ARIZONA SCALED QUAIL 57 



delightful little Cotton-tops go about in small flocks, visiting water holes and 

 river bottoms. Picking up insects, seeds, and berries as they go, they wander 

 through brushy arroyas, over juniper-clad foothills, cactus flats, and sage- 

 brush or mesquite plains, calling to each other with a nasal pay-cos, pay-cos, 

 which by long association comes to take on the charm attaching both to the 

 gentle-eyed birds themselves and to the fascinating arid land in which they 

 make their homes. 



Game — Hunting the blue quail will never figure as one of the 

 major sports, although it is a gamy bird and makes a delicious and 

 plump morsel for the table. The birds are widely scattered over a 

 vast expanse of rough country, on desert plains covered with thorny 

 underbrush, or on stony or rocky foothills where walking is difficult 

 and slow. The hunter must be prepared to do some long, hard 

 tramping, for he is more likely to count the number of miles to a bird 

 than the number of birds to a mile. A dog is useless, for these quail 

 have not yet acquired the habit of lying to a dog. Eastern quail 

 have learned to lie close, a good way to hide from human enemies 

 but a very poor way to escape from the many predatory animals in 

 the West. Scaled quail are shier than Gambel's quail and are gen- 

 erally first seen in the distance running rapidly and dodging around 

 among the bushes. They run faster than a man can walk, and the 

 hunter must make fast progress over the rough ground to catch up 

 with them. By the time he gets within range he will be nearly out 

 of breath and will have to take a quick snap shot at a fleeting glimpse 

 of a small gray bird dodging between bushes. This is far more 

 difficult, under the circumstances, than wing shooting and can not be 

 considered pot shooting. Sometimes, when a large covey has been 

 scattered and rattled, the hunter may surprise single birds and get 

 an occasional wing shot; but they are apt to jump from most unex- 

 pected places, ahead of or behind the hunter, and give him a difficult 

 shot. Late in the season they are often found in large packs of 

 100 or 200 birds, when the chances for good sport are better. Even 

 then the hunter may well feel proud of a hard-earned bag. 



DISTRIBUTION 



Range. — The Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. 

 Nonmigratory. 



The scaled quail is found north, to southern Arizona (Picacho, Rice, 

 and Clifton) ; northern New Mexico (Haynes and the Taos Moun- 

 tains) ; east-central Colorado (Mattison and Holly) ; and northeast- 

 ern Texas (Lipscomb). East to Texas (Lipscomb, Mobeetie, Colo- 

 rado, San Angelo, Fredericksburg, San Diego, Fulfurrias, and 

 Brownsville) ; Tamaulipas (San Fernando) ; and San Luis Potosi 

 (Ahualulco). South to San Luis Potosi (Ahualulco and Ramos); 



