The Song Sparrow is described on [page 106], the White-throat on [page 154], the Purple Finch on [Page 159], the Goldfinch on [page 216].
THE BOBWHITE OR QUAIL
American Partridge Family—Odontophoridæ
Length: About 10 inches; the same length as the robin, but the quail has a stouter body and a shorter tail.
General Appearance: A plump, mottled brown bird, with a small head, short bill, and short tail.
Male: Upper parts reddish-brown and chestnut-brown, mottled with black, gray, and buff; head slightly crested; forehead and line above eye white, line extending to neck; black patch below eye, that curves to enclose white throat and forms a band below it; under parts whitish, barred with black, except upper part of breast which is reddish-brown; tail short, gray, mottled with buff and a few black flecks.
Female: Similar to male, except for buff patch over eye and buff throat, and less black on head, neck, and across breast. In summer, the crown of both sexes is darker than in winter; the buff markings are lighter in color.
Note: Bob-white? Bob-bob-white? A very clear, sweet, musical whistle.
Habitat: Grassy meadows and cultivated fields; farmyards, thickets, and swamps during the winter.
Range: Eastern North America, from southern Canada to the Gulf Coast and northern Florida and west to eastern Colorado. Usually a resident.
In Florida, except in the north, is found the FLORIDA BOBWHITE, a smaller and darker species. A quail is called a partridge in the south. The CALIFORNIA QUAIL, one of several western species, is very different in appearance from the eastern quail. It has a nodding plume on its head and is largely black, white, and brownish-gray.
BOB-WHITE
No birds of my acquaintance, unless it be bluebirds, goldfinches, chickadees, and thrushes, seem so lovable, so interesting, and so altogether desirable as quail. Our summer meadows would lose much of their charm without the cheery “Bob White” ringing across them.
The character of human beings is shown in their voices; that of birds seems likewise revealed. The note of the quail breathes sweetness, tenderness, joy in life, and deep contentment. Unless need of food compels it, the killing of these nearly human creatures seems to me like the “Slaughter of the Innocents.”
Few birds are so devoted to their mates or to their young as the quail. Many human parents are less alive to parental responsibilities. It is a well-known fact that while Mother Quail is sitting upon her second nestful of a dozen or more eggs, Father Bob assumes the entire care of the large, restless, older brood.
Most birds love their mates and their young, but quail seem to have affection for their brothers and sisters, also. The parents and the two broods sometimes remain together during the winter. When one member of the family is lost, the others give their tender covey-call, to lure home the prodigal. There are few sweeter sounds in nature. Mr. Forbush says: “When the broods are scattered by the gunner, they are reassembled again by a whistled call of the old bird, which has been given, ‘ka-loi-kee, ka-loi-kee,’ and is answered by the whistled repeated response, ‘whoil-kee.’ The syllables almost run together. The first call is uttered with a rising and the other with a falling inflection. It is plainly the rallying call and the answering cry.”[23]
Dallas Lore Sharp, in his charming book “Wild Life Near Home,” refers to the covey-call as follows: “It was the sweetest bird-note I ever heard, being so low, so liquid, so mellow that I almost doubted if Bob White could make it. But there she stood in the snow with head high, listening anxiously. Again she whistled, louder this time; and from the woods below came a faint answering call, White! The answer seemed to break a spell; and on three sides of me sounded other calls. At this the little signaler repeated her efforts, and each time the answers came louder and nearer. Presently something dark hurried by me over the snow and joined the quail I was watching. It was one of the covey I had heard call from the woods.