10 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



fe 



growth. During the mating season the male perches on one of the lower 

 branches of an isolated tree, or some other elevated position, and calls to the 

 female. This note resembles its generic name 'Orfyx' or 'Ortijs.' Another call 

 is somewhat similar to the low grunting of the Guinea pig. Nidification begins 

 in ]\Iarch and lasts till May. The female deposits about sixteen white eggs in a 

 slight excavation of the ground, sparingly lined with grasses and always cov- 

 ered with overhanging plants."' 



According to Dr. Juan Vilaro, professor of natural history, University of 

 Havana, Cuba, "The Cuban Bob White lays from ten to eighteen eggs; these 

 are usually deposited, between the months of April and July, in a slight cavity 

 of the ground sheltered by vegetation. They feed on small fruits, seeds, and 

 leafy shoots. The young, if alarmed, raise the feathers of the head and upper 

 part of the neck, spread out the tail and wings a little, and run in various direc- 

 tions to hide, reassembling again in obedience to the call of the parent liirds. 

 The male assists in the duties of incubation. This bird is locally known as 

 'Codorniz.'" 



The average measurement of nine eg^ors in the U. S. National Museum col- 

 lection from Cuba is 30..5 by 24 millimetres. The largest egg measures 31.5 by 

 25.5, the smallest 29.5 by 23.5 millimetres. The}' are indistinguishable from the 

 eggs of the preceding subspecies, and none are figured on this account. 



5. Colinus ridgwayi Brewster. 



MASKED BOB WHITE. 



Colinus ridgwayi Brewster, Auk, 11, April, 1885, 199. 



(B — , C — , R — C — , U 391.) 



Geographical range : Souora, Mexico, and southern Arizona. 



This species, only recently added to our avifauna, was first described by 

 Mr. William Brewster in the Auk (Vol. 11, 1885, p. 199), from a specimen taken 

 by Mr. F. Stephens, August 11, 1884, about 18 miles southwest of the little 

 town of Sasabe, in Sonora, Mexico. Fully a year pre\aously, however, Mr. 

 Herbert Brown, of Tucson, iVi'izona, obtained some of these birds within our 

 border, which he sent East, where several ornithologists examined and pro- 

 nounced them to be Grayson's Bob White {CoUnus grai/soni), a Mexican 

 species, which proved to be a mistake, as the specimens sent were identical 

 with the bird subsequently described by ]\Ir. Brewster. The credit of discov- 

 ering the Masked Bob White clearly belongs to Mr. Brown, and what little 

 information we possess about its range within the limits of the United States 

 and the habits of this species is principally due to his patient inquiry and per- 

 sonal investigation. He gives its range as follows: "The Masked Bob Wliite 

 is found in the country lying- between the Barboquivari Range in Arizona and 

 the Gulf coast in Sonora, more especially between the Barboquivari and the 

 Plomoso, where this species is quite abundant. They are also found on the 



' Journal fiir Ornithologie, Cabanis, 1856, p. 337. 



