STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 127 



houses. The ground dove, a very small kind, has not j^et been observed 

 north of Fort Yuma. 



The birds of the gallinaceous order, like the common fowls, have about 

 seven species in California, but there may be others toward the north 

 not y€^t observed within our limits. The blue grouse, confined to northern 

 and lofty mountains, can take pretty good care of itself, but ouglit to 

 be carefully protected during the bi*eeding season by game laws, \o pre- 

 vent its extermination in settlements. It is doubtful whether it can be 

 domesticated, though we have heard of no experiments in that way. 



The sage fowl, found onl}'- in the eastern part of this [State, east of the 

 Sierra Nevada, is worthy of careful attempts to domesticate, as the male 

 bird grows nearly as large as the turkey, and is excellent food, where it 

 does not live on the wild sage, or artemisia. 



The sharp-tailed grouse, or prairie chicken, inhabits only the north- 

 eastern corner of this State, and we look with much interest for its suc- 

 cessful naturalization in the valleys. This is already begun in Napa 

 Valley, according to a late newspaper, and from the nature of the regions 

 it inliabits elsewhere we can see no reason why it should not succeed. 



Tlie western ruffled grouse, or "partridge" of some settlers, and 

 "pheasant" of others, does not seem to come far into California, though 

 very common in Western Oregon. 



We have three beautiful species of quails, inhabiting respectively the 

 mountains, western valle3^s, and Colorado Valley, all of which flourish 

 around farms and do no damage, while they furnish excellent amusement 

 to the sportsman and delicate food. They deserve careful protection 

 during the breeding season, and will often become so tame as to come 

 and feed with the barnyard fowls. 



The cranes and herons form a link between land and water birds, and 

 are represented in California by ten species, which live chiefly on fish, 

 but also destroy reptiles, mice, etc., the sandhill crane also eating some 

 kinds of vegetables, and frequenting dry lands more than the others, 

 where it lives chiefly on grasshoppers in summer. The smaller veaders, 

 such as plovers, snipes, sandpi2:)ers, curlew, rails, etc., have nearly forty 

 representatives in this State, of which nearl}^ half are confined to the 

 sea shores. They are of little interest to farmers, except as game, and 

 the few kind that frequent dry lands feed chiefly on insects. Most of 

 these visit us only in the wet season. Our Aveb-footed birds number 

 over eighty species, of which most are confined to the ocean or its vicinity. 

 Those most interesting to farmers are two species of sAvan,four of geese, 

 three of brant, and twenty-five of duck — teal, sheldrake, etc. Most of 

 them are excellent as food, and none injurious except the flocks of geese, 

 which destroy some wheat in the spring. Judging from the rapidity 

 with '.vhich they are being exterminated, it will not be many years before 

 they will be scarce enough to satisfy the most economical farmer. 



It is imjDOSsible to point out to those unaquainted with their scientific 

 namCs, the kinds most worthy of collection among our birds; many of 

 those enumerated among our three hundred and fiftj' species having no 

 popular or even fixed English name. But besides those before mentioned, 

 all swallows perfectly black, or only black and white, the nighthawks of 

 various districts, small fly-catchers, warblers, wrens, snipes, and sand- 

 pipers, from their summer resorts with their nests and eggs; petrels, puf- 

 fins, terns, and loons or grebes, from their breeding places, are most 

 likely to prove new or rare. At any rate their nests and eggs, together 

 with those before mentioned, provided the species of bird is correctly 

 known, can scarcely fail to be of great interest, together with informa- 



