542 GAME BIRDS OF CALIFOBNIA 



fly further, separate more readily, and more rarely take to trees; and sometimes,, 

 before they are fully grown, they are found to have already become wary and 

 difficult of approach. As one draws near where a covey is feeding, a quick, sharp 

 cry from tlie bird who first notices the approach alarms the whole, and is quickly 

 repeated by the rest, as they start to run, betraying their course by the rustling 

 of dried leaves. Let him step nearer, and they rise witli a whirr, scattering in 

 every direction. 



' ' On being suddenly flushed these birds separate very widely, but 

 immediately upon alighting commence their call-note, resembling the 

 soft chirp of a young chicken, which is kept up for some time. The 

 alarm over, and the flock once more reunited, they relapse into 

 silence, only broken by an occasional cluck of the male bird. Once 

 scattered they cannot be readily started again, as they lie close in 

 their thick, bushy, and impenetrable coverts" (Baird, Brewer and 

 Ridgway, 1874, III, p. 484). 



This (piail has three difllerent notes: a single clear mellow clink 

 with a metallic resonance which is used as a flock call or alarm note, 

 and may be repeated many times; a loud clear whistled killink-killink 

 uttered chiefly during the pairing season ; and an unmusical ' ' love- 

 song" uttered morning and evening by the male as he sits on some 

 conspicuous perch near his brooding mate. This last is described as 

 "odd, guttural and energetic," and the bird is said to stretch his 

 neck, dangle his plume and allow his wings to droop while the 

 "song" is being uttered (Baird, Brewer and Eidgway, 1874, III, 

 p. 485). 



As reported by an observer near Palm Springs, Riverside County : 



The notes of the desert quail differ from those of the valley quail in variety, 

 and to a certain extent in character, thougli they have some notes in common. 

 The ' ' croW ' ' of the latter consists of three notes, varying in length and accent 

 according to the call given, in one case the last note being a falling one. Tlie 

 "crow" of the desei-t quail, while rather similar to the other, has two additional 

 notes at the end, rendered in a softer tone. Besides the alarm calls the valley 

 quail has a few t^^^tterillg or conversational notes, while the other species has a 

 lot of these, quite varied and often given in a way tliat seems remarkably loud 

 to one accustomed only to the notes of the former. Another peculiarity of the 

 'desert quail is the queer sound that it makes as it rises from the ground on being 

 surprised into flight — the sort of screeching cackle, on a small scale, that a hen 

 makes Avhen frightened from her nest (Mailliard, in Grinnell, 1904o, pp. 41-42). 



Nelson gives the following account of the habits of the Desert 

 Quail as noted in the Pahrump Valley, Nevada, close to the California 

 line near Death Valley : 



. . . "Wlien a flock of quail came to feed on grain left by the horses, an old 

 male usually mounted the top of a tall bush close by and remained on guard for 

 ten or fifteen minutes, then, if everything was quiet, he would fly down among 

 his companions. At the first alarm the flock would take to the bushes, running 



