606 GAME BIRDS OF CALIFOBNIA 



are a suflicient index even without the tell-tale red stain around their mouths. 

 They frequent the cactus groves as long as any fruit is left, flying a long 

 distance to reach this delicacy. 



The crop of a bird shot near Fort Yuma, California, May 5, 1910, 

 contained 33 watermelon seeds and one muskmelon seed (Grinnell, 

 19146, p. 123). 



As soon as the young are grown both they and the parents congregate in 

 large flocks and fly from feeding ground to watering place, thus affording a 

 good chance at wing shooting. One evening in twenty minutes I counted over 

 700 fly past a bridge over a small irrigating canal. Along in August the big 

 flocks begin to grow less, the birds probably scattering out and seeking feed- 

 ing grounds more distant from the breeding grounds. Toward the first of Sep- 

 tember they begin to thin out in earnest and by the loth of the month very 

 few are seen. ... 



Beside the danger from gunner, the Cooper Hawk is a menace, feeding often 

 on the fat pigeon. I have seen a Marsh Hawk after a [wounded] White-wing 

 . . . but do not think any but wounded birds are ever attacked by this species 

 (Gilman, loc. cit.). 



In this bird, the gunner has a good test of his skill, as it flies 

 rapidly, and, all things considered, is a fine game bird. 



As the White-winged Dove is an essentially Mexican species, it 

 will probably never take an important rank among the game birds 

 of California. Its restriction to the extreme southeastern portion 

 of the state and its apparently late spring arrival and early fall 

 departure limit its pursuit for sport to a very small number of 

 hunters. Protection during the breeding season, and moderate hunt- 

 ing just previous to its departure, should ensure the persistence of 

 this bird in its present numbers indefinitely. 



r Mexican Ground Dove 



Chaemepelia passerina pallescens Baird 



Other names — ColumhigaUina passerina pallescens; ColumhigaUina passerina; 

 Chaemepeli-a passerina. 



Description — Adult male: Forehead and sides of head, pale pinkish brown, 

 continuous with tone of lower surface; top and back of head, and hind neck, 

 chiefly bluish gray, with feather tippings of dusky, giving a decidedly scaled 

 effect; chin and throat, pinkish white; bill "yellow . . . tipped with broAvn " 

 (Baird, Brewer and Ridgway, 1874, III, p. 390) ; back, rump, upper tail coverts 

 and central pair of tail feathers, uniform brown; outer tail feathers, slate gi-ay 

 at upper bases, broadly tipped with black at ends, entirely blackish brown on 

 under surfaces; outermost pair of tail feathers narrowly edged with white at 

 ends; outer surface of closed wing pale pinkish brown; greater coverts grayish 

 pink; outer Avebs of primaries and outermost secondaries, blackish brown, their 

 inner webs extensively rich rusty bro-vvn, except for blackish tips; exposed tertials 

 bro-\\Ti, like back, several of the coverts and tertials bearing short, sharp streaks 



