MEARNS OR MASSENA PARTRIDGE
296. Cyrtonyx montezumæ mearnsi. 9 in.
Bill very stout and compressed. Crest large, puffy and flat. Markings on the male very grotesque and clownish; general color of the female, pinkish brown with streaks of black, and white specks, below, and barred and streaked above. These strange birds are very local in their distribution in the southwest, rare in some localities and occurring in quite large flocks in others. They are so confiding in their disposition, that this, in connection with their clownish plumage, has given them the name of “Fool” Quail. They frequent dry deserts, valleys, or mountains up to an elevation of at least 8,000 feet. When startled, they often squat down, and can almost be caught in the hand, but when they do fly, their flight is very rapid, and accompanied with a peculiar clucking noise.
Nest.—A depression in the ground, lined with grasses, and concealed in clumps of weeds or grass. Their eggs, like those of other partridges, are numerous, pure white, and not as sharply pointed as those of the [Bob-white].
Range.—Western Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.
