorly with black on the inner
w e b ; tail deep g r e y ; under tail-coverts brownish grey, margined with b uff; bill black.
Female.— Crest brown, crossed with zigzag markings o f a darker colour; general plumage
brown ; the under surface spotted with bufly white; the upper surface freckled with buff,
brown and grey; tail grey, freckled with buff and brown; wings blotched with large
patches o f blackish brown; the secondaries, tertiaries and scapularies margined with buff.
Total length, 10 inches ; bill, £ ; wing, 4a ; tail, 84.; tarsi, 1a ; middle toe and nail, 1-f..
O rty x elegans, Less. Cent, de Zool., p. 189- pi. 61.—lb . 111. de Zool., texte de pi. 52.
spilogaster, Vig. in Proc. o f Zool. Soc., Part II. p. 4.
S pecimens of this elegant species arrived in England and France at nearly the same time, and were simultaneously
described in the capitals of each country; in the former by Mr. Vigors under the name of Ortyx
spilogaster, and in the latter by M. Lesson as Ortyx elegans, which name having a slight advantage in
priority of publication is necessarily the one adopted.
M. Lesson states that we are indebted to Dr. Botta for its discovery, and that it is an inhabitant of that
portion of Western America, the shores of which are bathed by the Pacific Ocean.
This species, as its name implies, has many claims to our notice, and is conspicuous for the general
elegance of its appearance, the beauty of its crest, and the delicate style of its markings.
Specimens of both sexes formed part of the collection received from Mexico, referred to in my account
of Cyrtonyx Massena, and are now in the possession of the Earl of Derby.
A fine male is also contained in the national collection at the British Museum.
Habitat, California and Mexico.
The Plate represents both sexes of the natural size.