Valley Qliail {/^ophortyx califontica calif uniica) 



Range. — I'acific coast rcgicjii trum ^oiitlnvc^tirii ( )regoii south to Monterey 

 County, California; introduced mU) X'ancouver Island, Washington, and Colo- 

 rado. 



The two f(jrnis of (|uail inhabiting the coast and valley regi<jns of Oregon 

 and California, though differing enough in i)lumage to constitute races, are very 

 similar in habits- As its name imj)lies, the bird prefers valleys to movnitains, 

 although it may range ui)\vard as high as four thousand feet, at about which 

 point it meets the habitat of its larger relative, the mountain quail. The valley 

 quail is widely distributed, and being very i)rolitic, it is, or was, exceedingly 

 abundant over most of its range. ICastern sportsmen, knowing only our Bob- 

 white, would find it dithcult U) credit tales that might be told of the numbers 

 of valley qiiail that formerly congregated in favorable localities. Flocks of over 

 two hundred were common enough, but in the late seventies and eighties I have 

 occasionally seen several thousand assembled together near water. When flushed, 

 successive bands of hundreds rose simultaneously with an extraordinary whir 

 of wings, and the air was filled with their flying forms- Such sights are of the 

 past, although the valley quail is still numerous in many regions. It is on good 

 terms with civilization and is prone to frequent cultivated tracts, especially vine- 

 yards and gardens, even on the outskirts of populous towns. Its fondness for 

 grapes does not endear it to the vine grower, and he often has to resort to 

 extreme measures to protect the bunches of ripe fruit which probably furnish 

 the quail not with food but with water, for this quail discovered the virtues of 

 grape juice long before it was put on the market. 



Baby Birds 



By Archibald Rutledge, Jr. 



TF.X VF..\RS OI'" AGE 



Baby birds are in the nest. 

 In the cast and in the west ; 

 Now the sun is going down 

 In her red and yellow gown. 



When morning breaks with rosy light, 

 So very different from the night ; 

 When clouds are sailing overhead, 

 .\nd when the baby birds are fed, 



The mother bird begins to try 

 To teach the little birds to fly. 

 And then at last they fly away. 

 They venture further every day 



935 



