16 BULLETIN 162, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



is more likely to trample the life out of the youngsters than to catch one. 

 But if he hide in patience, he may see the old hen return, mark her cautiously 

 stealing to the spot, and hear her low musical twitter which tells that the peril 

 has passed. Then from the scant tuft here, from the drooping leaf yonder, 

 apparently from the bare ground over which his eyes have roved a dozen times, 

 will arise active balls of pretty down until the spot appears to swarm with 

 them. And the devoted mother will whisper soft greetings to each, and in some 

 mysterious manner will make the correct count, and then with nervous care 

 shepherd them forward to where there is safer cover. And they will troop 

 after her in perfect confidence, to resume their bug-hunting and botanical 

 researches as though nothing important had transpired. 



Young quail are busy foragers, and they grow rapidly. Within a few days 

 after leaving the nest they are capable of a flight of several yards. A brood 

 flushed by a dog will buzz up like so many overgrown grasshoppers, fly a short 

 distance, then dive into cover in a comical imitation of the tactics of their 

 seniors. As insect catchers they are unrivalled, their keen eyes and tireless 

 little legs being a most efficient equipment even for a sustained chase. The 

 parents scratch for them and call them to some dainty after the manner of 

 bantam fowls, and the shrewd chicks speedily grasp the idea and set to work for 

 themselves. A tiny quail scratching in a dusty spot is a most amusing sight. 

 The wee legs twinkle through the various movements at a rate which the 

 eye can scarcely follow, and the sturdy feet kick the dust for inches around. 

 When a prey is uncovered it is pounced upon with amazing speed and accuracy, 

 while a flying insect may call forth an electric leap and a clean catch a foot 

 or more above the ground. As the season advances grain, seeds of various 

 weeds, berries, wild grapes, and mast are added to the menu, in which insects 

 still remain prominent. After the wheat has been cut the broad stubbles become 

 favorite resorts, especially when they are crowded with ragweed. Patches 

 of standing corn now furnish attractive shelter and the suitable dusting places 

 so necessary to gallinaceous birds. 



Plumages. — Only in the smallest chicks can the pure natal down 

 be seen. In a typical chick the forehead and sides of the head are 

 from " ochraeeous-tawny " to " ochraceous-buff," with a stripe of 

 brownish black from the eye to the nape; a broad band from the 

 hind neck to the crown, terminating in a point above the forehead, 

 is "chestnut," deepening to "bay" on the edges; there is a similar 

 broad band of the same colors from the upper back to the rump ; the 

 rest of the upper parts is mottled with " chestnut," dusky, and buff ; 

 the chin and lower parts are pale buff or buffy white. In some 

 specimens from the South the back and rump are almost wholly 

 " chestnut," mixed with some black. 



The juvenal plumage begins to appear on the wings and scapulars 

 at a very early age, even before the chick has increased perceptibly 

 in size ; I have seen chicks 2 or 3 inches long that had wings extend- 

 ing beyond the tail and that would soon be able to fly. In this plum- 

 age the sexes are alike, except that, according to Dr. Jonathan 

 Dwight (1900), "the males are apt to be richer colored than are 

 females, with grayer tails, whiter chins, blacker throat bands, and 

 often a slight dusky barring on the breast." The first feathers to 



