EASTEBN BOBWHITE 25 



wing after the enemy has been decoyed from the vicinity of the brood. Thou- 

 sands of chicks must be saved yearly by this cleverly executed ruse, in which 

 parents and chicks display perfect teamwork, even before the latter are a day 

 old. 



The alarm note is started " as soon as the chicks have scattered 

 and hidden or the parents have failed to decoy an intruder away. 

 It consists of a monotonous t-o-i-l — ick, ick, ick, ick; t-o-i-l — ick, ick, 

 ick, t-o-i-l-i-c, t-o-i-l-i-c, t-u-e-l-i-c-k ; or t-o-i-l-i-c, ip, ip, ip, tic, tic, 

 tic, t-u-e-l-i-c, t-u-e-l-i-c, ick, ip, etc., uttered with machinelike regu- 

 larity for a time, or as long as danger appears to be imminent." 



He also mentions a distress call, a " piteous whistled c-i-e-u, c-i-e-u, 

 uttered loudly and as rapidly as the mouth can open and close," 

 given as old or young birds are captured ; also a " cheeping " or 

 cackling call of the developing chick, referred to as the " flicker call." 

 Then there is the " battle cry," of the unmated cocks, a harsh, scream- 

 ing note, uttered in flight; the food call, " a soft, clucking cu, cu, cu, 

 cu-, and a variety of soft conversational notes." 



Fall. — When fall comes the bobwhite becomes a quail. Its habits 

 change entirely, as it forsakes the haunts of man and becomes a 

 wild bird. It is no longer a sociable and trusting friend of human 

 beings, so it resorts to the fields and woods, where it can find shelter 

 in the brushy tangles. It travels now in coveys made up of family 

 parties or in larger flocks of more than one family. 



Quail are not supposed to be migratory, in the usual sense of the 

 word, and in many sections, New England, for instance, I believe 

 that they are practically sedentary throughout the year. In some 

 sections, however, they seem to perform short migrations to better 

 feeding grounds, or perhaps to escape adverse winter conditions. 

 Audubon (1840) writes: 



This species performs occasional migrations from the north-west to the south- 

 east, usually in the beginning of October, and somewhat in the manner of the 

 Wild Turkey. For a few weeks at this season, the north-western shores of the 

 Ohio are covered with flocks of Partridges. They ramble through the woods 

 along the margin of the stream, and generally fly across towards evening. 

 Like the Turkeys, many of the weaker Partridges often fall into the water, 

 while thus attempting to cross, and generally perish ; for although they swim 

 surprisingly, they have not muscular power sufficient to keep up a protracted 

 struggle, although, when they have fallen within a few yards of the shore, they 

 easily escape being drowned. As soon as the Partridges have crossed the prin- 

 cipal streams in their way, they disperse in flocks over the country, and return 

 to their ordinary mode of life. 



This habit is also mentioned by Amos W. Butler (1898), who says 

 that in Indiana they desert the uplands in fall and congregate in 

 large numbers in the Ohio River bottoms; many attempt to cross 

 the river into Kentucky ; some perish in the attempt and others reach 



