QUAIL n.
he genus Turnix, as T. taigoor, a black-breasted species, and the hill bustard quail (T. ocellatus). See Turnix. -- Button quail (Zoöl.), one of several small Asiatic species of Turnix, as T. Sykesii, which is said to be the smallest game bird of India. -- Mountain quail. See under Mountain. -- Quail call, a call or…
RATHSKELLER n.
Orig., in Germany, the cellar or basement of the city hall, usually rented for use as a restaurant where beer is sold; hence, a beer saloon of the German type below the street level, where, usually, drinks are served only at tables and simple food may also be had; -- sometimes loosely used, in English, of what are esse…
RUFF n.
A limicoline bird of Europe and Asia (Pavoncella, or Philommachus, pugnax) allied to the sandpipers. The males during the breeding season have a large ruff of erectile feathers, variable in their colors, on the neck, and yellowish naked tubercles on the face. They are polygamous, and are noted for their pugnacity in th…
SCREW n.
or closed by a screw. -- Screw worm (Zoöl.), the larva of an American fly (Compsomyia macellaria), allied to the blowflies, which sometimes deposits its eggs in the nostrils, or about wounds, in man and other animals, with fatal results. -- Screw wrench. (a) A wrench for turning a screw. (b) A wrench with an adjusta…