MOUNTAIN QUAIL. 



41 



synonymy and leaves the bird of the humid coast belt without a name, 

 for which Doctor Oberholser has proposed the name Oreortyx picta 

 palmeri, in honor of Dr. T. S. Palmer, who had reached the same 

 conclusion some years ago. The range of this race is restricted to 

 the humid Transition Zone of the Pacific coast, from southwestern 

 Washington south to Monterey County, Calif. 



J. H. Bowles (Dawson and Bowles, 19-09) says of the status of this 

 quail in the State of Washington: 



The Mountain Quail, as it is generally called, and its close relative, the 

 Plumed Quail, are neither of them native to Washington, several crates of 

 living birds having been imported from California between the years 1880 

 and 1890. So kindly did they take to the conditions they found here, that, at 

 the end of a long season of protection imposed by law, they fairly swarmed 

 in suitable localities. But what a change a few years of persecution have 

 wrought ! Where formerly a dozen large coveys could be found within a small 

 area, only an occasional solitary bird, rarely a pair, is now left of this gem 

 among our upland birds. The entire blame cannot be laid at the door of the 

 .sportsman, altho modern rapid-fire guns have played their part. By far the 

 worst havoc has been wrought by the treacherous nets, snares, and traps of 

 all descriptions, which unscrupulous persons set in defiance of law. Too lazy 

 to hunt, these human vermin catch the poor birds alive and wring their necks. 

 Before close association with mankind had proved so fatal a mistake, these 

 partridges were among the tamest and most confiding of birds. Utterly un- 

 suspicious of danger, they would run into the yard and eat with the farmer's 

 hens, paying little attention to any passing human being. When flushed from 

 their haunts in the woods, the whole covey would merely fly into the nearest 

 bushes and trees. Now all is changed, for the " fittest " survivors have inherited 

 the knowledge that mankind is their deadliest enemy. 



He described its haunts as follows: 



Somewhat inclined to high altitudes, as their name implies, the favorite 

 localities for these birds are the large areas in our forests that have been 

 cleared of standing timber. In the course of a year or two these " burns," as 

 they are called, become over-grown with huckle-berry, salal, and occasionally a 

 dense growth of the wild sweet pea. Here is food in abundance at all sea- 

 sons; for in summer the decayed mold of the fallen trees contains grubs and 

 insects galore as change from fall and winter diet of berries and seeds. Tell- 

 tale hollows in the soft dry earth, sprinkled with a feather or two, speak of 

 luxurious dust-baths, and a net-work of three-toed tracks in a neighboring wood- 

 road shows where the band has taken its morning constitutional. 



Nesting. — Major Benclire (1892) gives the following account of the 

 nesting habits of this subspecies: 



Nidiflcation commences about the middle of May, and ordinarily but one 

 brood is raised. The nest is placed on the ground, alongside or under an 

 old log, or on side hills under thick bushes and clumps of ferns, occasionally 

 along the edges of clearings, grain fields, or meadows. A nest found May 27, 

 1877, near Coquille, Oregon, containing six fresh eggs, was well concealed 

 under a bunch of tall ferns, in a tract of timber killed by a forest fire. 

 Another, taken in Ukiah Valley, Mendocino County, California, June 2, 1883, 

 by Mr. C. Purdy, contained twelve fresh eggs. This nest was found under 



