Chapter VII: Part 7

“On my arrival at Port Essington my attention was attracted to
numerous immense mounds of earth, which were pointed out to me by
some of the residents as the tumuli of the aborigines; on the other
hand I was assured by the natives that they were formed by the
Jungle-fowl for the purpose of incubating its eggs: their statement
appeared so extraordinary, and so much at variance with the general
habits of birds, that no one in the settlement believed them, or
took sufficient interest in the matter to examine the mounds, and
thus to verify or refute their accounts; another circumstance which
induced a doubt of their veracity, was the great size of the eggs
brought in by the natives as those of this bird. Aware that the eggs
of _Leipoa_ were hatched in a similar manner, my attention was
immediately arrested by these accounts, and I at once determined to
ascertain all I possibly could respecting so singular a feature in
the bird’s economy; and having procured the assistance of a very
intelligent native, who undertook to guide me to the different
places resorted to by the bird, I proceeded on the sixteenth of
November to Knocker’s Bay, a part of Port Essington Harbour
comparatively but little known, and where I had been informed a
number of these birds were always to be seen. I landed beside a
thicket, and had not proceeded far from the shore ere I came to a
mound of sand and shells, with a slight mixture of black soil, the
base resting on a sandy beach, only a few feet above high water
mark; it was enveloped in the large yellow-blossomed _Hibiscus_, was
of a conical form, twenty feet in circumference at the base, and
about five feet in height. On pointing it out to the native and
asking him what it was, he replied, ‘Oooregoorgā Rambal,’
Jungle-fowls’ house or nest. I then scrambled up the sides of it,
and to my extreme delight found a young bird in a hole about two
feet deep; it was lying on a few dry withered leaves, and appeared
to be only a few days old. So far I was satisfied that these mounds
had some connexion with the bird’s mode of incubation; but I was
still sceptical as to the probability of these young birds ascending
from so great a depth as the natives represented, and my suspicions
were confirmed by my being unable to induce the native, in this
instance, to search for the eggs, his excuse being that ‘he knew it
would be of no use, as he saw no traces of the old birds having
recently been there.’ I took the utmost care of the young bird,
intending to rear it if possible; I therefore obtained a moderately
sized box, and placed in it a large portion of sand. As it fed
rather freely on bruised Indian corn I was in full hopes of
succeeding, but it proved of so wild and intractable a disposition
that it would not reconcile itself to such close confinement, and
effected its escape on the third day. During the period it remained
in captivity it was incessantly occupied in scratching up the sand
into heaps, and the rapidity with which it threw the sand from one
end of the box to the other was quite surprising for so young and
small a bird, its size not being larger than that of a small quail.
At night it was so restless that I was constantly kept awake by the
noise it made in its endeavours to escape. In scratching up the sand
it only used one foot, and having grasped a handful as it were, the
sand was thrown behind it, with but little apparent exertion, and
without shifting its standing position on the other leg; this habit
seemed to be the result of an innate restless disposition and a
desire to use its powerful feet, and to have but little connexion
with its feeding; for although Indian corn was mixed with the sand,
I never detected the bird in picking any of it up while thus
employed.

“I continued to receive the eggs without having an opportunity of
seeing them taken from the mound until the sixth of February, when
on again visiting Knocker’s Bay I had the gratification of seeing
two taken from a depth of six feet, in one of the largest mounds I
had then seen. In this instance the holes ran down in an oblique
direction from the centre towards the outer slope of the hillock, so
that although the eggs were six feet deep from the summit, they were
only two or three feet from the side. The birds are said to lay but
a single egg in each hole, and after the egg is deposited the earth
is immediately thrown down lightly until the hole is filled up; the
upper part of the mound is then smoothed and rounded over. It is
easily known when a Jungle-fowl has been recently excavating, from
the distinct impressions of its feet on the top and sides of the
mound, and the earth being so lightly thrown over, that with a
slender stick the direction of the hole is readily detected, the
ease or difficulty of thrusting the stick down indicating the length
of time that may have elapsed since the bird’s operations. Thus far
it is easy enough; but to reach the eggs requires no little exertion
and perseverance. The natives dig them up with their hands alone,
and only make sufficient room to admit their bodies, and to throw
out the earth between their legs; by grubbing with their fingers
alone they are enabled to follow the direction of the hole with
greater certainty, which will sometimes, at a depth of several feet,
turn off abruptly at right angles, its direct course being
obstructed by a clump of wood or some other impediment. Their
patience is, however, often put to severe trials. In the present
instance the native dug down six times in succession to a depth of
at least six or seven feet without finding an egg, and at the last
attempt came up in such a state of exhaustion that he refused to try
again; but my interest was now too much excited to relinquish the
opportunity of verifying the native’s statements, and by the offer
of an additional reward I induced him to try again: this seventh
trial proved successful, and my gratification was complete, when the
native with equal pride and satisfaction held up an egg, and after
two or three more attempts produced a second; thus proving how
cautious Europeans should be of disregarding the narratives of these
poor children of nature, because they happen to sound extraordinary
or different from anything with which they were previously
acquainted.

“I revisited Knocker’s Bay on the tenth of February, and having with
some difficulty penetrated into a dense thicket of canelike creeping
plants, I suddenly found myself beside a mound of gigantic
proportions. It was fifteen feet in height and sixty in
circumference at the base, the upper part being about a third less,
and was entirely composed of the richest description of light
vegetable mould; on the top were very recent marks of the bird’s
feet. The native and myself immediately set to work, and after an
hour’s extreme labour, rendered the more fatiguing from the
excessive heat, and the tormenting attacks of myriads of mosquitoes
and sand-flies, I succeeded in obtaining an egg from a depth of
about five feet; it was in a perpendicular position, with the earth
surrounding and very lightly touching it on all sides, and without
any other material to impart warmth, which in fact did not appear
necessary, the mound being quite warm to the hands. The holes in
this mound commenced at the outer edge of the summit, and ran down
obliquely towards the centre; their direction therefore is not
uniform. Like the majority of the mounds I have seen, this was so
enveloped in thickly foliaged trees as to preclude the possibility
of the sun’s rays reaching any part of it.

“The mounds differ very much in their composition, form and
situation: most of those that are placed near the water’s edge were
formed of sand and shells without a vestige of any other material,
but in some of them I met with a portion of soil and decaying wood;
when constructed of this loose material they are very irregular in
outline, and often resemble a bank thrown up by a constant heavy
surf. One remarkable specimen of this description, situated on the
southern side of Knocker’s Bay, has the appearance of a bank, from
twenty-five to thirty feet in length, with an average height of five
feet; another even more singular is situated at the head of the
harbour, and is composed entirely of pebbly iron-stone, resembling a
confused heap of sifted gravel; into this I dug to the depth of two
or three feet without finding any change of character; it may have
been conical originally, but is now without any regularity, and is
very extensive, covering a space of at least a hundred and fifty
feet in circumference. These remarkable specimens would, however,
seem to be exceptions, as by far the greater number are entirely
formed of light black vegetable soil, are of a conical form, and are
situated in the densest thickets. Occasionally the mounds are met
with in barren, rocky and sandy situations, where not a particle of
soil similar to that of which they are composed occurs for miles
around: how the soil is produced in such situations appears
unaccountable; it has been said that the parent birds bring it from
a great distance; but as we have seen that they readily adapt
themselves to the difference of situation, this is scarcely
probable: I conceive that they collect the dead leaves and other
vegetable matter that may be at hand, and which decomposing forms
this particular description of soil. The mounds are doubtless the
work of many years, and of many birds in succession; some of them
are evidently very ancient, trees being often seen growing from
their sides; in one instance I found a tree growing from the middle
of a mound which was a foot in diameter. I endeavoured to glean from
the natives how the young effect their escape; but on this point
they do not agree; some asserting that they find their way unaided;
others on the contrary affirmed that the old birds, knowing when the
young are ready to emerge from their confinement, scratch down and
release them.

“The natives say that only a single pair of birds are ever found at
one mound at a time, and such, judging from my own observation, I
believe to be the case; they also affirm that the eggs are deposited
at night, at intervals of several days, and this I also believe to
be correct, as four eggs taken on the same day, and from the same
mound, contained young in different stages of development; and the
fact that they are always placed perpendicularly is established by
the concurring testimony of all the different tribes of natives I
have questioned on the subject.

“The Jungle-fowl is almost exclusively confined to the dense
thickets immediately adjacent to the sea-beach; it appears never to
go far inland, except along the banks of creeks. It is always met
with in pairs or quite solitary, and feeds on the ground, its food
consisting of roots, which its powerful claws enable it to scratch
up with the utmost facility, and also of seeds, berries and insects,
particularly the larger species of coleoptera.

“It is at all times a very difficult bird to procure; for although
the rustling noise produced by its stiff pinions when flying may be
frequently heard, the bird itself is seldom to be seen. Its flight
is heavy and unsustained in the extreme; when first disturbed it
invariably flies to a tree, and on alighting stretches out its head
and neck in a straight line with its body, remaining in this
position as stationary and motionless as the branch upon which it is
perched; if, however, it becomes fairly alarmed, it takes a
horizontal but laborious flight for about a hundred yards, with its
legs hanging down as if broken. I did not myself detect any note or
cry; but from the natives’ description and imitation of it, it much
resembles the clucking of the domestic fowl, ending with a scream
like that of the peacock.

“I observed that the birds continued to lay from the latter part of
August to March, when I left that part of the country; and,
according to the testimony of the natives, there is only an interval
of about four or five months, the driest and hottest part of the
year, between their seasons of incubation. The composition of the
mound appears to influence the colouring of a thin epidermis with
which the eggs are covered, and which readily chips off, showing the
true shell to be white; those deposited in the black soil are always
of a dark reddish brown, while those from the sandy hillocks near
the beach are of a dirty yellowish white; they differ a good deal in
size, but in form they all assimilate, both ends being equal; they
are three inches and five lines long by two inches and three lines
broad.”

Head and crest very deep cinnamon-brown; back of the neck and all the under surface very dark gray; back and wings cinnamon-brown; upper and under tail-coverts dark chestnut-brown; tail blackish brown; irides generally dark brown, but in some specimens light reddish brown; bill reddish brown, with yellow edges; tarsi and feet bright orange, the scales on the front of the tarsi from the fourth downwards, and the scales of the toes dark reddish brown.

The figure is about one-fifth less than the natural size.

PEDIONOMUS TORQUATUS: _Gould_.

_J. & E. Gould del._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

PEDIONOMUS TORQUATUS, _Gould_.
Collared Plain Wanderer.

_Pedionomus torquatus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., September 8,
1840.

The structure of this singular little bird is admirably adapted for inhabiting those extensive and arid plains which characterize many of the central portions of Australia; and we may reasonably suppose, that whenever its vast interior shall be explored, other species of this new form will be discovered. The bird forming the subject of the present Plate was received from Mr. Strange, who merely stated that he killed it on the plains, near Adelaide. I also learn from Captain Grey, that Mr. Hack, of Adelaide, had a dog which was constantly in the habit of catching a small quail-like bird while hunting over those plains, and which is doubtless identical with the present, as a second species I obtained on Gawler Plains was caught in a similar way by one of my dogs.

Its lengthened and bustard-like legs are admirably suited for running, while its short round and concave wings are as little adapted for extensive flight; the general contour of this little Wanderer in fact suggests the idea of a diminutive Bustard; and were its legs not furnished with a hind toe, it would range very near to that group. It has also several characters in common with _Hemipodius_, and a bird from Africa, figured by Mr. Swainson in his “Zoological Illustrations” under the name of _Hemipodius nivosus_, but which in his more recently published “Classification of Birds” he has placed in the genus _Ortygis_ of Illiger.

I regret to say I am unable to give any account of its habits and economy; but I trust that my friend Captain Sturt, who is resident near the locality it inhabits, and whose ardent love of Natural History will induce him to pay every attention to the subject, may be able to collect the requisite information on these interesting points, in which case his observations will be included in the present work.

Crown of the head reddish brown, speckled with black; sides of the head and the neck light buff, speckled with black; neck surrounded by a broad band of white, thickly spotted with black; all the upper surface reddish brown, each feather having several transverse crescent-shaped marks in the centre, and margined with buff; tail buff, crossed by numerous narrow brown bars; centre of the breast rufous, the remainder of the under surface buff; the feathers on the breast marked in a similar manner to those on the upper surface, and the flanks with large irregular spots of black; irides straw-yellow; bill yellow, passing into black at the point; feet greenish yellow.

The figures are of the natural size.

HEMIPODIUS MELANOGASTER: _Gould_.

_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

HEMIPODIUS MELANOGASTER, _Gould_.
Black-breasted Hemipode.

_Hemipodius melanogaster_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 7.

Australia may be said to constitute the great nursery of the Hemipodes; for no other country is inhabited by so many species, and certainly there is not a finer one in existence than the subject of the present Plate. Future research will doubtless furnish others, and in all probability the interior, at present a terra incognita, will not be wanting in species of a form peculiarly adapted to inhabit the sterile kind of country of which it is supposed to consist.

I regret that, never having seen this species in a state of nature, I am unable to render any account of its habits and economy. It is a native of the eastern portion of Australia; specimens in my own collection, and in those of the Zoological Society and King’s College, London, were all procured at Moreton Bay. Judging from analogy, I presume that the sexes present little or no difference in their markings; until we are enabled to resort to dissection, we cannot with certainty ascertain whether the same disparity in the size of the sexes occurs in this species as in the other members of the genus; in all probability the female will be found to exceed the male.

Crown of the head, ear-coverts, throat and centre of the abdomen black; over each eye extends a line of feathers having each a small white spot at the tip; this line extends to the nape, which part is also thickly spotted with white on a black and chestnut-coloured ground; feathers on the sides of the chest and flanks black, having a large crescent-shaped marking of white near the tip; mantle and upper part of the back rich chestnut brown, each feather having a spot of white and a stripe of black on each side, and barred with black at or near the tip; shoulders, greater and lesser wing-coverts rufous brown, each feather having a white spot surrounded with a black line; primaries dark brown; thighs and upper and under tail-coverts brown, freckled and crossed with black; bill light brown; feet flesh-colour.

The Plate represents the bird of the natural size.

HEMIPODIUS VARIUS.

_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

HEMIPODIUS VARIUS.
Varied Hemipode.

_Perdix varia_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. lxiii.

_New Holland Partridge_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 283.

_Varied Quail_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. viii. p. 344. no. 88.

_Hemipodius varius_, Temm. Pl. Col., 454. f. 1.—Gould in Syn. Birds of
Australia, Part II.

_Turnix varius_, Vieill. 2nd Edit. du Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., tom.
xxxiv.—Ib. Ency. Méth., part i. p. 331.—List of Birds in Brit. Mus.
Coll., part iii. p. 41.

_Mȍo-ro-lum_, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western
Australia.

_Painted Quail_, Colonists of Van Diemen’s Land and Swan River.

Among the game birds of Australia the Varied Hemipode plays a rather prominent part, for although its flesh is not so good for the table as that of the little partridge and quail, _Synoïcus Australis_ and _Coturnix pectoralis_, it is a bird which is not to be despised when the game-bag is emptied at the end of a day’s sport, as it forms a not unacceptable variety to its contents. Although it does not actually associate with either of the birds mentioned above, it is often found in the same districts, and all three species may be procured in the course of a morning’s walk in any part of the colonies of New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land. The natural habits of the _Hemipodius varius_ lead it to frequent sterile stony ridges, interspersed with scrubby trees and moderately thick grass; the quail, on the other hand, tenants the open plains and fields of corn; the little partridge loves to dwell in swampy lands, where the herbage is rank and green; and these particulars relative to the habits of the three birds in question being known to the colonists who have paid any attention to sporting, it is easy for them, by varying their ground, to procure either of the species they desire to obtain.

The Varied Hemipode is very common in all parts of Van Diemen’s Land suitable to its habits, hills of moderate elevation and of a dry stony character being the localities preferred; it is also numerous on the sandy and sterile islands in Bass’s Straits; on the continent of Australia, it is abundant in New South Wales and South Australia: specimens from Western Australia, which at first sight appear to be identical with the bird here figured, are found to be smaller in size and to differ in their markings, and they will probably prove to be a distinct species. Van Diemen’s Land specimens, having an average weight of five ounces each, are rather larger than those of New South Wales; no difference however occurs in their markings; I therefore consider them to be mere local varieties and not distinct species: no specimen has yet come under my notice from the north coast, and the range of the species doubtless does not extend to within several degrees of that latitude.

It runs remarkably quick, and when flushed flies low, its pointed wings giving it much the appearance of a snipe or sandpiper. When running or walking over the ground the neck is stretched out and the head carried very high, which together with the rounded contour of the back give it a very grotesque appearance. The breeding-season commences in August or September and terminates in January, during which period at least two broods are reared. The eggs are invariably four in number, and are either deposited on the bare ground or in a slightly constructed nest of grasses, placed in some slight hollow, not unfrequently under the lee of a stone or at the foot of a tuft of grass; they are very similar in form to those of the Sandpipers, being more pointed than those of other gallinaceous birds; they are of a very pale buff, very minutely and thickly spotted and freckled with reddish brown, chestnut and purplish grey, one inch and a quarter long by one inch broad.

It has rather a loud plaintive note, which is often repeated.

One very remarkable feature connected with this bird, and indeed with all the species of the genus, is the large size of the female when compared with that of her mate; so great, in fact, is the difference, that the figures in the accompanying Plate scarcely make it sufficiently apparent; no difference however exists in their colour and markings.

The young run as soon as they are hatched, and their appearance then assimilates so closely to that of the young partridges and quails that they can scarcely be distinguished. The pretty downy coat with which they are then covered soon gives place to feathers, whose markings and colours resemble, but are less brilliant than those of the adult.

The food of this species consists of insects, grain and berries; of the former many kinds are eaten, but locusts and grasshoppers form the principal part; a considerable quantity of sand is also found in the gizzard, which is very thick and muscular.

I frequently found the nest and eggs of this species while traversing the bush both in Van Diemen’s Land and New South Wales, and the following are the notes made at the time, which are probably worth transcribing:—

“Van Diemen’s Land, 28th of Dec. 1838. Found two bevys between Hobart Town and New Town; one clutch was much smaller than the other, being in fact only just hatched, while the others appeared to be two or three weeks old. The legs of the younger birds were dull flesh-yellow; their bills black at the tip and nearly white at the base; their eyes very dark brown: the legs of the older birds were orange, their bills still lighter at the base and their eyes grey.

“Yarrundi, New South Wales, Oct. 16, 1839. Found a nest and shot a female which was sitting on four eggs. While in the act of incubation the female appears to cover her eggs in a peculiar manner, placing two on each side of the breast where it is bare of feathers.”

The flight of the Varied Hemipode is heavy, tolerably rapid but of short duration, and it never flies higher than just above the scrub or grass.

The adults have the crown of the head, nape and forehead rich brown, spotted with white, and transversely rayed with large markings of brown; feathers of the cheeks and a stripe over each eye white, slightly fringed with black at their tips; throat greyish white; back and sides of the neck and mantle rich rufous brown; feathers of the back, rump and upper tail-coverts transversely rayed with chestnut-red and black, the former and the scapularies striped laterally with black and white; wings rufous, each feather spotted with white, which is bounded posteriorly with an irregular spot of black; primaries brown; chest and flanks olive, each feather having a triangular yellowish white spot at the tip; centre of the abdomen and under tail-coverts yellowish white; bill brown, with a bluish tinge; irides bright reddish orange; legs and feet orange; claws white.

The Plate represents a male and a female of the natural size.

HEMIPODIUS SCINTILLANS: _Gould_.

_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

HEMIPODIUS SCINTILLANS, _Gould_.
Sparkling Hemipode.

Hemipodius scintillans, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XIII. p.
62.

This very beautiful species of Hemipode is an inhabitant of the Houtman’s Abrolhos, a group of islands so called lying off the western coast of Australia, and is tolerably abundant on two of them named East and West Wallaby Islands, where it is principally met with among the limestone crags.

In its general appearance and the style of its markings it much resembles the _Hemipodius varius_, but on comparison will be found to be but little more than half the size of that species; independently of which, the colouring is much lighter, more varied and sparkling, the white margins of the back-feathers more numerous and conspicuous, and the markings of the throat and breast of a crescentic instead of an elongated form.

Nothing whatever is known of its habits and economy, but they doubtless closely resemble those of the other species of the genus.

The whole of the upper surface is light chestnut-red, each feather crossed by broad bars of brownish black and margined with grey, within which are two narrow lines of black and white; wing-coverts and tertiaries light chestnut-red, crossed by irregular zigzag bars of black, the interspaces of the outer margins greyish white; chin and sides of the face white, with a narrow crescent-shaped mark of brown at the tip of each feather; sides of the chest chestnut, each feather tipped with white, within which is an indistinct mark of deep black; chest and under surface pale buffy white, the feathers of the chest with a row of dark grey spots on each margin, giving that part a speckled appearance; primaries brown, narrowly edged with white; irides reddish yellow; bill greenish grey, darkest on the culmen and becoming ashy grey beneath; legs and feet orange-yellow.

The figures are of the natural size.

HEMIPODIUS MELANOTUS: _Gould_.

_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

HEMIPODIUS MELANOTUS, _Gould_.
Black-backed Hemipode.

_Hemipodius melanotus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 8 and
in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part II.

_Turnix melanotus_, Gould in Gray’s Trav. App., vol. ii. p. 419, note.

Several years have now elapsed since I described this species from a specimen received from Moreton Bay; since then I have obtained other examples from the eastern and northern parts of Australia. It was procured in the latter locality by Mr. Bynoe, and to that gentleman I am indebted for the two fine specimens figured in the accompanying Plate.

In structure, and particularly in the feeble form of its bill, the _Hemipodius melanotus_ bears a close alliance to the _Hemipodius varius_; and these slender-billed species form a small section which might with propriety be separated from the stout-billed birds, such as _H. velox_ and _H. castaneothorax_.

The female of this species is a larger bird than the male, in which respect only do the sexes differ in outward appearance.

The total want of information respecting the habits and economy of this bird compels me to conclude my account of it with the following description of its colouring only:—

Crown of the head black, each feather fringed with brown at the tip; space between the bill and the eye, stripe over the eye and cheeks, light yellowish brown, the feathers of the latter slightly tipped with black; back of the neck rich chestnut-red; scapularies deep chestnut-red, with a large transverse black mark in the centre of each feather, and a longitudinal stripe of fawn-yellow on their outer edges; rump and upper tail-coverts black, each feather freckled with fine markings of brown, with indistinct spots of buff on the external edges of the upper tail-coverts; greater and lesser wing-coverts buff-yellow, each feather having a spot of black in the centre; primaries brown; throat whitish; front of the neck and chest deep buff; sides of the neck and flanks light buff, with an oblong spot of black transversely disposed in the centre of each feather; centre of the abdomen and under tail-coverts buffy white; bill and feet brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

HEMIPODIUS CASTANOTUS: _Gould_.

_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

HEMIPODIUS CASTANOTUS, _Gould_.
Chestnut-backed Hemipode.

_Hemipodius castanotus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VII. p.
145.

_Wȉn-do-loom_, Aborigines of Port Essington.

_Thick-billed Quail_, Colonists.

The Chestnut-backed Hemipode inhabits the northern and north-western portions of Australia; specimens from the latter have been forwarded to me by Mr. Bynoe and by Mr. Dring of H.M.S. Beagle; Mr. Gilbert also found it at Port Essington, and his notes respecting it I here transcribe:—

“This is a tolerably abundant species, and inhabits the sides of stony hills in coveys of from fifteen to thirty in number; which, when disturbed, seldom rise together, but run along the ground, and it is only upon being very closely pursued that they will take wing, and then they merely fly to a short distance: while running on the ground their heads are thrown up as high as their necks will permit, and their bodies being carried very erect, a waddling motion is given to their gait, which is very ludicrous. The stomachs of those dissected were very muscular, and contained seeds and a large proportion of pebbles.”

Head, neck and chest olive-grey, the feathers of the head and neck spotted with fawn-white at the tip, and those of the chest having a spatulate mark of the same colour down the centre; centre of the abdomen and the under tail-coverts pale buff; a narrow stripe over each eye, back, shoulders and tail rich chestnut; the feathers on the back and shoulders spotted with white, the white spots bounded anteriorly with black; primaries brown, edged with buff; irides gamboge-yellow; bill light ash-grey; naked skin round the eye smoke-grey; tarsi and feet king’s-yellow.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

HEMIPODIUS PYRRHOTHORAX: _Gould_.

_J. & E. Gould del._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

HEMIPODIUS PYRRHOTHORAX, _Gould_.
Red-chested Hemipode.

_Hemipodius pyrrhothorax_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., November 10,
1840.

Little as is known of the Swift-flying Hemipode, even less information has been obtained respecting the history of the present species, which, although assimilating in some of its characters to the former, differs from it in the marking of the face and neck, and the rufous colouring of the fore part of the throat and chest: it is also somewhat more slender and elegant in its proportions. It first came under my notice while traversing the flats near Aberdeen, on the Upper Hunter, when my dog pointing at what I conceived to be a specimen of the preceding species, a female of the present bird arose before me, and I at once saw, from the rufous colouring of the breast, that it differed from any I had previously seen: my shot was a successful one, and it was with no small delight that I picked up the beautiful bird, from which the accompanying drawing of the female was taken. I diligently sought for others, but was not fortunate enough to meet with a second living specimen. For the little male which enables me to complete my Plate, I am indebted to Mr. Charles Coxen, who had killed it some years before in the neighbourhood of the Liverpool Plains, but who could give me no further information respecting it: he had never seen the female. Of its habits and nidification of course nothing is therefore known: when the distant interior is explored, its true habitat will doubtless be discovered, but until then its history must remain buried in obscurity.

Crown of the head dark brown, with a line of buff down the centre; feathers surrounding the eye, ear-coverts and sides of the neck extremely small, white edged with black; back and rump dark brown, transversely rayed with bars and freckles of black and buff; wings paler, edged with buff, within which is a line of black running in the same direction; primaries brown, margined with buff; throat, chest, flanks and under tail-coverts sandy red, passing into white on the centre of the abdomen; bill horn-colour; irides straw-yellow; feet yellowish white.

The male has a similar character of markings on the upper surface, but the colouring of the throat and flanks is much paler.

The Plate represents a male and a female of the natural size.

HEMIPODIUS VELOX: _Gould_.

_J. & E. Gould del^t._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

HEMIPODIUS VELOX, _Gould_.
Swift-flying Hemipode.

_Hemipodius velox_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Nov. 10, 1840.

_Kar-a-dong_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western
Australia.

_Little Quail_, of the Colonists.

I found this new and interesting species of _Hemipodius_ abundant in various parts of New South Wales, but whether it has always visited those localities, or has only recently made its appearance there, I cannot say. Mr. Stephen Coxen, on whose estate it was plentiful, and who, it is well known, has for some years paid considerable attention to the Ornithology of Australia, could give me no information respecting it, and it would appear to have escaped the notice of collectors generally, for I have never seen a specimen in any collection either public or private. I clearly ascertained that it is strictly migratory, by finding it abundant in those places in summer which I had previously visited in winter, when no appearance of one was to be seen.

The season of more than usual luxuriance that followed the long and distressing drought of 1838–39, bringing in its train a number of rare and interesting species, was highly advantageous to the objects of my expedition. It was to this season of plenty, when the whole face of the country was covered with the richest vegetation, that I am inclined to attribute the appearance of vast numbers of this species over the district of the whole Upper Hunter, particularly in the flats of Segenho, Invermein, and Yarrundi. It appeared to give preference to the low stony ridges which border and intersect these flats, and which are thinly covered with grasses of various kinds, for it was in such situations I generally found it, though on some occasions I started it from among the rank herbage clothing the alluvial soil of the bottoms. It lies so close as to be nearly trodden upon before it will rise, and when flushed it flies off with such extreme rapidity, as, combined with its small size and the intervention of trees, to render it a most difficult shot to the sportsman. On rising it flies to the distance of one or two hundred yards within two or three feet of the surface, and then suddenly pitches to the ground. As might be expected, it lies well to a pointer, and it was by this means that I found many which I could not otherwise have started.

One of the most singular circumstances connected with the history of this and the following species, is the great difference in the size of the sexes, the males being but little more than half the size of their mates. Pleased as I was at making acquaintance with this little bird, I was still more gratified at finding its nest and eggs. Natty and Jemmy, two intelligent and faithful natives, of the Yarrundi tribe, and who always accompanied me, also caught several of the young which had not left the nest many days.

In addition to the districts above named, I observed it, although rarely, in the interior of the country north of the Liverpool Plains. Before I left Sydney a single specimen was sent me from South Australia, and in my recently arrived collection from Swan River I found both the bird and its eggs; these circumstances proving that it possesses a range of longitude extending from one side of the continent to the other, and in all probability it inhabits a great portion of the northern interior. In Western Australia it is stated to inhabit clear open spots of grass, and may occasionally be met with in the thick scrub, but its most favourite retreat is the grassy valleys of the interior adjacent to water.

It breeds in September and October. The nest is slightly constructed of grasses placed in a shallow depression of the ground under the shelter of a small tuft of grass: the eggs are four in number, of a dirty white, very thickly blotched all over with markings of chestnut, eleven lines and a half long by nine lines broad: the eggs from Western Australia are much lighter in colour, and have the chestnut blotchings much more minute.

The stomach is extremely muscular, and the food consists of grasshoppers and other insects, seeds, etc.

Head, ear-coverts, and all the upper surface chestnut-red; the crown of the head in some specimens has a longitudinal mark of buff down the centre; the feathers of the back, rump, scapularies, and sides of the chest margined with buff, within which is a narrow line of black running in the same direction; the feathers of the lower part of the back are also crossed by several narrow irregular bands of black; primaries light brown, margined with buff on their internal edges; throat, chest, and flanks sandy buff, passing into white on the abdomen; bill horn-colour; irides straw-white; legs and feet yellowish white.

The above is the description of a female: the male has the feathers on the sides of the chest conspicuously margined with buff.

The Plate represents a male and female of the natural size.

COTURNIX PECTORALIS: _Gould_.

_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

COTURNIX PECTORALIS, _Gould_.
Pectoral Quail.

_Coturnix pectoralis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 8; and
in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part II.—List of Birds in Brit. Mus.
Coll., Part III. p. 40.

_Stubble Quail_ of the Colonists of Van Diemen’s Land.

In Van Diemen’s Land, South Australia and New South Wales, the present species is very abundant; I have also received specimens from Western Australia and a single example from the north coast, from both of which localities the specimens are smaller, and have a more buffy tint pervading the under surface; I am not, however, prepared to affirm that they are specifically distinct from the bird here figured, although I am disposed to regard them as such. Open grassy plains, extensive grass flats, and those parts of the country under cultivation, are situations favourable to the habits of the bird; in its economy and mode of life, in fact, it so closely resembles the Quail of Europe (_Coturnix communis_), that a description of one is equally descriptive of the other. In South Australia it may be found on all the extensive plains to the north of Adelaide; I sometimes flushed a single bird without finding another in the neighbourhood, while at others I met with it in pairs or in small parties of from four to six in number. Although occasionally found in the immediate neighbourhood, it affects totally different situations from those frequented by the _Synoïcus Australis_, which goes in coveys, and which differs but little in its habits from the Common Partridge (_Perdix cinerea_). Its powers of flight are considerable, and when flushed, it wings its way with arrow-like swiftness to a distant part of the plain; it lies well to a pointer, and has from the first settlement of the colony always afforded considerable amusement to the sportsman. I need scarcely say that it is an excellent bird for the table, equalling as it does in this respect its European representative. During my rambles in the districts frequented by this Quail, I frequently found its nest and eggs, which bear a strong resemblance to those of our own Quail; much variation, however, exists in their colouring, some being largely blotched all over with brown on a straw-white ground, while from this to a finely peppered marking every variety occurred; the number of eggs in each nest varied from eleven to fourteen. The situations chosen for the nest are also very various; I sometimes found it placed among the thick grass of the luxuriant flats, while at others it was artfully concealed by a tuft of overhanging grass on the open plains, where the temperature was of a much warmer character, and where, from the exposed situation, the sun’s rays caused a degree of heat never felt in the humid situations just alluded to. The chief food of this species is grain, seeds and insects, the grain as a matter of course being only procured in cultivated districts; and hence the name of Stubble Quail has been given to it by the colonists of Van Diemen’s Land, from the great numbers that visit the fields after the harvest is over.

September and the three following months constitute the breeding-season; but it is somewhat later in Van Diemen’s Land than in South Australia and New South Wales.

The average weight of the male is four ounces and a half; the female, which rarely equals her mate in size, may at all times be distinguished by the total absence of the black markings on the chest, and by the throat being white instead of buff.

The male has the lores, ear-coverts and throat buff; crown of the head and back of the neck deep brown; over each eye two parallel lines of yellowish white; a similar line down the centre of the head from the forehead to the nape; back of the neck brown, each feather marked down its centre with a lanceolate mark of yellowish white, blotched on each side with black; mantle, back and upper tail-coverts brown, transversely rayed with zigzag markings of black, and striped down the centre with lanceolate markings of yellowish white; wings brown, transversely rayed with zigzag lines of grey and black; primaries and centre of the chest black; sides of the chest brown; abdomen white, each feather marked down its centre with black; flanks rich brown, the centre of each feather white, bounded on either side by a fine line of black; bill black; irides hazel; feet pearly vinous white.

The female differs in being destitute of the black marks on the chest, in the throat being white instead of buff, and in the bill being olive instead of black.

The Plate represents both sexes of the natural size.

SYNOÏCUS AUSTRALIS.

_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

SYNOÏCUS AUSTRALIS.
Australian Partridge.

_Perdix Australis_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. lxii.

_Coturnix Australis_, Temm. Pig. et Gall. 8vo, tom. iii. pp. 474 and
740.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. xi. p. 373.—Vieill. Gal. des Ois., pl.
215.—Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 508.

_New Holland Quail_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 283.—Ib. Gen.
Hist., vol. viii. p. 306.

_Moo-ȑeete_, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western Australia.

_Brown Quail_, Colonists of Swan River and Van Diemen’s Land.

The present species will at all times claim more than ordinary attention from the colonists of Australia, from the circumstance of its being the representative in that country of the Common Partridge of the British Islands, so renowned for the goodness of its flesh, and for the healthy pastime it annually affords during the shooting season to all who are attached to and follow the sports of the field. Although much more diminutive in size, the present species offers in many points of its economy a great similarity to its antipodean ally. I believe that several species of this intermediate form exist in Australia; if, however, my surmise should prove to be incorrect, and it should be found that the Partridges over all parts of the country are merely varieties of each other, then it may be stated that the present species is an inhabitant of every known part of Australia, the north coast even not being without its presence; but if, on the other hand, it should be discovered that they are several distinct species, then the habitat of the present bird will be restricted to New South Wales, South Australia and Van Diemen’s Land, over the whole of which countries it is plentifully dispersed; the localities most suited to its habits being thick grassy flats and humid spots overgrown with herbage, by the sides of rivers and water-holes. Its call is very similar to that of the Common Partridge, and like that bird it is found in coveys of from ten to eighteen in number, which simultaneously rise from the ground and pitch again within a hundred yards of the spot whence they rose. It sits so close, that it will often admit of being nearly trodden upon before it will rise. Pointers stand readily to it, and it offers perhaps better sport to the sportsman than any other bird inhabiting Australia. Its weight is about four ounces and three quarters, and its flesh is delicious.

The Australian Partridge breeds on the ground, where it constructs a slight nest of grass and leaves; the eggs, which are of large size, and from ten to eighteen in number, are sometimes uniform bluish white, at others minutely freckled all over with buff.

The sexes differ but little in their colouring, neither do the young birds from the adult, except that the markings are somewhat broader and more distinct.

Forehead, space between the bill and the eye, and the throat greyish white, with a tinge of buff; all the upper surface irregularly marked with beautiful transverse bars of grey, black and chestnut, each feather on the back having a fine stripe down the centre; shoulders greyish brown, the remainder of the wing marked with obscure transverse lines of grey, brown and black; primaries brown, mottled on the external edges with greyish brown; all the under surface buffy grey, each feather having numerous zigzag markings of black, and many of them having a very fine line of white down the centre; bill blue, deepening into black at the tip; irides orange; feet dull yellow.

The figures are of the natural size.

SYNOÏCUS DIEMENENSIS: _Gould_.

_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

SYNOÏCUS DIEMENENSIS, _Gould_.
Van Diemen’s Land Partridge.

_Synoïcus Diemenensis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., March, 1847.

_Greater Brown Quail_ of the Colonists.

During my visit to Van Diemen’s Land I was frequently informed that there were two kinds of Quail besides the stubble and painted Quails, the former of which is a true _Coturnix_ and the latter a _Hemipodius_, while the two birds referred to belong to neither of those genera, but to that of _Synoïcus_. They are distinguished as the greater and lesser Brown Quail, and sometimes the name of Partridge was given to the bird here figured, doubtless from its going in coveys and resembling the Common Partridge of Europe in many of its actions: I failed in my endeavours to obtain examples, but I was fortunate enough to procure its nest and eggs, which differed so much from those of the common species as to convince me that they had been laid by a different bird: on a late visit to Paris, I found at the house of M. Verreaux several specimens of the bird itself, which had been sent to him by his brother direct from Van Diemen’s Land, and which being placed at my disposal enable me to give figures of both species. It is fully a third larger in size than the _S. Australis_, and has the markings of the upper surface more numerous and varied; the situations it affects appear to be low marshy grounds covered with dense masses of herbage. The eggs I procured were found in the swamps immediately below New Norfolk; they are more green than those of _S. Australis_, are sprinkled all over with minute spots of brown, and are from twelve to eighteen in number, one inch and seven-sixteenths long by one inch and an eighth broad. I feel more than ever convinced, that the birds of the form to which the generic term _Synoïcus_ has been applied, constitute many more species than has hitherto been supposed.

Forehead, lores and chin greyish white tinged with buff; crown of the head dark brown, with a line of buff down the centre; all the upper surface irregularly marked with beautiful transverse bars of grey, black and chestnut, each feather with a fine stripe of greyish white down the centre; primaries brown, mottled on their external edges with greyish brown; all the under surface greyish buff, each feather with numerous regular somewhat arrow-shaped marks of black, and many of them with a very fine line of white down the centre; bill blue, deepening into black at the tip; irides orange; feet dull yellow.

The Plate represents the two sexes rather less than the size of life.

SYNOÏCUS SORDIDUS.

_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

SYNOÏCUS SORDIDUS, _Gould_.
Sombre Partridge.

_Synoïcus sordidus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part XV. p. 33.

With the exception of _S. Sinensis_, this species is the least of the genus yet discovered; it moreover differs from them all in the absence of any varied markings, in lieu of which all the feathers of the upper surface have a broad bluish grey stripe down the middle; in this blue colouring it evinces an affinity to the _S. Sinensis_, and in all probability other species intermediate between the two will yet be discovered.

Two specimens are all that have come under my notice; both of which were received from South Australia.

Its habits doubtless resemble those of the other members of the genus, but nothing is at present known respecting them.

General plumage dark brown, minutely freckled with black, each feather of the upper and under surface with a broad stripe of bluish grey down the centre; feathers of the head and back of the neck with a spot of blackish brown at the tip, those down the centre of the head and a few of the back-feathers with white shafts; chin buff; flank-feathers with an arrow-head-shaped mark of black near the tip.

The figures are of the natural size.

SYNOÏCUS CHINENSIS.

_J. Gould and H.C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

SYNOÏCUS? CHINENSIS.
Chinese Quail.

_Perdix Chinensis_, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. ii. p. 652.

_Coturnix excalfatoria_, Temm. Pig. et Gall., 8vo, tom. iii. pp. 516
and 743.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. xi. p. 371.

_Tetrao Chinensis_, Linn. Syst. Nat., vol. i. p. 277.—Ib. Gmel. Edit.,
vol. i. p. 765.—Linn. Trans., vol. xiii. p. 324.

_Coturnix Philippensis_, Briss. Orn., vol. i. p. 454. sp. 17. tab. 25.
fig. 1.—Ib. 8vo, vol. i. p. 71.

_Fraise, ou Caille de la Chine_, Buff. Hist. Nat. des Ois., tom. ii.
p. 478.—Ib. Sonn. Edit., tom. vii. p. 104.—Bonnat. Tab. Ency. Orn.,
223. pl. 96. fig. 3.

_Chinese Quail_, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. iv. p. 783.—Edw. Glean., pl.
247.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. viii. p. 318.

_Coturnix Chinensis_, Less. Traité d’Orn., p. 509.

_Caille des Philippines_, Buff. Pl. Enl., 126. fig. 2. female.

_Perdix Manillensis_, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. ii. p. 655. female.

_Tetrao Manillensis_, Gmel. Ed. Linn. Syst. Nat., vol. i. p. 764.
female.

_La petite Caille de l’Ile de Luçon_, Sonn. Voy., p. 54. pl. 24.
female.

_Petite Caille de Manille_, Sonn. Edit. Buff. Ois., tom. vii. p.
142.—Bonnat. Tab. Ency. Orn., p. 221. pl. 97. fig. 4.

_Manilla Quail_, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. iv. p. 790.—Ib. Gen. Hist.,
vol. viii. p. 321. female.

_Chaun-chun_ of the Chinese.

_Piker_ or _Pikan_ of the Sumatrans and Javanese.