20 BULLETIN 162, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



thimble berries, blackberries, wild strawberries, rose hips, wild apples, 

 cherries, poison ivy, sumacs, holly, black alder, bittersweet, frost 

 grapes, blueberries, huckleberries, elderberries, viburnums, honey- 

 suckle, partridgeberry, and woodbine. Wherever the foregoing 

 plants are cultivated or allowed to grow in profusion, bobwhites will 

 find abundant food all through the year and will be encouraged to 

 remain, with profit to the farmer and joy to the sportsman. 



The more important items of insect food have been mentioned 

 above. From 35 to 46 per cent of the summer food of adults con- 

 sists of insects, but the young chicks eat a much larger proportion of 

 this food. Small beetles of various kinds, weevils, small grasshop- 

 pers, caterpillars, ants, stink bugs, spiders, and thousand legs have 

 been identified in the food of small chicks. 



Behavior. — When a flock of quail suddenly bursts into the air from 

 almost underfoot the effect is startling and gives the impression of 

 great strength and speed. They have been referred to as feathered 

 bombshells. Such sudden flights of a whole bevy in unison are due to 

 the fact that they have crouched, trusting to their wonderful powers 

 of concealment, until the very last moment, when they are forced to 

 make a quick get-away. From their crouching attitude they are in 

 position to make a strong spring into the air, giving them a good start, 

 which their short but powerful wings continue in a burst of speed. 

 Such bombshell flights are the rule when the birds are feeding in 

 close formation, or when suddenly disturbed in their roosting circles. 

 At other times their flight is much less startling but often quite as 

 swift. I have often seen a single quail, or a pair or two, rise and fly 

 away as softly and as silently as any other bird, when not alarmed. 

 Their flight is not long protracted and generally ends by scaling down 

 on set wings into the nearest cover. In settling, a flock usually 

 scatters, to be joined together later by the gather call. Often single 

 birds and sometimes a whole flock will alight in a tree, if alarmed. 

 When leaving the tree their flight is silent and usually scaling down- 

 ward. That they are not capable of long flights is shown by the fact 

 that they become very much exhausted in flying across wide rivers 

 and have even been known to drop into the water in attempting such 

 flights. 



Stoddard (1931) made a number of tests to determine the speed of 

 bobwhites in flight. " These showed a speed for mature birds rang- 

 ing from 28 to 38 miles an hour. It seems fair to estimate that the 

 sportsman's hurtling mark sometimes exceeds 40 miles an hour, and 

 birds just ahead of ' blue darters ' are believed to go even faster for 

 short distances." 



Quail do much of their traveling on foot, and they are great 

 travelers. They cover considerable ground in a day's routine, and 



