THE QUAIL (Coturnix vulgaris) Is a small bird, being in length no more than seven inches. The colour of the breast is a dirty pale yellow, and the throat has a little mixture of red: the head is black, and the body and wings have black stripes upon a hazelcoloured ground. Its habits and manner of living resemble those of the partridge, and it is either caught in nets by decoy birds, or shot by the help of the setting-dog, its call being easily imitated by tapping two pieces of copper one against another. The flesh of the Quail is very luscious, and next in flavour to that of the partridge. Quails are birds of passage, the only peculiarity in which they differ from all other of the poultry kind; and such prodigious numbers have sometimes appeared on the western coast of the kingdom of Naples, that one hundred thousand have been caught in one day, within the space of three or four miles. In some parts of the south of Russia, they abound so greatly, that at the time of their migration they are caught by thousands, and sent in casks to Moscow and St. Petersburg. The female seldom lays more than six or seven eggs. The ancient Athenians kept this bird, merely for the sport of fighting with each other, as game cocks do, and never ate the flesh. The Quail was that wild fowl which God thought proper to send to the chosen people of Israel, as a sustenance for them in the desert. The Chinese Quail is a beautiful little bird, and often kept in cages in China, for the singular purpose, as it is said, of warming people's hands in winter; as taking the soft, warm body of the bird in the hand diffuses through it an agreeable warmth. The American Quail (Ortyx borealis) is larger than the common Quail, and is something between a Quail and a partridge. THE RED GROUSE. (Lagopus Scoticus.) And blew his shrill blast o'er perennial snows." THIS bird is called by some ornithologists the MoorCock, and by others Red Game. The beak is black and short; over the eyes there is a bare skin of a bright red. The general colour of the plumage is red and black, variegated, and intermixed with each other, except the wings, which are brownish, spotted with red, and the tail, which is black; the legs are covered with long, thick feathers down to the very toes. It is common in the north of England, in Scotland, and in Wales; and not only affords great diversion to the noblemen and gentlemen of those countries who are fond of shooting, but also repays them well for their trouble, as the flesh is very delicate, and holds on our table an equal place with the partridge and the pheasant. The season of Grouse shooting commences August 20. In winter they are usually found in flocks of sometimes fifty to one hundred in number, which are termed by sportsmen packs, and become remarkably shy and wild, seldom allowing the sportsman to approach them within one hundred yards. They keep near the summits of the heathy hills, and seldom descend to the lower grounds. Here they feed on the mountain berries, and on the tender tops of the heath. The hen lays seven or eight eggs of a reddish black colour. Besides the red Grouse, there are the following of the same species, but they are now found only in the wildest parts of the Highlands of Scotland. THE BLACK COCK (Tetrao tetrix) Is about four pounds in weight; but the female, which is usually called the Grey Hen, is often not more than two. The plumage of the whole body of the male is black, and glossed over the neck and rump with shining blue; the coverts of the wings are of a dusky brown, with the quill feathers black and white. The tail is much forked. These birds never pair; but in the spring the males assemble at their accustomed haunts on the tops of heathy mountains, where they crow and clap their wings. "And from the pine's hig top brought down His breast of varying green, and crow'd and clapp'd GISBORNE. The females, at this signal, resort to them. The males are very quarrelsome, and fight together like game cocks. On these occasions, they are so inattentive to their own safety, that two or three have sometimes been killed at one shot; and instances have occurred of their having been knocked down with a stick. Like the Capercailzie, or Cock of the Woods, a larger species of this genus, these birds are common in Russia, Siberia, and other northern countries, chiefly in wooded and mountainous situations; and in the northern parts of our own island on uncultivated moors. The Ptarmigan, or White Grouse, is somewhat larger than a pigeon; its bill is black, and its plumage in summer is of a pale brown colour, elegantly mottled with small bars and dusky spots. The head and neck are marked with broad bars of black, rust-colour, and white, the wings and belly are white. The White Grouse is fond of lofty situations, where it braves the severest cold. It is found in most of the northern parts of Europe, even as far as Greenland. In this country it is only to be met with on the summits of some of our highest hills, chiefly in Scotland, and in the Hebrides and Orkneys, but sometimes in Cumberland and Wales. THE COMMON COCK. (Gallus domesticus.) "While the Cock, with lively din, MILTON. THIS bird is so well known, that it would be needless to say much of him. His plumage is various and beautiful, his courage very great and proverbial, his sobriety astonishing, and his intuitive knowledge of the period of sun-rise has baffled the most scrutinizing researches of naturalists. When of a good breed, and well taught to fight, he will die rather than yield to his adversary. The hen lays a great number of eggs, and will hatch as many as thirteen at one sitting; but this is considered the extreme number, being as many as she can well cover. When in the secluded state of incubation she eats very little; and yet is so courageous and strong, that she will rise and fight any men or animals that dare to approach her nest. It is impossible to conceive how, with such |