ORDER OF GALLINACIOUS BIRDS 



Order O'atlinw 

 ^OUND-DWELLING birds constitute this order. They are fowl-Hke in form 

 and appearance: the bill is stout, convex, and short; the legs are stout and 

 moderately long; the front toes webbed and the hind toe elevated; the wings 

 are short, rounded, arched, and strong ; the tail varies in length in the different 

 species; the head is small; and the body heavy. 



Birds of this order are polygamous. The eggs are numerous and large. 



The young are covered with down when hatched and are able to run about 



very soon after leaving the shell. Gallinaceous Birds obtain their food almost 



entirely from the ground, and in getting it they indulge in a great deal of 



scratching of the soil. The flesh of most species is edible and is generally 



light-colored. 



Representatives of the order are found on every continent, but only the one suborder 



Phasiani has representatives (four families) of regular occurrence in the United States 



and Canada. 



BOB-WHITES AND QUAILS 



Order Galliiicc ; suborder Phasiani; family Odontophorida; 

 jHE true Quails and Partridges are Old World birds and their American repre- 

 sentatives are the Bob-whites and Quails. There are about seventy species 

 in the western hemisphere, most of which are confined to the tropics and only 

 seven of which are found north of the southern border of the United States. 



These birds are rather small in size with heads completely feathered and 

 sometimes crested; the nostrils covered with a naked scale; the legs stout and 

 moderately long ; the tarsi and toes naked ; the front toes webbed at the base, 

 the hind toe raised and rather small; the wings short, rounded, arched, and 

 strong; the tail var>-ing from less than one-half to about four-fifths the length 

 of the wing; and the body heavy. A great variation in plumage is shown 

 between the members of this family. 



The eggs of the Partridges are numerous and large and the young when hatched are 

 covered with down and are able to care for themselves. 



The Quails of the United States, because of their interesting habits and marvelous 

 diversity of form and color, are a notably attractive group. All are handsome birds, but 

 the most striking and beautiful species live in the Southwest and on the Pacific coast. Only 

 one occurs in the Eastern States. The others are widely distributed from Texas to Cali- 

 fornia and Oregon. Their range was, and still is, continuous along the entire southern 

 border of the country from the Atlantic to the Pacific; but there is an irregular belt along 

 the northern border and a large area in the interior, comprising the Great Plains, the northern 

 three-fourths of the Great Basin, and the Rock}' Mountains, in which they appear to have 

 been originally wanting. 



With few exceptions our Quails welcome the extension of agriculture, and the added 

 food supply in farmed areas results in an increase of their numbers. This is equally true of 

 the Bob-white of the East and of some of the desert species of the West. So fully does the 

 Bob-white appreciate the advantages of the farm that its range has increased with the exten- 

 sion of the cultivated area, especially west of the Mississippi. 



Their cheerful disposition, their beaut}', and their value as food usually win for the Quails 

 a welcome to any farm. But, as the investigations of the Biological Survey show, these 

 birds, with rare exceptions, not only are harmless, but usually are very useful to agri- 

 culture. This is particularly true of the Bob-white, which constantly feeds on injurious 

 weed seeds and insects, and thus renders valuable service to the farmer. In return for this 

 good service it is but fair that these birds should be treated with friendly care and interest. 



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