EASTERN BOBWHITE 27 



have scented game; and, finally, the sudden stop and the rigid pose, 

 with nose pointed toward the birds, bring the climax, as the sports- 

 men step up and the covey bursts into the air with a whir of wings. 

 A good shot may bag two or even three birds on the first rise ; I have 

 seen men that boasted of stopping as many as five with an automatic 

 repeater, but I have never seen one do it ; and I have seen many clean 

 misses. The rest of the covey have flown straight to the nearest 

 cover, perhaps scattered in several directions, some into a patch of 

 scrub oaks on a hillside, some into the tangled underbrush in a 

 swampy hollow, and others into the nearest woodlot. The men 

 should mark them down, but had better leave them for a while until 

 they begin to run about and leave a little scent ; otherwise they will 

 be very hard to find. Picking up these scattered singles is hard 

 enough at best; it requires good work on the part of the dogs and 

 gives the hunter many difficult shots in unexpected places. The man 

 that can put two quail in his pocket for every four shells fired is a 

 good shot. 



Perhaps the birds have not been found in the buckwheat stubble. 

 Each covey has several feeding places and it is necessary to cover 

 considerable ground, hunting the wheat, rye, oat, and corn stubbles, 

 especially if overgrown with ragweed or other weeds, as well as any 

 other old neglected fields and weed patches where the birds can find 

 food and shelter. Sometimes the dogs will show signs of game in a 

 likely spot but fail to find the birds; quail often make short flights 

 from one field to another, thus breaking the scent. Sometimes a 

 flushed covey will be marked down very carefully in a fairly open 

 field and be immediately followed up; but a careful search by ex- 

 perienced men and good dogs will fail to reveal the presence of a 

 single bird. This has caused much controversy as to the power of 

 quail to withhold their scent. The explanation probably is that the 

 rapid passage through the air dissipates most of the scent from the 

 plumage ; the birds, being frightened, crouch low on the ground with 

 feathers closely pressed against the body, shutting in body odors; 

 and as they have not run any there is no foot scent. It has often 

 happened that, in a later search over the same ground, after the 

 birds have begun to run about, they have been readily found. There 

 has been no willful or even conscious withholding of scent. 



For about four hours during the middle of the day, quail retire 

 from their feeding grounds for their noonday rest. The hunters 

 may as well do likewise, until the birds come out to feed again 

 about two hours before sunset. The hours of waning daylight often 

 furnish some of the best and most interesting shooting ; the scattered 

 covey is anxious to get together before roosting time; and the 

 hunters get the final thrills of the day as they hear the sweet, 



