Synopsis of Genera found in the United States.

a. Head without crest.

Ortyx. Tail not much more than half the wings; outstretched feet reaching beyond the tail.

b. Head with a crest of a few long narrow, keel-shaped feathers.

Oreortyx. Crest-feathers very long, linear; tail scarcely more than half the wings; bill stout; claws blunt, the lateral not reaching the base of the middle claw. Toes of the outstretched foot reaching beyond the tail.

Lophortyx. Crest-feathers widening much terminally, and recurved at the ends. Tail nearly or quite as long as wings. Bill rather small. Claws acute, the lateral reaching to the base of middle one. Toes not reaching the tip of tail.

c. Crest soft, full, and tufted; composed of short, broad, depressed feathers.

Callipepla. Crest springing from the crown. Wing-coverts normal. Tail stiffened, nearly as long as the wings. Claws small, acute; outstretched feet not reaching the tip of tail.

Cyrtonyx. Crest occipital. Wing-coverts greatly developed. Tail very small and soft; half as long as the wings. Toes short; claws very long, blunted; outstretched feet reaching much beyond the tip of the tail.

All the North American Quails, except Cyrtonyx massena, have the inner tertiaries edged internally with whitish or buff, forming a conspicuous line on each side of the rump when the wings are closed.

Genus ORTYX, Stephens.

Ortyx, Stephens, Shaw’s Gen. Zoöl. XI, 1819. (Type, Tetrao virginianus, L.)

Gen. Char. Bill stout. Head entirely without any crest. Tail short, scarcely more than half the wing, composed of moderately soft feathers. Wings normal. Legs developed, the toes reaching considerably beyond the tip of the tail; the lateral toes short, equal, their claws falling decidedly short of the base of the middle claw.

The genus Ortyx embraces numerous species, more or less resembling the well-known Bob-white of the United States. They are chiefly confined to Mexico, Central America, and the West India Islands. North America and the West India Islands contain but one species, and this is so exceedingly variable in plumage that it is only at extreme points of its range that differences acquire sufficient constancy to be considered worthy of especial notice. The regions of its extremes of variation are the northeastern, southeastern, and southwestern limits of its range; the modifications attaining in Cuba and in Texas sufficient value to have been deemed of specific importance. But comparing even the three extremes of plumage, the differences are found to consist only in a varying amount of the several colors, specimens from intervening regions forming the connecting links.

22248 ½

Ortyx virginianus.

Species and Varieties.

O. virginianus. Head longitudinally striped, with a dark superior and lateral stripe, a light superciliary stripe (continuing down the side of the neck), and a light gular patch; these stripes blackish and pure white in the male, and rusty and ochraceous in the female. Above mottled with rusty and grayish; the latter prevailing posteriorly, the former anteriorly. Upper part of the rump, scapulars, and upper wing-coverts more or less blotched with black. Beneath white, with transverse, somewhat V-shaped bars of black; sides striped with rufous; lower tail-coverts rufous, with black medial arrow-head, and both webs tipped with roundish spots of rusty white.

Black gular collar of the male .50, or less, in width.

Reddish tints prevailing; these nearly continuous on the upper parts, where the mottlings are minute. Distinct black blotches on the scapulars, tertials, and upper part of rump. Wing, 4.25 (Florida, Southern Illinois, Missouri, etc.) to 4.80 (northeastern United States). Hab. Eastern Province of the United States; Jamaica? … var. virginianus.

Grayish tints prevailing; no continuous color on the upper parts, where the mottlings are coarse and general. No distinct black blotches on the scapulars, etc. Gular black collar narrower. Wing, 4.10 to 4.50. Hab. Plains, from Texas to Kansas (where it grades into virginianus) … var. texanus.

Black gular collar much more than .50 in width.

Black markings predominating in the male. Female hardly distinguishable from that of var. texanus. Wing, 4.10. Hab. Cuba … var. cubanensis.[115]

PLATE LXIII.

Ortyx virginianus, var. virginianus, Bonap.
QUAIL; PARTRIDGE; BOB-WHITE.

Tetrao virginianus, Linn. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 277, 16 (female?).—Gmelin, I, 1788, 761. Perdix virginiana, Lath. Ind. Orn. II, 1790, 650.—Wilson, Am. Orn. VI, 1812, 21, pl. xlvii.—Doughty’s Cab. I, 1830, 37, pl. iv.—Aud. Orn. Biog. I, 1831, 388; V, 1839, 564, pl. lxxvi. Perdix (Ortyx) virginiana, Bonap. Obs. Wils. 1825, No. 203. Ortyx virginiana, Jardine, Nat. Library Birds, IV, Game Birds, 101, pl. x.—Bon. List, 1838.—Aud. Syn. 1839, 199.—Ib. Birds Amer. V, 1842, 59, pl. cclxxxix.—Gould, Mon. Odont. pl. i.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 640.—Newton, Ibis, I, 255 (Santa Cruz; introduced!).—Bryant, B. Pr. VII, 1859 (Bahamas; introduced!).—Sclater, P. Z. S. 1861, 80 (Jamaica).—March, P. A. N. S. 1863, 303 (Jamaica).—Max. Cab. J. VII, 1858, 444.—Gray, Cat. Brit. Mus. V, 1867, 75.—Fowler, Am. Nat. III, Dec. 1869, 535 (habits). Perdix (Colinia) virginiana, Nuttall, Man. I, 1832, 646. Tetrao marilandicus, Linn. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 277, 18.—Gmelin, I, 1788, 761, 17. Perdix marilandica, Latham, Ind. Orn. II, 1790, 650. Tetrao minor, Bartram, Travels, 1791, 290 bis. Perdix borealis, Vieillot, Nouv. Dict.—Ib. Galerie, II, 44, pl. ccxiv. Ortyx borealis, Steph., Shaw’s Zoöl. XI, 1819, 377. Virginia Partridge, Latham, Syn. II, ii, 777. Ortyx castaneus, Gould, P. Z. S. X, 182.—Ib. Mon. Odont. (A somewhat melanistic plumage, occasionally seen in specimens from Iowa, Illinois, etc. ?)

Sp. Char. Forehead, and line through the eye and along the side of the neck, with chin and throat, white. A band of black across the vertex, and extending backwards on the sides, within the white, and another from the maxilla beneath the eye, and crossing on the lower part of the throat. The under parts are white, tinged with brown anteriorly; each feather with several narrow, obtusely V-shaped bands of black. The forepart of back, the side of the breast, and in front just below the black collar, of a dull pinkish-red. The sides of body and wing-coverts brownish-red; the latter almost uniform, without indication of mottling. Scapulars and upper tertials coarsely blotched with black, and edged internally with brownish-yellow. Top of head reddish; the lower part of neck, except anteriorly, streaked with white and black. Primary quills unspotted brown. Tail ash. Female with the white markings of the head replaced by brownish-yellow; the black ones with brownish.

Young. Head ashy, with a narrow post-ocular white stripe, and the crown spotted with black; throat whitish. Beneath pale dingy-ashy, with whitish shaft-streaks, and without black bars or other markings. Above reddish or olivaceous drab, the feathers with whitish shaft-streaks, and a large black spot, mostly on upper web.

Chick. Head dingy buff; an auricular dusky elongated spot, and a vertical patch of chestnut-rufous, widening on the occiput.

Length, 10.00; wing, 4.70; tail, 2.85.

Hab. Eastern United States to the high Central Plains; Devil’s River, Texas?

Specimens from Missouri and Southern Illinois are intermediate between the typical virginianus of the Northeastern States and Florida examples,[116] which approach in every respect, except the broad jugular collar, the var. cubanensis. The size is scarcely greater,—the range in Florida birds being wing 4.10 to 4.30, while the average of Missouri and Southern Illinois series is about 4.25; again, in northern and eastern specimens the wing is 4.70 to 4.80. In colors, Southern Illinois and Florida birds are also very similar; but in Florida there is less tendency to black blotches on scapulars, etc., while in specimens from the southern part of the peninsula the bill is appreciably larger. From the plains of Kansas specimens are intermediate between these Illinois birds and the var. texanus.

Ortyx virginianus.

A pair of Quails from Jamaica, probably derived from Continental parents, are less different from United States specimens than are those from Cuba or Texas. In size they are like the former, and have also an equally large bill; the male, however, is not darker beneath than Southern specimens of virginianus, while the female is absolutely undistinguishable in color from examples of that race from the Middle States.

Habits. The present species, known in New England and in certain other parts of the country as the Quail, and in the Middle and Southern States as the Partridge,—either of which names, belonging to other and quite different birds, is inappropriate,—is found throughout the eastern portion of North America from Florida to Maine, and from the Atlantic to Texas on the south and to the Central Plains. Partially successful attempts have been made to introduce it in Utah, and its area promises to extend much farther west than its original limits. This species has also been acclimated in Jamaica, and now abounds in all parts of that island. There they are said, by Mr. March, to make no nest, but to lay on the ground, in tufts of grassroots or under clumps of bushes, usually from twelve to twenty eggs. These are smaller than with us, measuring 1.25 inches by an inch. Mr. March adds that, during incubation, the male may usually be found sitting on a low branch in the vicinity of the nest, but does not assist in incubation.

The Quail has also been introduced into the island of St. Croix, and is now very common in almost every part of it, being especially abundant in the grass lands of the southwestern part. Their habits appear to be somewhat modified by their place of abode, as Mr. Newton has several times seen birds of this species fly up from the ground when flushed, and perch upon trees. He also states that, so far as he could find, their nest is never covered over, as described by some writers, but consists merely of a shallow hole scraped in the ground, in which is deposited a little dried grass or “trash,” the leaves of the sugar-cane. It is often placed to leeward of a protecting cane “stool.”

This bird is probably found in all the New England States, though its presence in Maine is not certain, and, if found there at all, is only met with in the extreme southwestern portion. It is also rare in Vermont and New Hampshire, and only found in the southern portions. It is not given by Mr. Boardman, nor by Professor Verrill. Farther west it has a more northern distribution, being found in Northern New York and in Southern Canada. Mr. McIlwraith gives it as resident in the neighborhood of Hamilton.

In many parts of Massachusetts the Quail has become a very rare bird, owing to the ravages caused by sportsmen and the severity of winters, heavy falls of snow being frequently particularly fatal to them.

The Quails are not migratory, rarely moving to any extent from the spot where they were hatched, even in quest of food, and are easily affected by scarcity of food or by the severity of the winter season. In heavy falls of snow they frequently huddle together on the ground, and allow themselves to be buried in the drifts. If the snow is light, they can easily extricate themselves, and run over its surface in quest of berries and the seeds of shrubs; but if the fall be followed by a partial thaw, and a crust forms, the birds are made prisoners within its impenetrable cover, and miserably perish of hunger. In the severe winter of 1866 and 1867, large numbers of Quails thus perished throughout all parts of Massachusetts. When the snow melted, they were found, in numerous instances, crowded close together and embedded in the frozen drifts.

Unlike most birds of this family, the American Quail never collects in large flocks, but usually moves in small family groups, varying in number from ten to thirty, but too often reduced to a mere remnant by the inroads of the sportsman. When there are two broods in a season, the second brood unites with the first, and, if unmolested, they keep together until the spring, under the guidance of the parents. In the mating-season they usually separate into pairs, though occasionally a male will associate with more than a single female, in which case their joint product is united in the same nest. In the spring of 1850 I found one of the nests which contained no less than thirty-two eggs. The nest was placed on the side of a hill, in an open pasture, within a few rods of the main street, and in the midst of the principal village in Hingham. It was comparatively small, composed of coarse stems of grass, arched at the top, with the entrance on one side, and the eggs were promiscuously piled one upon another. The latter were removed for the purpose of ascertaining the exact number, but very carefully replaced; yet the parent birds deserted them, as they are said always to do if their eggs are handled. An attempt was made to hatch the eggs under a common Hen, but it proved unsuccessful. As the nest was in so exposed a place, it is quite possible that its abandonment by the parent may have been occasioned by other causes than our touching the eggs.

These birds are always found in grounds more or less open, preferring those in which there is abundance of low trees and clusters of shrubs in which they can shelter themselves, on the edges of woods, where they occasionally hide or roost on low branches near the ground. Their favorite food is seeds of various plants, and berries; and in the fall of the year, or late in summer, they feed largely on grasshoppers, and on this food they thrive and become very fat. They are also very fond of buckwheat, corn, and all the kinds of grain. In confinement they eat beechnuts, acorns, and other kinds of nuts, if broken for them. In villages where they are not molested they become very tame, freely approach the barnyards to feed with the poultry, and will even come at the call of their friends and pick up food thrown to them. This is especially noticeable in Florida, where the representatives of the small race of the species found there are very numerous and remarkably confiding.

The Quail is esteemed a great delicacy as an article of food, and is sought for the market by means of traps, nets, and various kinds of snares, and by sportsmen with the gun and dogs. It is naturally unsuspicious, is easily approached, and in the thickly settled parts of the country its ranks are already greatly thinned. It is gradually disappearing from New England, and is now very rare in large tracts where it was once quite abundant. In some localities they have only been retained by the importations of others from a distance. They are of gentle disposition, are apparently much attached to each other both in the conjugal and in the parental relations, and always keep closely together in the small flocks associating together. In the fall the old birds remain with their offspring of the season, and direct the movements of their family. They always keep close together, by day as well as by night, roost on the ground under the shelter of bushes in a circle, their bodies closely impacted, and their heads forming the exterior. This conduces alike to their safety and to their warmth.

Late in April or early in May they construct their nests, always on the ground, usually under the protection of some cluster of bushes, in a depression. It is often on the slope of a small eminence. It is very simple, the materials loosely put together, and wholly of coarse stubble or straw. All that I have seen have been arched over at the top, and with a partially covered entrance; but I am told that it is as often open as covered. The eggs are spoken of in the books as from fifteen to twenty. I have never found less than twenty-four, and from that number to thirty-two. I think that each female lays but about eight, and that several females make use of the same nest,—never less than two, nor more than four. But this opinion is conjectural rather than ascertained. They have two broods in a season, the second in August, at which time the male is engaged in leading the first brood, of which he takes charge when they are hardly half grown. He is a courageous, watchful, and devoted guardian. Once as I was rapidly descending a path on the side of a hill, among a low growth of scrub-oak I came suddenly upon a covey of young Quail, feeding on blueberries, and directly in the path. They did not see me until I was close upon them, when the old bird, a fine old male, flew directly towards me and tumbled at my feet as if in a dying condition, giving at the same time a shrill whistle, expressive of intense alarm. I stooped and put my hand upon his extended wings, and could easily have caught him. The young birds, at the cry of the parent, flew in all directions; and their devoted father soon followed them, and began calling to them in a low cluck, like the cry of the Brown Thresher. The young at this time were hardly more than a week old, and seemed to fly perfectly well to a short distance. The female was nowhere to be seen, but may have been previously killed, or may have been already in her second incubation at that early stage. The young run as soon as they are hatched, and from the first aid their flight with their wings; when pursued, I have never known them to squat in the manner of the Ruffed Grouse, but rather to hide themselves in thick bushes or tufts of grass, running from these if discovered.

The male bird has a loud, clear, and very distinctive whistle, which in New England is interpreted as No more wet, or, if his utterance is more hurried and excited, as More wet; and there are those who still attach to these utterances a meteorological significance. In other parts of the country this cry is supposed to be Ah Bob-white, or Bob-white, and the birds are not unfrequently called Bob-Whites, a name suggested by Professor Baird as a good specific designation. Their note when calling their young brood is very different, and is a low twitter, suggestive of affection, caution, and gentle care. It is soft and subdued, and would readily escape notice.

They make a loud whirring sound when they take to flight, but they rarely fly to any distance, even when most alarmed, as their flight is somewhat laborious. They often escape by running on the ground, especially when they are not suddenly startled.

Mr. Audubon states that at the West this bird performs occasional migrations towards the southeast in October, in the manner of the Wild Turkey; but I cannot find that others have noticed this occurrence. In the Southern and Western States, where this species is very plentiful, they are taken in immense numbers in large nets, into which they are cautiously and slowly driven by a party of hunters.

This species, with proper pains, may be easily raised in confinement, induced to breed, and trained into a condition of partial domestication. Rev. Dr. Bachman, of Charleston, S. C., succeeded in obtaining, by hatching under a Bantam Hen, a brood of young Quails. Confining them with their foster-mother for a few days, they were soon taught to follow her like young chickens. They were fed at first on curds, but soon began to eat cracked Indian-corn and millet. They were permitted to stray at large in the garden, one wing of each having been shortened. They became very gentle, and were in the habit of following Dr. Bachman through his house, seating themselves on the table at which he was writing, occasionally, in play, pecking at his hands or running off with his pen. At night they nestled in a coop in the garden. Although these pets had no opportunity of hearing any other sounds than those of the poultry, the male birds commenced in the spring their not unmusical note of Bob-white, at first low, but increasing in loudness, until they were heard through the whole neighborhood. Their notes were precisely like those of the wild birds. As the spring advanced the males became very pugnacious, and continued contests took place among themselves, as well as with the Pigeons and the poultry that intruded on their premises. Their eggs were placed under a Hen and hatched out. The experiment went no further, but was quite sufficient to demonstrate the possibility of their domestication.

Wilson relates that in one instance a female of this species set upon and hatched out the eggs of the common Hen. For several weeks after, his informant occasionally surprised her in various parts of the plantation with her brood of chickens, on which occasion she exhibited every indication of distress and alarm, and practised her usual manœuvres for their preservation. She continued to lead them about until they were larger than herself, and their manners had all the shyness and timidity and alarm of young Quails.

Mr. Allen states (Am. Nat., July, 1872) that this species has been recently introduced into the Great Salt Lake Valley, and in 1871 was giving promise of multiplying rapidly and becoming thoroughly naturalized, young birds having been raised in the summer of 1871.

The eggs of this species are of a pure, brilliant white color, sharply pointed at one end, and obtusely rounded at the other. They average about 1.35 inches in length by one inch in breadth.

Ortyx virginianus, var. texanus, Lawrence.

Ortyx texanus, Lawrence, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. VI, April, 1853, 1.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 641, pl. lxii.—Ib. Mex. B. II, Birds, 22, pl. xxiv.—Dresser, Ibis, 1866, 27 (S. E. Texas; breeds).—Gray, Cat. Brit. Mus. V. 1867, 75.—Heerm. X, c. 18.

Sp. Char. General appearance that of O. virginianus. Chin, throat, forehead, and stripe over the eye, white. Stripe behind the eye, continuous with a collar across the lower part of the throat, black. Under parts white, with zigzag transverse bars of black. Above pale brownish-red, strongly tinged with ash, the feathers all faintly though distinctly mottled with black; the lower back, scapulars, and tertials much blotched with black, the latter edged on both sides, and, to some extent, transversely barred with brownish-white. Secondaries with transverse bars of the same on the outer web. Wing-coverts coarsely and conspicuously barred with blackish. Lower part of neck, except before, streaked with black and white.

Female with the white of the head changed to brownish-yellow; the black of the head wanting. Length, 9.00; wing, 4.35; tail, 2.85.

Hab. Southern Texas and Valley of the Rio Grande; Republican River, Kansas; Washita River, Indian Territory.

Habits. This form, which appears to be confined to the southern portion of Texas and to the valley of the Rio Grande River, was first described by Mr. Lawrence in 1853. It has been taken in the neighborhood of San Antonio and on the Nueces River by Captain Pope; on Devil’s River by Major William H. Emory; at Fort Clark, on the Pecos River, near Laredo, Texas, at Matamoras, and near New Leon, Mexico, and in other localities, by Lieutenant Couch. According to Mr. Clark, they were very abundant in the valley of the Pecos, as well as in all Southwestern Texas. They were much like the common Virginia Quail in habits as well as in appearance, and to his ear the note of this bird was absolutely identical with that of the common Quail. He has often been a spectator of fights among the males of this variety. To this account Dr. Kennerly adds that he observed them everywhere in considerable numbers from the coast to the headwaters of Devil’s River, and also along the Pecos River; but farther west than this none were seen. In the open prairie lands great numbers were always found early in the morning in the road. The close resemblance of its habits to those of the common Partridge was also noticed.

This Quail was first observed by Dr. Heermann in abundance on the Pecos River, although seen some days previous to reaching that point. Their numbers increased as they neared civilization, and near San Antonio they became very plentiful. The call of the male bird is said to consist of two notes repeated at intervals, which are less loud, clear, and ringing than those of the common Ortyx virginianus. They feed on the open prairies on grass-seeds, grains, berries, and insects, and, if alarmed, take refuge among the scattered mesquite-trees and clumps of bushes. When hunted, they lie to the dog in the manner of the common species, and, if flushed, fly in a direct line, with a loud whirring noise, caused by the shortness and rapid motions of the wings. An egg of this bird, found by Dr. Heermann dropped upon the road, was in form and color like that of the common Quail, but smaller.

Mr. Dresser states that in Texas this bird is known as the “Common Partridge” of the country. He found it abundant everywhere in localities suitable to its habits. Near Matamoras it was very common, and was the only species of Quail he noticed there. At Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, where the soil is sandy, the grass scanty, and cacti abundant, he saw only one bevy, but plenty of the Callipepla squamata. Near San Antonio only this Quail is found, nor did he observe any other species in travelling towards the northeast. Amongst the Bandara Hills, where he met with the Massena Partridge, he also found the Texan Quail in the valley and near the maize-fields. In travelling from Brownsville to San Antonio the Texan Quail was everywhere abundant except in the sand-deserts. This species was found to be rather irregular as to its breeding-season, as he found young birds near Matamoras early in July, and in September again met with quite young birds near the Nueces River, and Dr. Heermann informed him that he had likewise procured eggs near San Antonio late in September. He obtained a set of their eggs taken near San Antonio, which are very similar to those of the Ortyx virginianus, but are slightly smaller.

Genus OREORTYX, Baird.

Oreortyx, Baird, Birds of N. Am. 1858. (Type, Ortyx picta, Douglas.)

Gen. Char. Body stout, broad; bill large; a crest of two or three much elongated linear feathers, springing from the middle of the vertex; tail short, broad, scarcely more than half the wing, rounded, the longest feathers not much exceeding the coverts. Legs developed, the claws extending beyond the tip of the tail; the lateral toes short, the outer claw falling considerably short of the base of the middle. Very similar to Ortyx, except in the crest. Sexes similar.

Oreortyx pictus, Baird.
PLUMED PARTRIDGE; MOUNTAIN QUAIL.

Ortyx picta, Douglas, Trans. Linn. Soc. XVI, 1829, 143. Callipepla picta, Gould, Mon. Odont. pl. xv.—Newberry, Rep. P. R. R. VI, IV, 1857, 93.—Heerm. X, s. 61. Ortyx plumifera, Gould, Pr. Zoöl. Soc. V, 1837, 42.—Aud. Syn. 1839, 200.—Ib. Birds Amer. V. 1842, 69, pl. ccxci. Perdix plumifera, Aud. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 220, pl. ccccxxii. Lophortyx plumifera, Nuttall, Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 791. Oreortyx pictus, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 642.—Cooper & Suckley, 225.—Cooper, Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 546.

Sp. Char. Head with a crest of two straight feathers, much longer than the bill and head. Anterior half of the body grayish-plumbeous; the upper parts generally olivaceous-brown with a slight shade of rufous, this extending narrowly along the nape to the crest. Head beneath the eyes and throat orange-chestnut, bordered along the orbits and a short distance behind by black, bounded anteriorly and superiorly by white, of which color is a short line behind the eye. Posterior half of the body beneath white; a large central patch anteriorly (bifurcating behind), with the flanks and tibial feathers, orange chestnut-brown; the sides of body showing black and white bands, the former color tinged with chestnut. Under tail-coverts black, streaked with orange-chestnut. Upper tertials margined internally with whitish. Female differing only in slightly shorter crest. Length, 10.50; wing, 5.00; tail, 3.25. Juv. Body, generally, pale brown, the feathers of the upper parts minutely barred with darker, and with medial shaft-streaks of blackish; lower plumage plain brown. Breast clear ashy, presenting a well-defined area. Head pale brown, similar to, but lighter than, the body, with a conspicuous vertical and lateral (auricular) broad stripe of dark umber-brown. Feathers of the flanks blackish, broadly bordered with dingy whitish. A short truncated tuft of hair-like feathers on the crown. (Described from figures in Grayson’s plate.)

Hab. Mountain-ranges of California and Oregon towards the coast. Nevada (eastern slope and foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada; Ridgway).

3935 ♂

Oreortyx pictus.

There are two quite different races of this species, but which, however, pass gradually into each other, and must be considered as merely the extremes of one species. They may be defined as follows:—

1. Var. pictus. Pure ash confined to the pectoral region; the russet-brown or rusty-olivaceous of the upper parts covering whole neck and crown; forehead entirely ashy. ♂. Wing, 5.25; tarsus shorter than middle toe (1.27; middle toe, 1.30). Hab. Washington Territory, Oregon, and upper coast region of California.

2. Var. plumiferus. Pure ash covering whole pectoral region, and crown, nape, and upper part of back; the grayish-olivaceous above confined to the posterior parts. Forehead distinctly whitish. Wing, 5.25; tarsus longer than middle toe (1.27; middle toe, 1.25). Hab. Sierra Nevada, and Southern California to Cape St. Lucas.

Habits. The Mountain Quail of California is said by Dr. Newberry to be similar in some respects to the common Partridge of Europe. It is nowhere very common, but occurs sparingly throughout the entire length of California and Oregon to at least the Columbia, and probably beyond it, having much the same range with the californicus, though everywhere a rarer bird, and always confined to the hills and mountains. Its habits are similar to those of the other species of this family, but it is less gregarious, and is more shy. It is usually found in the chaparral, where it is put up with difficulty, as it seeks safety by running on the ground rather than by flight. On the first of August, at the base of Lassen’s Butte, Dr. Newberry found a solitary hen with a brood of very young chicks. The brood scattered like young Partridges, uttering a piping note like that of young chickens, and when all was still again were recalled by the mother with a cluck, much like the call of the common Hen. The party frequently saw coveys and broods of these birds, the young of which were about half grown, until they reached the plains of Pit River. None were seen in the Klamath Lake basin, the country being too bare and flat. They were again met with among the hills bordering the Willamette Valley, and were found from the Columbia, almost uninterruptedly through the Siskiyou, Calapooza, and Trinity Mountains to California. They are favorite pets with the miners, by whom they are frequently kept in confinement, and not unfrequently command a high price. Their flesh is said to be white and excellent, and fully equal to that of any of the family.

Oreortyx pictus.

According to Dr. Cooper, this Quail is very rare in Washington Territory, a few small coveys having been met with about Vancouver, as he was informed by the officers in the garrison. He never succeeded in finding any, though he hunted for them several times with a dog. They became quite common south of the Columbia, towards the prairies of the Willamette. He inquired especially for them in other parts of the Territory, but never heard of them. In California, south of San Francisco, this bird is said to be a rare curiosity to the market-hunters, one or two sometimes occurring among flocks of the California Quail. It is known to them as the Mountain Quail. Dr. Suckley states that the birds in the Willamette Valley were introduced there, and that they are now multiplying rapidly upon the prairies back of Fort Vancouver. With a very little care it is thought the whole of the Territory may become well stocked with them, as the absence of foxes west of the Cascade Mountains and the mild open winters are favorable for their increase.

Dr. Heermann found the birds of this species wild and difficult to procure, flying and scattering at the least symptom of danger, and again calling each other together with a note expressive of great solicitude, much resembling that of a Hen-Turkey gathering her brood around her. During the survey he observed these birds only once, and then but for a few minutes, as they were passing through a deep cañon leading down to Elizabeth Lake. They were seen by the hunters on the mountains surrounding Tejon Valley; but though he went several times in search of them, he obtained none.

Mr. Ridgway met with the Mountain Quail on the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada, in the vicinity of Genoa and Carson City, and also in the mountain-ranges lying immediately to the eastward of the Sierra. It was quite rare and very difficult to discover, and when found was generally met with accidentally. He obtained it in November in the thick chaparral at the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada. In May he secured a pair in the cedar woods a little to the eastward of Carson City, and in December a flock was met with on the Comstock Mountains near Pyramid Lake. Its call-note when a flock is scattered is almost exactly like that of a Hen-Turkey, only proportionally weaker. When a flock is startled, they utter a confused chuckling note, something like that of the common eastern Quail. The male has a very pleasant crowing-note, which sounds some like koo-koo-koóe. The settlers in Nevada say that, previous to the settlement of that country by the whites, this Quail was not found east of the Sierra Nevada, and affirm that they followed the wagon-roads over the mountains, in the rear of trains and wagons, for the purpose of picking up the grain scattered along the road. Mr. Ridgway does not give full credit to the truth of these statements, as he was informed by the Indians at Pyramid Lake, that, within the memory of the oldest members of their tribe, it had always been found in that vicinity.

An egg of this species taken by Dr. Canfield, near Monterey, California, measures 1.45 inches in length by 1.10 in breadth. It is oval in shape; one end is considerably more pointed than the other. It is of a very rich cream-color, with a reddish shading, and unspotted.

9390 ♂

Lophortyx californicus.

Genus LOPHORTYX, Bonaparte.

Lophortyx, Bonap. Geog. & Comp. List, 1838. (Type, Tetrao californicus, Shaw.)

Gen. Char. Head with a crest of lengthened feathers springing from the vertex, the shafts in the same vertical plane, and the webs roof-shaped and overlapping each other; the number varies from two to six or more; they widen to the tip, where they are slightly recurved. Tail lengthened and graduated, nearly as long as the wing, composed of twelve stiff feathers. Wings with the tertials not as long as the primaries; the coverts without any unusual development. Claws rather short; the lateral reaching to, but scarcely beyond the base of the middle; the outstretched toe not reaching the tip of the tail. Sexes very different.

The two North American species of the genus have the anterior half of the body, and the upper parts generally, plumbeous; the feathers of neck above, and on the sides, pointed and margined with black. There is a white bar across the head above, between the eyes, which, passing backwards, is bordered behind and internally by black; a second commences at the posterior border of the eye, and then borders the black of the chin and throat laterally and behind, the black reaching up to the eye and bordered anteriorly by a white line from eye to bill; belly pale buff, with a large spot in the centre; the flanks streaked with white. The diagnoses of the species are as follows:—

Vertex and occiput light smoky olive-brown; forehead whitish; patch in the middle of the belly orange-chestnut; feathers of breast with narrow black edges; sides of body olivaceous-plumbeous … L. californicus.

Vertex and occiput clear chestnut-brown; forehead blackish; patch in middle of belly black; none of the belly-feathers with black edges; sides of body bright chestnut … L. gambeli.

PLATE LXIV.

Lophortyx californicus, Bonap.
CALIFORNIA QUAIL.

Tetrao californicus, Shaw, Nat. Misc. pl. cccxlv (prior to 1801). Perdix californica, Latham, Suppl. Ind. Orn. II, App. 1801, p. lxii.—Aud. Orn. Biog. V. 1839, 152, pl. ccccxiii.—Hutchings, Cal. Mag. II, 1857, 24 (woodcut of bird and its eggs). Ortyx californica, Stephens in Shaw’s Zool. XI, 1819, 384.—Jardine, Game Birds, Nat. Libr. IV, 104, pl. xi.—Cuv. R. An. Illust. ed. Oiseaux, pl. lxiv.—Bennett, Gardens & Menag. Zoöl. Soc. II, 29 (woodcut).—Aud. Syn. 1839, 199.—Ib. Birds Amer. V, 1842, 67, pl. ccxc. Perdix (Ortyx) californica, Bonap. Syn. 1828, 125. Lophortyx californica, Bonap. List, 1838.—Nuttall, Man. I, (2d ed.,) 1840, 789.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 644.—Gray, Cat. Brit. Mus. V, 1867, 78.—Cooper & Suckley, 226 (to Columbia River).—Cooper, Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 549. Callipepla californica, Gould, Mon. Odont. pl. xvi.—Reichenbach, Av. Syst. 1850, pl. xxvii.—Newberry, Rep. P. R. R. VI, iv, 1857, 92.

Lophortyx californicus.

Sp. Char. Crest black. Anterior half of body and upper parts plumbeous; the wings and back glossed with olive-brown. Anterior half of head above brownish-yellow, the shafts of the stiff feathers black; behind this is a white transverse band which passes back along the side of the crown; within this white, anteriorly and laterally, is a black suffusion. The vertex and occiput are light brown. Chin and throat black, margined laterally and behind by a white band, beginning behind the eye. Belly pale buff anteriorly (an orange-brown rounded patch in the middle) and white laterally, the feathers all margined abruptly with black. The feathers on the sides of body like the back, streaked centrally with white. Feathers of top and sides of neck with the margins and shafts black. Under tail-coverts buff, broadly streaked centrally with brown.

Female similar, without the white and black of the head; the feathers of the throat brownish-yellow, streaked with brown. The buff and orange-brown of the belly wanting. The crest short. Length, 9.50; wing, 4.32; tail, 4.12.

Young. Head as in the adult female. Upper parts pale brown, finely mottled transversely with black; scapulars and feathers of the back with yellowish-white shaft-streaks, widening at the end of the feather, and with a large black spot on each web.

Chick. Ground-color dingy white, tinged on the head, wings, and upper parts with pale rusty. A broad stripe on occiput and nape umber-brown; upper parts with rather confused and rather elongated mottlings; an indistinct auricular spot. Beneath plain dull white.

Hab. Valley portions and foot-hills of the Pacific Province of the United States, south to Cape St. Lucas.

Habits. This beautiful species, according to Dr. Newberry, is called the Valley Quail in California, to distinguish it from the Plumed Quail, which inhabits the hills and the highlands, and is called the Mountain Quail. The common Valley Quail of California inhabits the prairies and the grain-fields of the cultivated districts, and frequents the thickets which border the streams, usually in coveys of from a dozen to a hundred individuals, except during the breeding-season, when it is found only in pairs. Like the eastern Quail, the male bird is very fond of sitting on some stump or log projecting above the grass and weeds which conceal his mate and nest or brood, and, especially in the early morning, uttering his peculiar cry,—whistle it can hardly be called. This note is spoken of as being rather harsh and disagreeable than otherwise, and somewhat resembling that of some of the Woodpeckers. Dr. Newberry adds that it may be represented by the syllables kûck-kûck-kûck-kā, the first three notes being rapidly repeated, the last prolonged with a falling inflection. As a game bird he regards this Quail as inferior to the eastern one, though of equal excellence for the table. It does not lie so well to the dog, does not afford as good sport, and takes to a tree much more readily than the eastern Quail. It is found in all the valleys of California and Oregon, both those in the interior and those that open on the coast. It is not found in the deep forests, nor on the mountains at any considerable elevation, nor in the interior basin where water and vegetation are scarce. Specimens were taken by his party in different parts of the Sacramento Valley, at Fort Jones, and in the Willamette Valley, near the Columbia. In all these there was no appreciable difference. This bird is said to make no elaborate nest, but to lay a large number of eggs on the ground, which are generally hatched in June. This bird is susceptible of domestication, and forms quite an ornament for parks, in which they thrive with proper care.

Dr. Suckley states that this Quail was successfully introduced into Washington Territory, on the prairies near Puget Sound, in the spring of 1857, by Governor Charles H. Mason and Mr. Goldsborough. Two lots were introduced, and by the following winter had increased largely. Mr. Gibbs mentions having met with great numbers of these birds on Russian River in 1851, and again on the Klamath in 1852. They were very tame, but took to the bushes when disturbed, perching on the limbs. Like the Sharp-tailed Grouse, they gathered in large flocks. This was the case even when young, and it has been thence inferred that several females belong to one male, and with their broods all run together.

Dr. Kennerly states that his party first met with this beautiful Partridge upon reaching the waters of the Mohave River, and during the march up the stream he found it very abundant, as well as among the settlements along the coast. He could perceive no difference in its habits from those of Lophortyx gambeli.

Dr. Heermann states that he found the California Quail very numerous as far south as Vallecita, where commences the desert that extends to the Colorado, forming an apparently impassable barrier between it and the closely allied species, Gambel’s Partridge. When flushed from the ground, it invariably flies to the trees, if in a wooded country, where it squats so closely lengthwise on a branch that it can rarely be seen when thus hidden. It will not lie to a dog, but runs until it is forced to fly. It may be readily tamed, and in California is often domesticated with the poultry. Several years since, according to Dr. Heermann, an attempt was made to introduce these birds into Long Island, which at first promised to be successful; but unfortunately, after the first season, they were all exterminated by the gunners for the New York market.

Mr. Ridgway met with this species only on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada, and at an altitude of not more than four or five thousand feet. He had no opportunity to learn anything in regard to its habits, but was enabled to listen to its notes. The call-note of the male is very peculiar, and resembles somewhat the syllables kuck-kuck-kēē, the accent being on the last syllable. The common note of the male bird, when disturbed with its mate in the bushes, and probably having a brood of young in the vicinity, was a sharp pit, precisely like the common note of the Cardinal Grosbeak.

The nest of this bird is made in the open field, or at the foot of a bush, and is composed of loose grasses arranged without much care. The eggs are said to be twelve or sixteen in number, and are yellowish or grayish white, spotted and dashed with dark brown or burnt-umber.

Mr. Titian R. Peale, in his Notes on the Wilkes expedition, mentions observing this species in the mountainous regions of Southern Oregon, near the 43d degree of north latitude, which he regarded as their farthest northern range. He frequently observed them collecting at night to roost in trees. At such times their call-note was plaintive, and had a slight resemblance to the words cut-cut-cut-me-too. Specimens of this bird were taken alive, kept by members of the expedition, and brought to the city of Washington by a route equal to the circumference of the globe, where they produced one brood of young.

Soda Lake, the “sink” of the Mohave River, the bed of which is usually quite dry, except in spots, for many miles, is said by Dr. Coues to be just where this species and the L. gambeli find a neutral ground, the western bird following the watercourses until arrested by the desert.

Mr. Xantus found this Quail breeding in great abundance at Cape St. Lucas. In one instance he found four eggs on the bare sand, under a pile of driftwood, without any trace of a nest. In another, three eggs were found on the bare ground, under a fallen cactus. In a third case there were nine eggs, also laid on the bare ground, but in the shade of a jasmine-bush. They were frequently found sheltered under piles of driftwood.

The eggs of this Quail are subject to great variations in marking, and also differ somewhat in size. They are sharply pointed at one end and rounded at the other. One egg, measuring 1.30 in length by 1.00 in breadth, has a ground-color of a creamy white, freckled with markings of a uniform shading of an olivaceous-drab. Another, measuring 1.22 by .91 inches, has the ground-color of the same, but the markings are larger and more confluent, and their color is a rusty drab. A third is 1.18 by .95 inches; ground-color a creamy white marked by large scattered spots of a chestnut-brown.

Lophortyx gambeli, Gambel.
GAMBEL’S QUAIL.

Lophortyx gambeli, “Nuttall,” Gambel, P. A. N. S. Philad. I, 1843, 260.—McCall, P. A. N. S. V, June, 1851, 221.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 645.—Ib. Mex. B. II, Birds, 22.—Dresser, Ibis, 1866, 28(Rio Grande to Nueces; breeds).—Coues, P. A. N. S. 1866, 94 (Fort Whipple, Arizona).—Ib. Ibis, 1866, 46 (habits).—Gray, Cat. Brit. Mus. V, 1867, 79.—Heerm. P. R. R. R. X, C, 19.—Ib. X, S, 60.—Cooper, Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 553. Callipepla gambeli, Gould, Mon. Odont. pl. xvii.—Cass. Illust. I, II, 1853, 45, pl. ix. Callipepla venusta, Gould, P. Z. S. XIV, 1846, 70.

Sp. Char. General color cinereous; abdomen plain whitish; inner or upper webs of tertials broadly edged with white. Elongated feathers of the sides bright chestnut with a medial streak of white.

Male. The ash on the breast of a bluish cast, and the whitish of the belly strongly tinged with yellowish-buff, especially anteriorly; abdomen with a black patch. Anterior half of the head, and whole throat, deep black, bordered posteriorly with two broad, well-defined stripes of white,—the upper of these crossing the middle of the vertex and running backward above the auriculars to the occiput; the other beginning at the posterior angle of the eye and running downward. Vertex and occiput bright rufous, bounded anteriorly and laterally with black. Crest of black elongated, club-shaped, and considerably recurved feathers, springing from the vertex just behind the black bar, one and a half inches long. Wing, 4.70; tail, 4.30; bill, .50 long, and .25 deep; tarsus, 1.15; middle toe, 1.15.

Female. Head plain grayish, without white, black, or rufous; no black on abdomen, which also lacks a decided buff tinge; the cinereous of breast without bluish cast. Crest dusky, less than one inch long. Wing, 4.55; tail, 4.20.

Young. Upper parts ashy brown, minutely and indistinctly mottled transversely with dusky; scapulars and wing-coverts with white shaft-streaks, the former with pairs of dusky spots. Breast and sides with obsolete whitish bars on an ashy ground.

Chick. Dull sulphur-yellowish; a vertical patch, and two parallel stripes along each side of the back (four altogether), black. (Described from Grayson’s plate.)

Hab. Colorado Valley of the United States; north to Southern Utah, and east to Western Texas.

An adult male collected in Southern Utah by Mr. Henshaw of Lieutenant Wheeler’s Expedition differs from all others which we have seen, including a large series from the same locality, in having the abdomen chiefly plumbeous, with a few cloudings of black, in the place of a uniformly black patch. Except in this respect, however, it does not differ at all from other adult male specimens.

Habits. Gambel’s Partridge was obtained by Dr. Kennerly, near San Elizario, Texas, and on Colorado River, California, by Mr. A. Schott, and also by Dr. Kennerly. It was not observed by Dr. Kennerly until he reached the valley of the Rio Grande, nor did he meet with any farther west, in any part of Mexico, than San Bernardino, in Sonora. Though closely resembling in its habits the Scaly Partridge (Callipepla squamata), and in some instances occupying the same districts, he never found the two species together.

According to Mr. J. H. Clark, this species was not met with east of the Rio Grande, nor farther south than Presidio del Norte. Unlike the squamata, it is very common for this species to sit on the branches of trees and bushes, particularly the male, where the latter is said to utter the most sad and wailing notes. They are so very tame as to come about the Mexican towns, the inhabitants of which, however, never make any effort to capture them. They only inhabit wooded and well-watered regions, and are said to feed indifferently on insects or on berries; in summer they make the patches of Solanum their home, feeding on its quite palatable fruit. When flushed, this Quail always seeks the trees, and hides successfully among the branches.

Dr. Kennerly found this beautiful species in great numbers during the march of his party up the Rio Grande. Large flocks were continually crossing the road before them, or were seen huddled together under a bush. After passing the river he met with them again so abundantly along Partridge Creek as to give rise to the name of that stream. Thence to the Great Colorado he occasionally saw them, but after leaving that river they were not again seen. They are said to become quite tame and half domesticated where they are not molested. When pursued, they can seldom be made to fly, depending more upon their feet as a mode of escape than upon their wings. They run very rapidly, but seldom, if ever, hide, and remain close in the grass or bushes in the manner of the eastern Quail.

From Fort Yuma, on the Colorado River, to Eagle Springs, between El Paso and San Antonio, where he last saw a flock of these birds, Dr. Heermann states he found them more or less abundant whenever the party followed the course of the Gila, or met with water-holes or streams of any kind. Although they frequent the most arid portions of the country, where they find a scanty subsistence of grass-seed, mesquite leaves, and insects, they yet manifest a marked preference for the habitations of man, and were much more numerous in the cultivated fields of Tucson, Mesilla Valley, and El Paso. Towards evening, in the vicinity of the Mexican villages, the loud call-notes of the male birds may be heard, gathering the scattered members of the flocks, previous to issuing from the cover where they have been concealed during the day. Resorting to the trails and the roads in search of subsistence, while thus engaged they utter a low soft note which keeps the flock together. They are not of a wild nature, often permit a near approach, seldom fly unless suddenly flushed, and seem to prefer to escape from danger by retreating to dense thickets. In another report Dr. Heermann mentions finding this species in California on the Mohave desert, at the point where the river empties into a large salt lake forming its terminus. The flock was wild, and could not be approached. Afterwards he observed them on the Big Lagoon of New River. At Fort Yuma they were quite abundant, congregating in large coveys, frequenting the thick underwood in the vicinity of the mesquite-trees. Their stomachs were found to be filled with the seeds of the mesquite, a few grass-seeds, and the berries of a parasitic plant. On being suddenly flushed these birds separate very widely, but immediately upon alighting commence their call-note, resembling the soft chirp of a young chicken, which is kept up for some time. The alarm over, and the flock once more reunited, they relapse into silence, only broken by an occasional cluck of the male bird. Once scattered they cannot be readily started again, as they lie close in their thick, bushy, and impenetrable coverts. Near Fort Yuma the Indians catch them in snares, and bring them in great numbers for sale.

Dr. Samuel W. Woodhouse first met with this species on the Rio Grande, about fifty miles below El Paso, up to which place it was extremely abundant. It was by no means a shy bird, frequently coming about the houses; and he very often observed the males perched on the top of a high bush, uttering their peculiarly mournful calls. He found it in quite large flocks, feeding principally on seeds and berries. It became scarce as he approached Doña Ana, above which place he did not meet with it again. He again encountered it, however, near the head of Bill Williams River, and afterwards on the Tampia Creek, and it was exceedingly abundant all along the Great Colorado. He was informed that they are never found west of the Coast Range, in California. About Camp Yuma, below the mouth of the Gila River, they were very abundant and very tame, coming quite near the men, and picking up the grain wasted by the mules. They are trapped in great numbers by the Indians.

This Quail is given by Mr. Dresser as occurring in Texas, but not as a common bird, and only found in certain localities. At Muddy Creek, near Fort Clark, they were not uncommon, and were also found near the Nueces River.

Dr. Coues (Ibis, 1866), in a monograph upon this species, describes its carriage upon the ground as being firm and erect, and at the same time light and easy, and with colors no less pleasing than its form. He found them to be exceedingly abundant in Arizona, and soon after his arrival in the Territory he came upon a brood that was just out of the egg. They were, however, so active, and hid themselves so dexterously, that he could not catch one. This was late in July, and throughout the following month he met broods only a few days old. The following spring he found the old birds mated by April 25, and met with the first chick on the first of June. He infers that this species is in incubation during the whole of May, June, July, and a part of August, and that they raise two, and even three, broods in a season.

A single brood sometimes embraces from fifteen to twenty young, which by October are nearly as large as their parents. While under the care of the latter they keep very close together, and when alarmed either run away rapidly or squat so closely as to be difficult to flush, and, when forced up, they soon alight again. They often take to low limbs of trees, huddle closely together, and permit a close approach. The first intimation that a bevy is near is a single note repeated two or three times, followed by the rustling of leaves as the flock start to run.

These birds are said to be found in almost every locality except thick pine-woods without undergrowth, and are particularly fond of thick willow copses, heavy chaparral, and briery undergrowth. They prefer seeds and fruit, but insects also form a large part of their food. In the early spring they feed extensively on the tender fresh buds of young willows, which give to their flesh a bitter taste.

This Quail is said to have three distinct notes,—the common cry uttered on all occasions of alarm or to call the bevy together, which is a single mellow clear “chink,” with a metallic resonance, repeated an indefinite number of times; then a clear, loud, energetic whistle, resembling the syllables killink-killink, chiefly heard during the pairing-season, and is analogous to the bob-white of the common Quail; the third is its love-song, than which, Dr. Coues adds, nothing more unmusical can well be imagined. It is uttered by the male, and only when the female is incubating. This song is poured forth both at sunrise and at sunset, from some topmost twig near the spot where his mate is sitting on her treasures; and with outstretched neck, drooping wings, and plume negligently dangling, he gives utterance to his odd, guttural, energetic notes.

The flight of these birds is exceedingly rapid and vigorous, and is always even and direct, and in shooting only requires a quick hand and eye.

In his journey from Arizona to the Pacific, Dr. Coues found these birds singularly abundant along the valley of the Colorado; and he was again struck with its indifference as to its place of residence, being equally at home in scorched mesquite thickets, dusting itself in sand that would blister the naked feet, the thermometer at 117° Fah. in the shade, and in the mountains of Northern Arizona, when the pine boughs were bending under the weight of the snow. He also states that Dr. Cooper, while at Fort Mohave, brought up some young Gambel’s Quails by placing the eggs under a common Hen, and found no difficulty in domesticating them, so that they associated freely with the barnyard fowls. The eggs, he adds, are white, or yellowish-white, with brown spots, and were hatched out in twenty-four days. The nest is said to be a rather rude structure, about eight inches wide, and is usually hidden in the grass. The eggs number from twelve to seventeen.

Captain S. G. French, quoted by Mr. Cassin, writes that he met with this species on the Rio Grande, seventy miles below El Paso, and from that point to the place named their numbers constantly increased. They appeared to be partial to the abodes of man, and were very numerous about the old and decayed buildings, gardens, fields, and vineyards around Presidio, Isoleta, and El Paso. During his stay there in the summer of 1851, every morning and evening their welcome call was heard all around; and at early and late hours they were constantly to be found in the sandy roads and paths near the villages and farms. In the middle of the hot summer days, however, they rested in the sand, under the shade and protection of the thick chaparral. When disturbed, they glided through the bushes very swiftly, seldom resorting to flight, uttering a peculiar chirping note. The parents would utter the same chirping cry whenever an attempt was made to capture their young. The male and female bird were always found with the young, showing much affection for them, and even endeavoring to attract attention away from them by their actions and cries.

Colonel McCall (Proc. Phil. Ac., June, 1851) also gives an account of this bird, as met with by him in Western Texas, between San Antonio and the Rio Grande River, as well as in New Mexico. He did not fall in with it until he had reached the Limpia River, a hundred miles west of the Pecos, in Texas, where the Acacia glandulosa was more or less common, and the mesquite grasses and other plants bearing nutritious seeds were abundant. There they were very numerous and very fat, and much disposed to seek the farms and cultivate the acquaintance of man. About the rancho of Mr. White, near El Paso, he found them very numerous, and, in flocks of fifty or a hundred, resorting morning and evening to the barnyard, feeding around the grain-stacks in company with the poultry, and receiving their portion from the hand of the owner. He found them distributed through the country from the Limpia to the Rio Grande, and along the latter river from Eagle Spring Pass to Doña Ana.

The same careful observer, in a communication to Mr. Cassin, gives the western limit of this species. He thinks it is confined to a narrow belt of country between the 31st and 34th parallels of latitude, from the Pecos River, in Texas, to the Sierra Nevada and the contiguous desert in California. It has not been found on the western side of these mountains. Colonel McCall met with it at Alamo Mucho, forty-four miles west of the Colorado River. West of this stretches a desolate waste of sand,—a barrier which effectually separates this species from its ally, the California Quail.

This species is known to be abundant in the country around the sources of the Gila River, and has also been found along that river from the Pimo villages to its mouth, and there is no doubt that it inhabits the entire valley of the Gila. It was also common along the Colorado River, as far as the mouth of the Gila, and has been met with in that valley as high up as Tampia Creek, latitude 34°.

Colonel McCall regards this species as less wild and vigilant than the California species. It is later in breeding, as coveys of young California Quails were seen, one fourth grown, June 4, while all the birds of Gambel’s were without their young as late as June 16. The voice of the male at this season is described as strikingly rich and full. The cry may be imitated by slowly pronouncing in a low tone the syllables kaa-wale, kaa-wale. When the day is calm and still, these notes may be heard to a surprising distance. This song is continued, at short intervals, in the evening, for about an hour. Later in the season when a covey is dispersed, the cry for reassembling is said to resemble qua-el qua-el. The voice of this bird at all seasons bears a great resemblance to that of the California Quail, but has no resemblance to that of the eastern Ortyx virginiana. In their crops were found the leaves of the mesquite, coleopterous insects, wild gooseberries, etc.

An egg of this species, taken by Dr. Palmer at Camp Grant, measures 1.25 inches in length by 1.00 in breadth. The ground-color is a cream white, beautifully marked with ragged spots of a deep chestnut. In shape it closely corresponds with the egg of the California Partridge.

Genus CALLIPEPLA, Wagler.

Callipepla, Wagler, Isis, 1832. (Type, Ortyx squamata, Vig.)

Gen. Char. Head with a broad, short, depressed tufted crest of soft, thick feathers springing from the vertex. Other character, as in Lophortyx. Sexes similar.

The single United States species is of a bluish tint, without any marked contrast of color. The feathers of the neck, breast, and belly have a narrow edging of black.

Callipepla squamata, Gray.
SCALED OR BLUE PARTRIDGE.

Ortyx squamatus, Vigors, Zoöl. Journ. V, 1830, 275.—Abert, Pr. A. N. Sc. III, 1847, 221. Callipepla squamata, Gray, Gen. III, 1846, 514.—M’Call, Pr. A. N. Sc. V, 1851, 222.—Cassin, Ill. I, v, 1854, 129; pl. xix.—Gould, Mon. Odont. pl. xix.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 646.—Ib. Mex. B. II, Birds, 23.—Gray, Cat. Brit. Mus. V, 1867, 78.—Heerm. X, C, 19.—Coop. Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 556. Callipepla strenua, Wagler, Isis, XXV, 1832, 278. Tetrao cristata, De la Llave, Registro trimestre, I, 1832, 144.

Sp. Char. Head with a full, broad, flattened crest of soft elongated feathers. Prevailing color plumbeous-gray, with a fine bluish cast on jugulum and nape, whitish on the belly, the central portion of which is more or less tinged with brownish; sometimes a conspicuous abdominal patch of dark rusty, the exposed surface of the wings tinged with light yellowish-brown, and very finely and almost imperceptibly mottled. Head and throat without markings, light grayish-plumbeous; throat tinged with yellowish-brown. Feathers of neck, upper part of back, and under parts generally, except on the sides and behind, with a narrow but well-defined margin of blackish, producing the effect of imbricated scales. Feathers on the sides streaked centrally with white. Inner edge of inner tertials, and tips of long feathers of the crest, whitish. Crissum rusty-white, streaked with rusty. Female similar. Length, 9.50; wing, 4.80; tail, 4.10.

Hab. Table-lands of Mexico and valley of Rio Grande of Texas. Most abundant on the high broken table-lands and mesquite plains.

9386 ♂

Callipepla squamata.

Habits. This bird was first described as a Mexican species in 1830 by Mr. Vigors. For a long while it has been an extremely rare species in collections, and its history, habits, and distribution remained unknown until the explorations of the naturalists made in the surveys under the direction of the national government. It was first noticed within the territory of the United States by Lieutenant Abert, Topographical Engineer, who, in his Report of the examination of New Mexico, furnishes several notes in relation to this species. In November, 1846, he mentions that, after having passed through Las Casas, while descending through a crooked ravine strewed with fragments of rocks, he saw several flocks of this species. They were running along with great velocity among the clumps of the kreosote plant. At the report of the gun only three or four rose up, the rest seeming to depend chiefly on their fleetness of foot. Their stomachs were found to be filled with grass-seeds and hemipterous insects.

Callipepla squamata.

Captain S. G. French, in notes quoted by Mr. Cassin, mentions meeting with these birds, in the same year, near Camargo, on the Rio Grande. At Monterey none were seen; but on the plains of Agua Nueva, a few miles south of Saltillo, they were observed in considerable numbers. He afterwards met with them on the Upper Rio Grande, in the vicinity of El Paso. Though found in the same section of country with Gambel’s Quail, they were not observed to associate together in the same flock. Their favorite resorts were sandy chaparral and mesquite bushes. Through these they ran with great swiftness, resorting only, when greatly alarmed by a sudden approach, to their wings. They were very shy, and were seldom found near habitations, though once a large covey ran through his camp in the suburbs of El Paso.

Colonel McCall (Proc. Phil. Ac. V, p. 222) mentions meeting with this species throughout an extended region, from Camargo, on the Lower Rio Grande, to Santa Fé. They were most numerous between the latter place and Doña Ana, preferring the vicinity of watercourses to interior tracts. They were wild, exceedingly watchful, and swift of foot, eluding pursuit with surprising skill, scarcely ever resorting to flight even on the open sandy ground. For the table they are said to possess, in a high degree, the requisites of plump muscle and delicate flavor.

In a subsequent sketch of this species, quoted by Mr. Cassin, the same writer gives as the habitat the entire valley of the Rio Grande,—a territory of great extent from north to south, and embracing in its stretch between the Rocky Mountains and the Gulf of Mexico every variety of climate. This entire region, not excepting even the mountain valleys covered in winter with deep snow, is inhabited by it. It was found by him from the 25th to the 38th degree of north latitude, or from below Monterey, in Mexico, along the borders of the San Juan River, as high up as the Taos and other northern branches of the Rio Grande. He also found it near the head of the Riado Creek, which rises in the Rocky Mountains and runs eastwardly to the Canadian.

Wherever found, they are always resident, proving their ability to endure great extremes of heat and cold. In swiftness of foot, no species of this family can compete with them. When running, they hold their heads high and keep the body erect, and seem to skim over the surface of the ground, their white plume erected and spread out like a fan.

On the Mexican side of the Rio Grande this species is found farther south than on the western bank, owing to the rugged character of the country. In Texas its extreme southern point is a little above Reinosa, on the first highlands on the bank.

Don Pablo de la Llave, a Mexican naturalist, states, in an account of this species (Registro Trimestre, I, p. 144, Mexico, 1832), that he attempted its domestication in vain. In confinement it was very timid, all its movements were rapid, and, although he fed his specimens for a long time each day, they seemed to become more wild and intractable. It was found by him in all the mesquite regions of Northern Mexico.

Specimens of this Partridge were taken near San Pedro, Texas, by Mr. J. H. Clark, and in New Leon, Mexico, by Lieutenant Couch. According to Mr. Clark, they are not found on the grassy prairies near the coast. He met with them on Devil’s River, in Texas, where his attention was at first directed to them by their very peculiar note, which, when first heard, suggested to him the cry of some species of squirrel. In the valley of the Lower Rio Grande he also met with these birds in companies of a dozen or more. Their food, on the prairies, appeared to be entirely insectivorous; while on the Lower Rio Grande all the specimens that were procured had their bills stained with the berries of the opuntia. They were not shy, and would rather get out of the way by running than by flying. At no time, and under no circumstances, were they known to alight in bushes or in trees. They were only known to make mere scratches in the ground for nests, and their situations were very carelessly selected. Young birds were found in June and in July.

Lieutenant Couch first met with this species about sixty leagues west of Matamoras, and not until free from the prairies and bottom-land. It was occasionally noticed, apparently associating with the Ortyx texana, to which it is very similar in habit.

Dr. Kennerly found them everywhere where there was a permanent supply of fresh water, from Limpia Creek, in Texas, to San Bernardino, in Sonora. They were met with on the mountain-sides, or on the hills among the low mesquite-bushes and barrea. They apparently rely more upon their legs than upon their wings, ascending the most precipitous cliffs or disappearing among the bushes with great rapidity.

The most western point at which Dr. Heermann observed this species was the San Pedro River, a branch of the Gila, east of Tucson. There a flock of these birds ran before him at a quick pace, with outstretched necks, heads elevated, crests erect and expanded, and soon disappeared among the thick bushes that surrounded them on all sides. After that they were seen occasionally until they arrived at Lympia Springs. Lieutenant Barton informed Dr. Heermann that he had procured this species near Fort Clark, one hundred and twenty miles west of San Antonio, where, however, it was quite rare. It was found abundantly on the open plains, often starting up before the party when passing over the most arid portions of the route. They also seemed partial to the prairie-dog villages. These, covering large tracts of ground destitute of vegetation, probably offered the attraction of some favorite insect.

Dr. Woodhouse met with this species on only one occasion, as the party was passing up the Rio Grande, at the upper end of Valleverde, on the west side of the river, on the edge of the sand-hills, feeding among the low bushes. They were exceedingly shy and quick-footed. He tried in vain to make them fly, and they evidently preferred their feet to their wings as a means of escape. He was told that they were found above Santa Fé.

Mr. Dresser found this species on the Rio Grande above Roma, and between the Rio Grande and the Nueces they were quite abundant; wherever found, they seemed to have the country to themselves to the exclusion of other species. He reports them as very difficult to shoot, for the reason that, whenever a bevy is disturbed, the birds scatter, and, running with outstretched necks and erected crests, dodge through the bushes like rabbits, so as soon to be out of reach. He has thus seen a flock of ten or fifteen disappear so entirely as to render it impossible to obtain a single one. If left undisturbed, they commence their call-note, which is not unlike the chirp of a chicken, and soon reunite. It was utterly out of the question to get them to rise, and the only way to procure specimens was to shoot them on the ground. Near the small villages in Mexico he found them very tame; and at Presidio, on the Rio Grande, he noticed them in a corral, feeding with some poultry. He did not meet with their eggs, but they were described to him, by the Mexicans, as dull white, with minute reddish spots.

The egg of the Callipepla squamata is regularly oval, being much more elongated than with any other species of this family. It measures 1.35 inches in length by .95 in breadth. Its ground-color is a creamy white, and its surface is minutely freckled with specks of a pale drab.

Genus CYRTONYX, Gould.

Cyrtonyx, Gould, Mon. Odontoph.? 1845. (Type, Ortyx massena, Lesson.)

Gen. Char. Bill very stout and robust. Head with a broad, soft occipital crest of short decumbent feathers. Tail very short, half the length of the wings, composed of soft feathers, the longest scarcely longer than the coverts; much graduated. Wings long and broad, the coverts and tertials so much enlarged as to conceal the quills. Feet robust, extending considerably beyond the tip of the tail. Claws very large, the outer lateral reaching nearly to the middle of the central anterior. The toes without the claws, however, are very short. Sexes very different.

3998 ♂ ½

Cyrtonyx massena.

This genus differs very much from its North American allies in the great development of the feathers composing the wing-coverts, the very short and soft tail, and the very short toes and long claws. It is almost worthy of forming the type of a distinct subfamily, so many and great are its peculiarities. The single North American representative is the only one of our species with round white spots on the lower surface and black ones above. A second species, C. ocellatus, is found in Southern Mexico. They may be distinguished as follows:—

Species.

C. massena. Shaft-streaks of wing-feathers yellowish-white; sides with small round white spots, medial lower parts dark maroon-chestnut. Hab. Northern Mexico, and adjacent portions of the United States, from the Upper Rio Grande and Colorado Valleys, south to Mazatlan.

C. ocellatus.[117] Shaft-streaks of wing-feathers chestnut-rufous. Sides with large rufous spots, medial lower parts bright rufous, lighter anteriorly. Hab. Southern Mexico, and Guatemala.

Cyrtonyx massena, Gould.
MASSENA PARTRIDGE.

Ortyx massena, Lesson, Cent. Zoöl. 1830, 189.—Finsch, Abh. Nat. 1870, 357 (Guadelajara). Cyrtonyx massena, Gould, Mon. Odont. 1850, 14; tab. vii.—M’Call, Pr. A. N. Sc. V, 1851, 221.—Cassin, Illust. I, I, 1853, 21, pl. xxi.—Reichenb. Syst. Av. 1850, pl. xxvii.—Baird, Birds N. A. 1858, 647.—Ib. Mex. B. II, Birds, 23.—Dresser, Ibis, 1866, 29 (Bandera Co., Texas; breeds).—Coues, P. A. N. S. 1866, 95 (Fort Whipple, Arizona).—Gray, Cat. Brit. Mus. V, 1867, 74.—Coop. Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 558. Ortyx montezumæ, Vigors, Zoöl. Jour. V, 1830, 275. Odontophorus meleagris, Wagler, Isis, XXV, 1832, 279. Tetrao guttata, De la Llave, Registro Trimestre, I, 1832, 145 (Cassin).

Sp. Char. Male. Head striped with white, black, and lead-color; chin black. Feathers above streaked centrally with whitish, those on the outer surface of the wings with two series of rounded black spots. Central line of breast and belly dark chestnut; the abdomen, thighs, and crissum black; the sides of breast and body lead-color, with round white spots. Legs blue. Length, 8.75; wing, 7.00; tail, 2.50.

Female. Prevailing color light vinaceous-cinnamon, the upper parts barred and streaked as in the male. Head without white or black stripes. Sides with a few narrow, irregular streaks of black.

Young. Somewhat similar to the adult female, but lower parts whitish, the feathers, especially on the breast, with transverse blackish spots on both webs.

Cyrtonyx massena.

Chick. Head dingy white, with a broad occipital elliptical patch of chestnut-brown, and a blackish streak behind the eye. Above rusty-brown, obscurely spotted with black; a white stripe on each side of the rump. Beneath almost uniform dull white.

Hab. Chiefly on the Upper Rio Grande from the high plains of the Pecos. Fort Whipple, Arizona; Northern Mexico, southward, on the west coast, to Mazatlan.

Habits. This Quail was first met with by Lieutenant Couch in the cañon Guyapuco, about twelve leagues south of Monterey. Though rather shy, they seemed quite at home in the cultivated fields and stubbles of the ranches. Mr. Clark first noticed the species among a flock of the Ortyx texana. Once, on flushing a covey of the latter, a bird was seen to remain behind, and showed no inclination to follow the rest. It attempted to hide in the grass, but did not fly, and, when shot, proved to be a Massena Quail. He says they occur either in pairs or in flocks, and when once flushed fly farther than the Virginia Quail, but do not lie so close. They may be approached within a few feet, and followed up, particularly when in pairs, running along before one like so many domestic fowl. They are of quiet as well as of retired habits, and a subdued though sharp note is the only noise that Mr. Clark ever heard them make, and that only when frightened. He has known them to be pursued, and all the barrels of a six-shooter fired one after another without alarming them; and they were forced to fly at last only by an attack of stones and clubs. He first met with them in the neighborhood of San Antonio, and found them thence sparsely distributed as an inhabitant both of prairies and mountains as far westward as Sonora. They are wilder than the Scaled Partridge, are less conspicuous and noisy, and are never seen in flocks, or, like the latter, living about old camps. Their haunts are generally far removed from the habitations of man, and the indifference they sometimes manifest to his presence seems to be due to ignorance of the danger from the power of that enemy. Though distributed over the same country as the C. squamata, they are never found in such barren regions, always seeming to prefer the districts most luxuriantly covered with vegetation.

Dr. C. B. R. Kennerly states that this bird was never seen farther south in Texas than Turkey Creek. In that vicinity it was very common, and it also occurred at various points thence to the Rio Grande. In the valley of this river it was very rarely seen, giving way apparently to the Scaly and to Gambel’s Partridge. West of the river it was very common, as far as the party travelled, wherever there was a permanent supply of fresh water. In the valley of the Santa Cruz River and among the adjacent hills it was extremely abundant. In the months of June and July it was observed there always in pairs, while in Texas, in the months of October and November, it was found in very large flocks, sometimes of various ages, from the very small and partly fledged to the full-grown bird. When hunted, they hide very closely in the grass, and Dr. Kennerly has often known the Mexican soldiers in Sonora kill them with their lances by striking them either while on the ground or just as they rise. Some of these men were very expert in the business, and obtained a good many in the course of a day’s travel.

Dr. Woodhouse met with this species a few miles above the head of the Rio San Pedro, where he secured a single specimen. He was informed by Captain S. G. French that when he first passed over exactly the same route in 1849, he met with a number of them in different localities,—at the head of San Pedro, Howard Springs, and also at Eagle Springs,—showing evidently that they have a range over the country lying between the Rio Grande and the San Pedro Rivers. He also stated that he had never met with any near the settlements, but always among the wild, rocky, and almost barren hills of that country. They are more sociable and not so shy as the other species of this family. Their food appears to be principally insects.

Mr. Dresser states that this bird is locally known as the Black Partridge. For some time he sought for it near San Antonio without success, but ultimately found it, in November, among the Bandera Hills. In its habits he states it is more like the Texan Quail than any other; but on the wing it is easily distinguished, it flies so heavily, though very swiftly. When disturbed, they squat very close, and will not move until approached very closely, when they generally rise up from under one’s feet. He did not meet with this Quail in any other part of Texas than Bandera County, but was told that it is abundant in the hilly country at the head of the Leona, and that it is also found near Laredo.

In some remarks on the birds of Western Texas, published in the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy in 1851, Colonel McCall gives the first information to the public touching the habits of this interesting species. We learn from his narrative that it was not met with by him before crossing the San Pedro River, but that it was soon after seen in the rocky regions into which he then entered; and thence as far as the Rio Pecos, a distance of one hundred and forty miles westwardly, it was frequently seen, though it was not anywhere very common. This entire region is a desert of great extent, north and south; the general face of the country is level, and produces nothing but a sparse growth of sand-plants. Water was found only at long intervals, and except at such points there was apparently neither food nor cover. There, among projecting rocks or the borders of dry gullies, or in loose scrub, this bird was met with by Colonel McCall.

The habits of this species appeared to him to be different from those of any other kind of Partridge he had ever met with. They were in coveys of from eight to twelve individuals, and appeared to be simple and affectionate in disposition. In feeding they separated but little, keeping up all the while a social cluck. They were so gentle as to evince little or no alarm on the approach of man, hardly moving out of the way as they passed, and only running off or flying a few yards, even when half their number had been shot. Colonel McCall was of the opinion that they might, with very little difficulty, be domesticated, though naturally inhabiting a barren waste nowhere near the habitation of man. The call-note is spoken of as very peculiar. The bird was not seen by his party after crossing the Pecos River. Mr. Gould, without any information in regard to the habits or economy of this species, in his Monograph of American Partridges, judging from the comparative shortness of the toes and the great development of the claws, ventured the opinion that the habits would be found very different from those of other members of the family, which opinion is thus confirmed. Mr. Cassin thought he could trace in the circular spots, numerous in the lower part of the body, an analogy in character to the Guinea-fowls, which is further shown by their habit of continually uttering their notes as they feed, and by other similarity in their manners.

Captain S. G. French, cited by Mr. Cassin, mentions meeting with this Partridge in the summer of 1846, when crossing the table-lands that extend westwardly from San Antonio, in Texas, to New Mexico. On the sides of a high rocky mountain near the summit, he observed several of them only a few feet in advance of him. They were running along over the fragments of rocks and through the dwarf bushes which grew wherever there was sufficient soil. He was attracted by their handsome plumage and their extreme gentleness. A few days after, when encamped on the headwaters of the river, he again met with a covey, and from that point occasionally encountered them on the route to the Pecos River, a distance of over a hundred miles. He did not meet with them again until he came to Eagle Springs, in a mountainous region about twenty-five miles from the Rio Grande. In the spring of 1851, on the same route, he saw only two of these birds, and was led to the belief that they are not at all numerous. They appeared to inhabit the rocky sides of the mountains and hills, in the desolate region of elevated plains west of the fertile portions of Texas. In no instance did he meet with any of these birds near the settlements. Wild and rocky hillsides seemed to be their favorite resort, where trees were almost unknown and all vegetation was very scant. The coveys showed but little alarm on being approached, and ran along over the rocks, occasionally attempting to secrete themselves beneath them. In this case they could be approached to within a few feet. When startled by the firing of a gun, they fly but a few yards before again alighting, and exhibit but little of that wildness peculiar to all the other species of Partridge. The contents of the crop in Captain French’s specimens consisted exclusively of fragments of insects, principally grasshoppers. No trace whatever of food of a vegetable character was found.

Don Pablo de la Llave, quoted by Mr. Cassin, furnishes the following account of the habits of this Partridge, observed by him in specimens taken near the city of Mexico.

“It is only a few days since the third species has been brought to me. It is rather smaller than the former (C. squamata), and its deportment is entirely different. It carries its head habitually resting on its shoulders, the neck being excessively small and deflexed, and in everything it shows an amiability, and, so to speak, kindness of character (una bondad de caracter), which is not found in any other species of this genus, and it is naturally so tame and domestic as to permit itself to be caught with the hand. These birds are always united, forming a covey, and whenever one is separated the others follow it. They do not, like others, wish to sleep on elevated places, but sit on the ground, drawing very near together. Their notes, which are not varied, are very low and soft, and I have never heard loud cries from the male. When they are frightened they show much activity and swiftness; at other times their gait and movement are habitually slow and deliberate, carrying the crest puffed up (espayada).”