generally have a red throat, with only a slight trace of the
dark central patch ; the flank-feathers are also more distinctly
marbled with brown than ordinary and migrating examples.
Naturally they occur on the intermediate island of Madeira.
It is, however, on the. shores of the: Mediterranean that their
amazing numbers are most noticeable ; the vernal migration
being the largest in some. localities*, whilst -in others the
spring arrivals preponderate in numbers.- In the south p |
Spain, especially near Malaga, where, the cotton which is
cultivated affords excellent cover, Quails remain in; tsome
numbers throughout the winter. These resident, birds,
which are as a rule dark in plumage, are .termed^tif-èodor-
nices castellanas.” • -byL the nativès;, whilst ?.the: -spring-
arrivals, many of which are somewhat smaller and »lighter-
coloured, are called “ moriscas,” . ‘‘ africanas,” and, ;.aceord-
ing to Colonel Irby, “ criollas.” The .J-atter ■ arrip&d<n
March and April ; the return migration taking place.lto»ards
the end; off,- September. Yast.numbera crosa from Africa to-
Italy by way of«Pantellaria, Malta, and Sicily, arriving in the
spring during 'the : night;, whereas in autumn they generally
pass during the. hours of daylight.^i The migration is
equally général to the eastward, and inJ^:©stin,é,\du>ring;the
months of March and April,: the. Quails come up irnthe; night
and cover'the land. *©n the African side n i the.Mediterranean
the species necessarily 'occurs, on migrations.âlong’4hevw^©le
line ; many examples remaining to. breed .in the Cisatlantean
provinces'; whilst by the latter part &fcAuigu#t^a gréâtinùmber
have already .returned . through that greats continent; and
reached the Cape.iof . Good ^PopevTr The course ; of itheir
migrations is 'more clearly.traceable;.by- way of. the,. Cape de
Verde, and along, the western side, than. in any other
.direction ; but, tihere-,arei»probably „several main, lines,, /or
Quails are widely 'distributed in, Lihç^Trânsvaal, and fibey
occur both in Madagascar and,Mauritius.'' ; \
Eastward of Asia Minor »this I migratory species -^occurs,-vin J
Turkestan and Persia, and breeds regularly in jS^kmere,
descending ^n the c(M ^ |a th e r Jo the plains ,oJ India-' jmere
* C. A. Wright, ‘ibi?,;i'8.64,îp.
it is termed by sportsmen the “ Grey5 ’ Quail, to distinguish
it from its smaller congener the Black-breasted or “ Rain”
Quail, ' voromanddiea. A few nest in the Northern and
North-western ’ Provinces; rtbut the majority leave on. the
approach'of the hot weather. Its occurrence in- Ceylon is
suspected hut not yet proved. On its migrations it -was
obtained by Severtzoff crossing:the Pamir or “ Dome of the
World”; Dr. Henderson obtained a specimen alive on 24th
September at an elevation ,©lHT35,50() feet, and sevbraPwere
heard by Dir. Scully-calling-in the fields abolit Yarkand. In
Siberia its northern range is difficult to trace, but it certainly
extends throughout;the1 tém^etaté regions as far. as Dauria ;
and thence to Japan. In-the- latter, large numbers' are
resident, but,some authorities consider the Japanese form to
be distinct ï; even^the note being said to be different. It
resembles thé ^resident'Azores'bird infeetifg small, and in the
male having?: a rufous' throat,- without, as a1 ïulê'; any trace
bf a black cehfcr-a-1- patch?; 'moreover-;the -marbling on the
flank-feathers isiso extremely bright and defined as to give
an appearance r'öf spots. In China;?-tbit ordinary form
occurs on3 migratie®, - and it also visits the---island of
Formosa, in: which; however, there ■$§£ a resident Torch
similar to .'the Japanese; and even more like the 'Azores
birdi :Tbe dévelopmënt' of a I red throat, .well-defined
coloration« and'small size; -seenibrin-fact, to be. characteristic
of these ^island forms. Yéry dark varieties are also fres-
quently met with; a shader of | plumage which is probably
due tot hemp, or-Some, other food'similar in its effects.^
Enormous numbers'5of Quail are netted on the'Continent,
especially on the; spring migration, and mh&t-people must be
* In p H MM. J. Verreaux and O.'des Mwt*e'scflb|(d and figured’(Rev.'et
Mag. de Zoo], xiv. p.s 226,^1'.! 1) a ne-*.&p^ea^?the purely Australian geirus
Syruiecus obtained in L o m b a r d y . D e j g l a n d ^nd Gerbe
believedln it,' but the^Reviewer in ‘ The 'ftra’’ p. ‘Jlffe5) scouted the idea
of feeittedfeence lS B fi^ p ’iSbfi ;a hew species of^an Australian.J,ge mis. ' In ®868
the Editor had an opportunity ..of examining^ the^,specimen - in the collection pf
Count considered it to be merely a dark variety of the
Common Quail,- a view Vhdch was subsge|uently 'endorsed by high authority, and
finally admitted to dm correct by the late J. Verreaux himself.