Of the true Quails six species may be admitted. _Coturnix communis_, the Common Quail, though essentially a migrant in the north, ranges throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa, and breeds not uncommonly in Britain, having also been introduced into the Eastern United States; while another African race (_C. capensis_ auctt.) only differs in its reddish throat. The crown is dark brown with a light streak down the centre and above each eye; the upper parts are brown and black with buff longitudinal stripes, becoming mottlings on the remiges; the throat is white with a black median patch connected with the ear-coverts by two upcurved lines: the breast is reddish-buff, the abdomen yellowish-white, the flanks are mottled or barred with brown. The short tail of ten or twelve feathers lies entirely below the coverts. The hen-bird has black pectoral spots and a perfectly white throat. _C. japonica_ of East Asia and Japan, occasionally found in Bhutan and Burma, has a plain brick-red throat, the sides of which and the chin exhibit lanceolate feathers in the female. Hybrids between this species and the Common Quail occur where their ranges overlap; individuals, moreover, present great variation. _C. coromandelica_ of India and the Burmese countries, _C. delegorguii_ of the Ethiopian Region, _C. pectoralis_ of Australia and Tasmania, and the nearly extinct _C. novae zealandiae_ of New Zealand, have the outer webs of the primaries uniform brown in both sexes; the males of the first two have the throat as in _C. communis_, with a black patch on the breast, and buff and chestnut under parts respectively; the third has the throat plain brick-coloured; and the fourth still brighter red. The females have no throat-mark, the hen of _C. delegorguii_ being blackish-brown above, and that of _C. pectoralis_ shewing black chest-bands, which in _C. novae zealandiae_ cover most of the feathers. That Quails can traverse long distances is evidenced by the migration of large flocks in spring and autumn; but, as a rule, their flight is short, and they rise with great reluctance, though with considerable {221}velocity. The trisyllabic note of the male is rendered "wet-my-lips" by country-folk; the food consists of seeds, slugs, and insects, sought among the grassy flats in general frequented. From seven to fifteen yellowish or white eggs, with dark brown blotches or marblings, are deposited in a hollow lined with bits of herbage, in standing corn or grass, the hen sitting very closely and feigning lameness to draw attention from the young. The male appears to be usually monogamous, while the broods or "bevies" do not form coveys. Two of these broods are said to be occasionally reared in a season, but how far such statements are due to the destruction of the first complement of eggs must remain doubtful, as in the case of so many other birds that breed on the ground.[159]