OF NEW ENGLAND. 393 



more kinds, which often render their flesh unwholesome and 

 poisonous. As spring opens, the}' often eat the buds of apple- 

 trees and birches, of both of which they are pai'ticularly fond. 

 They are able to endure an excessive degree of cold, and, so 

 long as they can find sufficient food, they do not apparently 

 suffer from severe winters ; but some perish, like the Quail, 

 from being caught beneath the crust of the snow, under which, 

 as it falls, they frequently lie, contrary to their habit of roost- 

 ing in trees. 



The flight of the Ruffed Grouse, when well under way, is 

 very rapid, and undoubtedly these birds sometimes accomplish 

 even the first forty yards of their flight in a second. They 

 usually rise rather slowly, especially in thick woods, and at 

 first afford an easy mark, unless late in the season, when, with 

 a clear path, they go off with great speed. Having reached the 

 level of the tree-tops, a few yards suffice for headway, and the 

 latter part of their flight, extended sometimes to several hun- 

 dred yards, is usually made with very little motion of the 

 wings. 



(d). The ordinary note of the "Partridges" are a c/mcfc or 

 clucking, and the whining call of the hen to her young. 



§ 31. Perdicidse. Partridges. (See § 29.) 

 I. ORTYX 



(A) viRGiNiANus. Quail. Partridge. '■'• Boh White." 

 (In south-eastern New England, a common resident.) 

 (a). About nine inches long. <? , with the crown-feathers 

 somewhat erectile. Chief tint, reddish or chestnut-brown, some- 

 what restricted on the head, wanting on the tail and middle of 

 the under parts, but becoming chestnut-red on the sides. Head, 

 with much black, but with the throat, forehead, superciliary 

 line, and edging of the lower feathers, white. Upper parts 

 marked with black, gray, and tawny. Tail gray, scarcely 

 marked ; quills browner, slightly mottled with tawny. Breast, 

 etc., waved or barred with black ; belly, chiefly white, and less 

 marked. 9 , with tints less bright, etc. ; the throat, etc., buflT. 

 (6). The nest is not unlike that of the Ruffed Grouse, but 



