S62 THE BUi;-\\ IIITE. 



Ill tlie fall, Diie wlio knows them well may become aware of a faini mur- 

 iimriny and ruslling wliich proceeds from the gronnd, and by attention may 

 percei\'e tlie l)irds as they scuttle, apprehensive, thru the grass, and ]3ause at 

 ever\- cover, hoping against hope that they are not seen. They would rather 

 not fly, and if not too closely pressed, will scamper away with perking heads 

 and lifting crests, or else tra\'erse an unsheltered stretch with affected d;iinti- 

 ness, like ladies at a muddy crossing. Or, again, they will gather closely and 

 "freeze," pending the final outcome. You approach slowly in dead silence — 

 nearer — nearer — )-ou cross the invisible danger-line. Pouf! and they are off 

 like fragments of an exploding In mil). 



Ivimilv gn.iups, or coveys, are the rule in fall, when the linh-wliites fre- 

 quent stubble-fields, fence-rows, weed-gr<iwn fallnws, and brushy pastures. 

 When fjointed, not too closely, the birds will ijuit the covey by little irruptions 

 of twos and threes, affording the hunter the much-prized opportunity for suc- 

 cessive shots at the same brood. Truth to tell, he earns his meat, ior each 

 bird yields a mere bite, and they fly like little meteors. Flash! Bang! and an 

 intre]iid soul has paid its ransom of a mouthful of clay, — very sapid, they 

 tell me. 



When the hunter and his dog have passed, the scattered flock reasseml^les, 

 one member only, presumably the parent bird, if spared, sounding the call — a 

 low, sweet, penetrating, quoi-hcc qiini-hcc quoi-hcc. Much time is spent in 

 search of tlie missing, for the Bob-whites are devoted brothers, and the quest 

 does not vml until the pangs of hunger inter\-ene to distract attention. 



At the approach of winter decimated coveys unite to form "packs," some- 

 times numbering as high as seventy-fi\-e birds, and these remain together thru 

 the season. In extreme emergencv Bob-whites will resort to trees, but roost- 

 ing is ordinarih' upun the ground, where the company, of whatever size. S(]uats 

 in a circle, tails to center and heads pointing outward, alert to every danger. 



About the first of April the flocks scatter, and the search for mates com- 

 mences. Altho coming of polygamous ancestors. Bob-white is faithful thru 

 the nesting season to a single mate. Indeed, it is not improbable that, wdiere 

 undisturbed, the same birds reunite year after year, after the fashion of the 

 songsters. Instances are on record where the father has assumed charge of a 

 first brood wliile the female was occupied with the incubation oi another. 



The number of eggs laid by the female Bob-white varies greatly accord- 

 ing t<i localitv. In the South, where at least two broods are raised in a season, 

 the sets often contain onl\' ten or a dozen eggs. But in the North, wdiere only 

 one brood is reared, no self-respecting Quail would lay less than eighteen 

 eggs; and in several instances twenty-eight, thirty, and even thirty-two, ha\e 

 been found in a single nest. Needless to say, in tliese cases the eggs are jiiled 

 two and three layers deep. 



The female is most particular regarding her eggs, antl she resents even a 



