S68 THE CAI.IFORXTA QUAIL. 



THIS bird, rallier than the preceding, deserves the name Monnlain Quail, 

 for its normal range includes the middle .slopes of the Sierra Nevada aloun- 

 tains. The distinction in names, therefore, is purely arbitrary, but since it is 

 established it would better be adhered to. Importations to Washington have 

 been chiefly of the coastal form (0. picfiis), but a s])ecimen with a lighter 

 colored wing-stripe turns up now and then to show that importers ha\'e been 

 careless as to where they got their stock, and the resultant breed on Puget 

 Sound will evidently be an amalgamation of the two forms. There are no 

 local differences of range or habit. 



No. 22q. 



CALIFORNIA QUAIL. 



A. O. U. No. 294. Lophortyx californicus (Shaw). 



Synonyms. — C.\liFornia P.\RTRiDGr:. V.m.lky Quail (Name properly re- 

 stricted to /,. r. I'allifola j. Top-kxot Quail. 



Description. — Adult male: Recurved crest glossv black; thniat black, bor- 

 dered sharply by white line curving on cheek and passing below eye to bill ; fore- 

 head whitish, streaked narrowly with black ; a clearly defined lateral white streak 

 from eye bounding olive-brown crown-patch ; general color of upperparts ashy 

 overlaid with olive-brown; the feathers of occiput, nape, and sides of neck nar- 

 rowly edged with blackish and speckled with white: tlie inner webs of tertials 

 rufous brown, forming conspicuous stri])e ; breast slaty-blue; sides color of back, 

 sharply streaked with white ; remaining underparts tawny to bright chestnut, the 

 feathers of the belly, except centrally, sharply bordered with black, and presenting 

 a handsomely scaled appearance. Adult female: Similar to male, but without 

 characteristic head-markings; breast olive-gray; belly whitish or pale tawny with 

 black edgings as in male. Immature birds are grayish brown above with dusky 

 and whitish edgings on back and wings, feathers of nape with whitish shaft- 

 streaks and duskv borders. Adult length: lo.oo-ii.oo (234-270.4); wing 4.50 

 ('114.3) ; tail 4.40 ( 1 1 1.8) ; tarsus 1.23 (31.8). 



Recognition Marks. — Robin size; recurved crest of 4 to 10 feathers dis- 

 tinctive; lilack throat of male, scaled appearance of belly (except centrally) ; size 

 of Bob-white: weight much less than that of Mountain Quail. 



Nesting. — Nest: a slight grass-lined hollow usuallv under protection of 

 fallen tree or bush-clump. Eggs: I2-t8. creamy white or butfv. spotted or 

 coarsely blotched with yellowish brown. .\\-. size, 1. 20 x. 93 (30.3x23.6). 

 Season: c. May 23: one brood. 



General Range. — Pacific Coast region from Montcrev, California, north to 

 southern Washington ; introduced in Washington and southern British Columbia. 



Range in Washington. — West-side, probably indigenous but also heavily 

 introduced, and now th<iroly established at all lower levels in or near cultivated 

 areas. 



