THE BOB WHITE. 3 



the more northern portions of their breeding' range it is often delayed until 

 June. The nest is always placed on the ground and is generally a very simple 

 affair. A saucer-shaped cavity is excavated (occasionally quite a deep one) 

 alongside a patch of overhanging weeds or a tall bunch of grass. Again, it 

 may be placed under a small bush or in a briar patch, by the side of a fence, in 

 cultivated fields or pastures, and even in gardens close to houses; and in the 

 South, "Cotton rows" are favorite nesting sites. This cavity is lined with dry 

 grasses or bits of grain stubble. The nest is generally' well hidden, arched over 

 naturally by overhanging vines, bushes or weeds, and usually open on one side. 

 Occasionally a nest is arched over artificially, but in most cases, where there is 

 no natural cover existing-, no dome is attempted. 



Judge John N. Clark, of Saybrook, Connecticut, writes me of having seen 

 a male Bob White at work constructing a domed nest. He says: "In May, 

 1887, while on a hill back of my house one morning, I heard a Quail whistle, 

 but the note, which was continually repeated, had a smothered sound. Track- 

 ing the notes to their source, I found a male Bob White building a nest in a. 

 little patch of dewbeny vines. He was busy carrying in the grasses and weav- 

 ing a roof, as well as whistling at his work. The dome was very expertly 

 fashioned, and fitted into its place without changing the surroundings, so that I 

 lielieve I would never have observed it, had he kept quiet." Another nest, 

 found by Mr. G. E. Beyer, of New Orleans, Louisiana, was entirely constructed 

 of pine needles, arched over, and the entrance probably a foot or more from the 

 nest proper. 



In North Carolina, according to Mr. R. B. McLaughlin, the Bob Whites 

 preferred to nest in sedge-fields, so very common in that region, and nearh' all 

 the nests observed by him were placed near paths and roads. The favorite 

 materials used for lining the nest were the long dry blades from the sedge 

 tussocks. 



Capt. B. F. Gross, of Pewaukee, Wisconsin, has found these birds nesting 

 in the open prairies, miles from timber and brush of any kind; but such 

 instances are rather unusual. 



Among uncommon nesting sites the following deserves mention: Mr. Lynds 

 Jones, of Grinnell, Iowa, found a nest of a pair of Bob Whites under the edge 

 of a bridge, which contained nine eggs. It had been placed under a plank in 

 the road, and during a heavy rainstorm was flooded and deserted. 



Prof. Robert Ridgway, of the Smithsonian Institution, found a Bob White's 

 nest containing fresh eggs, on October 16, and Mr. H. C. Munger, of Jefferson 

 City, Missouri, publishes in Forest and Stream, of March G, 1879, a still more 

 remarkable find. He writes as follows: 



"Jefferson City, Missouri, February 6, 1879. 

 "Editor Forest and Streaai: 



"I noticed an article in a local paper here yesterday, stating that a gentle- 

 man while out hunting in Calaway County, a county adjoining this, in the 

 month of Januaiy, found a Quail's nest with fifteen or sixteen eggs, and the 



