42 BULLETIN" 162, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



a bush of poison oak among a lot of dry leaves on a steep hillside. The 

 average number of eggs laid by this Partridge is about ten, most of the sets 

 containing from eight to twelve. An occasional nest contains as many as 

 sixteen, but such large sets are rare. 



Eggs. — The eggs of the mountain quail are indistinguishable from 

 those of the plumed quail. The measurements of 61 eggs average 

 34.1 by 26.7 millimeters ; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 

 35.6 by 27.7, 33.5 by 27.9, 30.7 by 25.2, and 34 by 25 millimeters. 



The plumages, food, and general habits of this quail are so much 

 like those of the plumed quail that I shall not repeat them here. 

 Louise Kellogg (1916) relates the following incident, which illus- 

 trates the sagacity of the weasel rather than that of the quail : 



On July 8, on north fork of Coffee Creek, the writer caught sight of a 

 weasel in pursuit of a mountain quail. The bird was clucking in a distressed 

 maimer and evidently leading the enemy away from where her chicks were. 

 When the weasel got her to a safe distance he ran back, jumped over a log, 

 and was seen to make off with a small victim in his mouth. The whole 

 episode did not occupy two minutes and occurred in a clearing in broad 

 daylight. 



DISTRIBUTION 



Range. — The Western United States and Lower California; suc- 

 cessfully introduced at points in Washington, British Columbia, 

 Montana, and Idaho. 



The range of the mountain quail extends north to northwestern 

 Oregon (Astoria) ; southern Washington (Kalama) ; and north- 

 eastern Oregon (Ironside). East to northeastern Oregon (Iron- 

 side and Vale) ; western Nevada (Big Creek, Granite Creek, 

 Truckee, Carson City, and Mount Magruder) ; southeastern California 

 (Willow Creek, Coso, Little Owens Lake, and Thomas Mountain) ; 

 and Lower California (Laguna Hanson and Mision San Pedro Mar- 

 tir). South to Lower California (Mision San Pedro Martir and Val- 

 ladares). West to Lower California (Valladares, La Grulla, Las 

 Cruces, and Los Pozos) ; western California (San Diego, Frazier 

 Mountain, Mansfield, Big Creek, Monterey, Camp Meeker, Cahto, 

 Stuarts Fork, and Fort Jones) ; and western Oregon (Port Orford, 

 Coquille, Newport, Netarts, Tillamook, Batterson, and Astoria). 

 The species has been reported as occurring south to Cape St. Lucas, 

 Lower California, but the record is not considered satisfactory. 



The range as outlined is for the entire species. Oreortyx picta 

 palmeri is confined to the humid northwestern coast region south to 

 the coast ranges of Monterey County, Calif. (Big Creek). Oreortyx 

 p. picta occupies the arid and semiarid regions east of the coast 

 ranges and south to southern San Diego County (Campo, Mountain 

 Spring, Cuyamaca, and Volcan Mountains). A third race, O. p. 



