Color—Male—Plume straight, upright feathers about an inch and a quarter to an inch and a half in length, varying in color—possibly on account of age—from a light lemon to a dark reddish orange. The throat is finely mottled with small black and white dots, giving it a dark gray appearance. The general color of the back and the wing and tail coverts is a dark blue with about half of the exposed portion of each feather tipped with a bright, rich brown. The breast and abdomen is a light, ashy blue, profusely flecked with large, circular white spots.
Female—The plume is about two-thirds the length of that of the male, brown in color and barred with black. The breast and abdomen are spotted like the male but the back is much the color of the English snipe.
Nest and Eggs—The same as the other species of the blue quail.
Measurements—Same as the valley quail.
| MASSENA QUAIL (Cyrtonyx montezuma) |
THE MASSENA OR MONTEZUMA QUAIL
(Cyrtonyx Montezuma)
The Massena, or Montezuma quail, is a distinct genus from the blue quail family. In many respects it resembles the bobwhite in color, though far more fancifully marked. It is also nearly one-half larger, though in some parts of Arizona and in New Mexico there is a smaller species of the same genus known as fool quail. The Mexican bird is far from a fool, and although it roosts on the ground like the bobwhite, it is resourceful enough to take care of itself in a country where vermin of all kinds are very plentiful. Its range is from near the northern boundary south through the larger portion of Mexico.