Scaled Qliail U (///'>f/>/(7 squamata SijKuiiuiUi ) 



Range. — From central Arizona to western I'exas, north to southern Colo- 

 rado and over most of the I'anhandk- of Texas, east nearly to central Texas, 

 and south to the Valley of Mexico. 



The cottontop, as the scaled (|uail has been dubbed from its conspicuous 

 whitish crest, has a restricted range in the United States along our southern 

 border. The country it frequents is dry and barren, and chaparral and mesquite 

 form its favorite cover. On account of the dry nature of quails' food they are 

 greatly dependent upon water, and hence the presence of large numbers of 

 cottontops may be taken as a i)retty sure indication that a stream or watcrhole 

 is not far away. Western (|uail of whatever species have learned to trust to their 

 legs rather than their wings to carry them out of harm's way, and the cottontop 

 forms no exception to the rule. When alarmed, a bevy will scatter hither and 

 yon among the rocks or brush, to come together again when the supposed danger 

 is past. When hard pressed it is an adept at close hiding. The bluish gray 

 plumage of the cottontop harmonizes well with its usual surroundings and no 

 Joubt the confidence the bird reposes in its protective coloration is justified by 

 long experience. Protected by the remoteness of its desert home this quail 

 should long survive the fate of some of its less fortunate relatives, though the 

 automobile, with its power to annihilate distance, is a new danger which it has 

 yet to meet. 



The habits of the chestnut-bellied scaled quail arc so similar to those of ihe 

 present species as not to call for separate mention. The bird ranges from the 

 lower Rio Grande X'alley in Texas to Coahuila and Xuevo Leon, Mexico. 



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