570 - THE \ALLEY QUAIL. 



each gi'iiui). 1 1 is \x-vy linid and ratlu-r harsh, Ijeing distiiiclly heard ivom a 

 distance of at least lialf a mile. 



Resident thruout the _\-ear, these birds seldom stray \ery far from home, 

 but their nesting habits are so remarkable that no hard and fast rules can be 

 laid down for them. The first eggs appear during the latter part of May, the 

 conservative quail laying from twelve to eighteen of them, in a shallow grass- 

 lined hollow that she arranges under some fallen log. At other times, how- 

 ever, she is not in the least particular in who.se nest she deposits her treasures, 

 even the little Towhee having in this way received what must have been a most 

 unwelciime addition to her h<.)usehold duties. One nest of the big Sooty 

 Grouse, containing nine eggs of the rightful owner, proved so attractive that 

 it received no less tlian three additional eggs from some fascinated quail 

 mother. Nature hail directed her so well — or was it coincidence? — that the 

 state of incubation in the eggs of both (|uail and grouse showed they would 

 all have hatched at about the same time. 



Late in the fall several coveys will often join together in what are known 

 as "packs," as many as sevent}--five or a hundred birds being found in one 

 group. Years ago it was not unusual in California to find packs of five or six 

 hundred, but these ha\e long since given way before the advance of civili/'.,'ilion. 



T. H. BowLivS. 



No. 230. 



VALLEY QUAIL. 



A. O. v. No. 2i)4'ci. Lophortyx californicus vallicola (Ridgw. ). 



Synonyms. — \".\ij.Ev P.xrtridgk. C.aliI'ORni.x \'ali,EY Of .mi,. 



Description. — Like L. californicus. but lighter in coloration; upperpart? 

 grayish brown, with inner edges of tertials bufty or whitish : sides grayish olive or 

 gravish lir( iwn. 



Oeneral Range. — Interior districts uf California and Oregon south to Cape 

 St. Lucas; western Nevada; introduced in Washington. 



Range in Washington. — Sparingly introduced from California. Reported 

 only from vicinity rif TaC(_inia. 



Authorities. — L'allif'rl^la califoritica rallicola. Rhoads, Auk. N. Jan. T803. 



p. 17. r.. 



Specimens. — B. 



A CASE i)recisely iiarallel to that of Oirortyx f^ictiis and O. /». t^Iuinifcnis 

 occurs here. Importers have Vieen careless as to which form was brought in 

 for propagating purposes, and we now find both in the same local range. To 

 a student of geographical variation, this remixing of incipient species thru ini- 

 Ijortation is distressing. By all means let us import gatue birds and jjleuty of 



