Bourns and Worcester have shown that the character upon which P. nehrkornæ was based—i.e., narrow superciliary stripes not confluent on nape—is variable to a great degree and not dependent upon age, so napoleonis is accepted as the correct specific name for the Palawan bird, although originally applied to a specimen supposed to have come from Luzon, an island in which the genus certainly does not exist.
Major John R. White has secured a fine series of these birds at the Iwahig penal colony, and he states that he has seldom seen the birds until snared by the natives.
Order HEMIPODII.
BUTTON QUAILS.
Culmen curved but not hooked; nostrils opening by a slit beneath a horny scale; tarsi naked, without spurs; hind toe absent; wings short, rounded, and curved to the body; rectrices short, soft, and nearly hidden by the long fluffy coverts.
Family TURNICIDÆ.
Size small, the largest Philippine species under 200 mm. in length, the others much smaller. Birds of this family resemble Excalfactoria in general form but may be recognized by their lack of a hind toe. They are usually found in grassy plains. The flight is rapid but of short duration; the birds get up at one’s feet but seldom flush a second time. The nest is placed on the ground beneath a tuft of grass; eggs, three or four, spotted with brown.
Genus TURNIX Bonnaterre, 1790.
Characters same as those given for the Family.