Notes from Field and Study 



367 



community. Cleanliness and success in 

 farming or fruit culture are inseparable. 

 And just for this reason failures have 

 resulted from attempts to establish Bob- 

 whites in the West. The habitat in the 

 South where the birds are most plentiful 

 needs only to be cited to confirm this. 

 The poorly cultivated or abandoned farm 

 bearing in abundance only ragweed, 

 lespedeza, sumach, rank growths of beggar 

 lice and wild peas, is the home where they 

 multiply the most. And there, also, as a 

 guard against predatory creatures of the 

 air, are the net-work of dewberry vines 

 on the ground and the thickets of briars. 

 Farms in the West that have been stocked 

 with quails in most cases afford condi- 

 tions directly the contrary. The natural 

 winter feeds are lacking, and the shelters 

 they have always frequented are not there. 



It is reasonable to anticipate better 

 results from the introduction of Bob- 

 whites, if on every eighty acres of land 

 one-half of an acre or even a smaller plot 

 is given to the birds, and in it are planted 

 feeds and cover vines as nearly similar as 

 would grow to those in their own home. 

 Immediately in this way they would 

 reconcile themselves to their new quarters, 

 having faith from the start in being able 

 to ward off the attacks of predatory 

 creatures, and being thoroughly assured 

 of a supply of feeds that they really know 

 and like. Whenever bird clubs accept 

 this method of propagating Bob-whites, 

 just so soon will their fields ring with the 

 plaintive, melodious call of the quails. 



Bird-lovers have shown an inclination 

 to bring their pets to the very thorough- 

 fares of the cities. Some city quarters are 

 homes for Ring-necks and other pheas- 

 ants, but the latest fad, and it evidences a 

 chance of success, is to have Bob-whites 

 roam on the city lawn. From this, one 

 must not at once believe that the quails 

 are cooped in a small yard, or that their 

 liberties are in any way restricted, but 

 they have the run of lawns growing large 

 plants and shrubbery. In the fashionable 

 dwelling-district of a city boasting a popu- 

 lation of seven hundred thousand people, 

 quails are seen feeding in the middle of 



the streets. The mansion where their 

 owner resides, together with lawns and 

 flower-gardens, occupy a city block. Cer- 

 tainly these royal birds add a touch of 

 beauty and a faint atmosphere of the 

 country to the surroundings. The owner's 

 familiarity with game in a wild state has 

 induced him to give the Bob-whites a small 

 plot to themselves. It is the exact repro- 

 duction of an abandoned hill farm, to the 

 most insignificant plant. 



The most interesting part in this 

 attempt at quail culture in a city is the 

 assistance afforded by the small boj^s in 

 keeping the locality free from prowling 

 cats. This, too, has tempted other bird- 

 life there. 



When the dwellers of the city interest 

 themselves in game birds to the degree 

 that they will sacrifice something for their 

 welfare, it is easy to conceive how 

 promptly they can be instilled with a love 

 for all wild birds. No matter to what 

 extremities it will lead them when it 

 develops into a passion, they will always 

 feel well repaid for their devotion to these 

 plucky little brown birds, when the 

 turmoil of city life is suddenly stilled by 

 the soft vibrant note of the calling quails. 

 — John B. Thompson, Doniphan, Mo. 



Notes on a Flicker Homestead 



I have just finished reading some very 

 interesting articles in the Wilson Bulletin 

 on the habits and haunts of the Flicker. 

 It calls to mind a nest of Flickers that my 

 son's family and I have been watching for 

 over a month. The old birds, in hunting 

 for a suitable place for their nesting pur- 

 poses, found a box which my son had 

 nailed to a tree near our dining-room win- 

 dow and porch, thinking some birds might 

 be attracted to it. The first year (1915) 

 it was homesteaded by Gray Squirrels that 

 spent quite a while hiding away nuts, I 

 suppose for their winter food. The 

 Flickers, after much deliberation, decided 

 it was a safe and desirable place to locate, 

 so they proceeded to clean house, which 

 they did very effectually, each one by 

 turns carrying away the old matter. It was 



