BIRD NEWS 







W. N. DIRKS 

 And His Pet Quail 



which must have carried off thou- 

 sands of young wild birds during 

 last season. This year I am experi- 

 menting by setting out pairs, and 

 making each place as natural as posi- 

 ble, to encourage them to nest and 

 hatch. I am satisfied that if one 

 had a piece of land about 50x5 

 to spare, and could devote his time 

 to It during the season, that the 

 quail would become as domesticated 

 as a common fowl. They are very 

 economical pets, I found that by the 

 addition of grass, vegetable tops 

 and bread crumbs, ten cents worth of 

 wheat would feed eighteen birds a 

 week. 



Speaking of pets, I have one pair 

 in particular (as the illustration will 

 show) that can be fondled in one's 

 hands, at which time their beautiful 

 plumage can best be appreciated, 

 and as the Chief Deputy Game Com- 

 missioner exclaimed as I placed them 

 on his shoulder, "It is almost a 

 crime to kill such a lovely bird. 



If the State would encourage the 

 raising of quail, and in fact all wild 

 game, it would certainly prevent the 

 extermination of such. Further 

 would it not prove a better nature 

 study for children than all the books 

 that they might read on the subject? 



Everything considered, the quail 

 is far better off in a good roomy 

 cage than he is in the wild, as he 

 is the prey for all the vermin of 

 the underbrush. The hunter keep.j 

 him busy during the hunting season, 

 the coyote, wild cat and hawks at 

 all seasons, and then the skunks 

 and snakes eat the eggs. I have 

 found a nest with twenty-two empty 

 shells in it. But the worst emeny 

 the quail has to contend with is 

 the tame domesticated cat, that dear 

 old cat to whom you may give the 

 best of care and food, and who will 

 repay you when your back is turn- 

 ed by poking his nose into every- 

 thing, and will eventually get your 

 pets. This same cat on a ranch 

 will lay for and kill an entire covey 

 of quail in a single day. 



Mr. Dirks will be only too pleased 

 to give readers of "BIRD NEWS" 

 the benefit of his knowledge of quail 

 if they will address this office 



Our readers will be pleased to 

 learn that the State has already or- 

 ganized several farms for the pro- 

 pagation of wild turkeys, pheasants 

 and other game birds. These farms 

 are under the control of the State 

 Fish and Game Commissioners of 

 California. 



(The quail disease above mentioned 

 is already under investigation by the 

 U. S. Bureau of Animal Industry. 

 The disease, Colibacillosis tetraoni- 

 darium, is an infectious one, caused 

 by a microbe of the "coli" group. 

 The lungs, liver and intestines, be- 

 come involved. The bird becomes 

 restless, sits apart, refuses to eat and 

 generally dies in a few days. This 

 disease is evidently allied to the 



