26 BULLETIN 16 2, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



the farther shore in an exhausted condition. H. D. Minot (1877) 

 says: 



In Delaware and Maryland, however, coveys of Quail often appear, who 

 are distinctively called by the sportsmen there " runners." On the western 

 side of the Chesapeake, an old sportsman assured me that covey after covey 

 passed through the country, where food and shelter were abundant, crossing 

 the peninsula on foot, but often perishing by the wholesale in attempting 

 to pass the wider inlets, and he added in proof of this that he had taken 

 as many as forty at a time from the middle of the river near his house. 



But everywhere quail become very restless in fall and are much 

 given to erratic wandering from no apparent cause. They are less 

 crazy in this respect than ruffed grouse ; I have never known them to 

 fly against buildings and be killed; but I have frequently seen them 

 in my yard and garden in the center of the city. Mr. Butler (1898) 

 says that " they are found in trees and among the shrubbery in gar- 

 dens, in outbuildings, and among lumber piles. I have seen them in 

 the cellar window-boxes and over the transoms of the front doors of 

 the houses." These wanderings may be due to a latent migratory 

 instinct. 



Game. — Everything taken into consideration, the quail, partridge, 

 or bobwhite is undoubtedly the most universally popular of all North 

 American game birds, in spite of the fact that man}' sportsmen con- 

 sider the ruffed grouse the prince of game birds. The sophisticated 

 grouse may be the more difficult bird to bag, but the quail, with its 

 southern subspecies, has a much wider distribution, nearer to the 

 haunts of man, is generally more numerous and more prolific, lies 

 better to the dog, flies swiftly enough to make good marksmanship 

 necessary, and is an equally delicious morsel for the table. 



One who has never tried it can hardly appreciate the joy and the 

 thrills of a day in the field, with a congenial companion and a brace 

 of well-trained bird dogs, in pursuit of this wonderful game bird. 

 The keen, sparkling October air and the vigorous exercise stimulate 

 both body and mind. The tired business man breathes more freely 

 as he starts out from the old farmhouse across the fields for his holi- 

 day with the birds. On a frosty morning, when the grass and herb- 

 age are sparkling white with hoarfrost, it is well not to start too 

 early, as quail are not early risers and do not like to get their feet 

 and plumage wet. But when the sun is well up it is time to look 

 for them, for they may be traveling along some brushy old fence 

 toward their favorite buckwheat stubble, one of the best places to 

 find them. When you reach the field where the birds are expected to 

 be found, the most interesting part of the sport begins; the intelli- 

 gent dogs have learned to quarter the ground thoroughly and hunt 

 in every likely spot where their bird sense leads them; excitement 

 becomes intense, as they show by their careful movements that they 



