MOUNTAIN QUAIL 511 



elevations above •'iOOO feet. In the fall the woodland is full of the disconsolate 

 "peeps" and whistlin-,' call notes of the young who have strayed from their 

 coveys. In the early spring and summer the quail begin their upward journey, 

 not in flocks, but usually in pairs or singly, ascending as fast as the snow melts 

 from the ground. At this mating season their rich, clear whistle is continually 

 heard, though at no time during the year are they quiet. 



Belding (1903, p. 18) has more to say with regard to the migra- 

 tion of Mountain (^uail : 



The fall migration . . . appears to be influenced but little by the food sup- 

 ply or temperature in its summer habitat in the Sierras, which it appears to 

 leave because the proper time has arrived for its annual tramp down the west 

 slope. The first flocks start about the first of September, or sometimes two or 

 three days sooner. At Webber Lake after three cold, cloudy days, they began 

 to move westward August 28, 1900. When they are migrating their whistle is 

 frequently heard, and they do not seek cover for i)rotection, but follow a 

 wagon road, railroatl. travel in snow sheds, pass near dwellings, and seem to 

 care but little for self-]>reservation. 



A few ^lountain Quail occur along the east wall of the Sierras in 

 Mono County, and these winter on that side. In severe seasons they 

 come to the ranches ai'ound Mono Lake and are said then to mingle 

 freely with the chickens in the stock yards and around the hay- 

 stacks. At such times the quail are welcomed hy the people of the 

 region, even the Indians, and are unmolested 



The food of the ^Mountain Quail has heen studied in the laboratoiy 

 of the United States Biological Survey (see Judd, 1905, pp. 59-60). 

 The stomachs examined, 23 in number, were all collected in California. 

 Five were secured in January, 2 in May, 6 in June, 3 in July, 3 in 

 August, and 6 in November. 



The food consisted of animal matter, 3 per cent, and vegetable matter, 97 

 per cent. The animal food was made up of grasshoppers, 0.05 per cent; beetles, 

 0.23 per cent; miscellaneous insects, including ants and lepidopterous pupae, 

 1.90 per cent; and centipedes and harvest spiders (Phalangidae) , 0.82 per 

 cent. Among the beetles was a species of the fireflj^ family {Lampyridae) , 

 a ground beetle (Carabidae), and a leaf beetle ( Haltica sp.). Vernon Bailey 

 informs the writer that the young eat many ants. The vegetable food 

 consisted of grain, 18.20 per cent; seeds, practically all of weeds or other 

 worthless plants, 46.61 per cent; fruit, 8.11 per cent; and miscellaneous vege- 

 table matter, 24.08 per cent. The grain included wheat, corn, barley, and oats. 

 Of the seed element the seeds of grasses formed 7.78 per cent; of legumes, 

 10.41 per cent; of weeds of the family EitpJiorbiaceae, 3.16 per cent; of alfilaria 

 (Erodium cicutarium) , 2.76 per cent; and of miscellaneous weeds, 22.50 per cent. 

 The legume seeds include seeds of alfalfa, cassia, bush clover, vetch, and lupine. 

 The miscellaneous seeds come from wild carrot (Daucus carota), tar weed 

 (Madia sativa), CoJlomia sp., AmsincMa sp., labiate plants, dwarf oak, snowbush 

 (Ceanothus corduJatus), and thistle. 



. . . This bird is especially fond of the leaves of clover and other legumi- 

 nous plants. It feeds also on flowers, being known to select those of Com- 



