BOB IVJJJTE. 97 



have dropped from the ears are crushed by their 

 short, stout bills, and they fill out their daily bill of 

 fare with grubs and insects. 



The wings of a Quail, though strong, are short in 

 comparison with the weight of his body. They are 

 also somewhat concave, like the inner side of a watch 

 crystal, so that when the bird flies the rapid strokes 

 and the shape of the wing make a loud whirring 

 sound. 



Quails are not as common as they once were. Too 

 many of them, instead of wandering about the pas- 

 tures, hang in the markets, their pretty feathers soiled 

 and a little stain of bloo^ telling the story of their 

 death ; but if the extermination were to become com- 

 plete, the only ones to be benefited w^ould be such real 

 enemies to Qur crops as the potato beetle and the cut- 

 worm. In Wisconsin they were brought back by a 

 state law, as song birds were said to be in Killing- 

 worth. 



