The love note, according to Coues, may be represented in words as "killink. 

 killink." Nesting takes place in April, sometimes not till May. About a dozen 

 eggs usually constitute a clutch. In sections where this quail is still numerous 

 the birds pack in bands of from 100 to 500 after the breeding season. 



From the sportsman's point of view the Gambel quail as a game bird does 

 not approach the Bob-white. It will sometimes lie to a dog fairly well, but as a 

 rule it takes to its legs with all haste and leaves the dog on point, to the vexa- 

 tion of the hunter. It is, however, a useful species, which brightens the desert 

 with its presence and contributes a welcome addition to the fare of the traveler. 

 While less valuable than the Bob-white as a destroyer of noxious insects and as 

 an object of sport, this bird well deserves protection for its food value and its 

 beauty. It thrives under desert conditions and might be successfully introduced 

 in the arid regions of Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. 



Stomachs of 28 birds collected mainly in Arizona and Utah, from January to 

 June, have been examined. Only 0.48 per cent of the food consisted of insects ; 

 the remaining 99.52 per cent was vegetable matter. Like the valley quail, this 

 is one of our least insectivorous birds. Its insect diet includes ants, beetles, 

 grasshoppers, leaf hoppers (Mevibracida). and stink bugs {Pcntatomida). 

 Among the beetles are the western twelve-spotted cucumber beetle (Diabrotica 

 soror) and D. tenella. The young chicks, however, will doubtless be found 

 highly insectivorous and therefore useful. 



The male bird does not pair like the partridge, and his polygamous nature 

 gets him into many a fight with others of his own sex. The color plate is a 

 true picture, showing his stout body, small round head. 



Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus Mstrionicus) 



Range. — Breeds from Kowak and Yukon rivers, Alaska, Arctic coast, and 

 Greenland south to southwestern British Columbia, central Mackenzie, northern 

 Ungava, and Newfoundland, south in mountains to central California, south- 

 western Colorado, northeastern Asia and Iceland ; winters on Pacific coast from 

 Aleutian Islands to Monterey, California, in interior to Colorado, Missouri, Lake 

 Michigan, and western New York, and on the Atlantic coast from Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence regularly to Maine. 



The name "harlequin" suggests the unusual and somewhat bizarre plumage 

 of this duck which, nevertheless, deserves to be classed among our most beautiful 

 waterfowl. Rare everywhere in the United States except along our northwest 

 coast, the harlequin breeds commonly in Alaska and uncommonly in the States 

 from Colorado and California northward. Unlike most other ducks, the harlequin 

 disdains to nest in the lowlands, but in summer withdraws itself from its kind and 

 hies to the mountain solitudes where it dwells on the swift alpine streams, its 

 only companion the water ouzel. In fall it resorts to the coast and assembles in 

 small bands with flocks of other species, among which the male harlequins are 

 rendered conspicuous bv their striking markings. 



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