THE 



WILSON BULLETIN 



No. 45. 



A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF 

 ORNITHOLOGY 



Vol. X. DECEMBER, 1903. No. 4. 



A BOB-WHITE COVEY. 



LYNDS JONES. 



Reams of paper and pounds of ink have been consecrated 

 to Bob-white, yet the manner in which the flock forms the 

 bomb-shell "covey" has never been described, or if described 

 the account has escaped my notice. Probably the fact that 

 each flock of these birds passes the night in a compact ring, 

 tails touching, heads pointed out, is as old as the discovery 

 of these birds by the earliest settlers. Every "Quail" hunter 

 has experienced the momentary terror occasioned by the 

 bursting of this animal bomb at his feet, each bird apparently 

 taking a separate direction, and yet the whole flock finally mak- 

 ing off in the same general direction. He must also know that 

 the birds do not always form this bomb whenever they see dan- 

 ger threaten, but when disturbed while they are feeding, 

 they may either gather in a loose bunch, or run swiftly in a 

 compact flock. They sometimes form this bomb even at mid- 

 day, trusting to concealment for protection. The gathering of 

 the flock again after being scattered is well known, but the form 

 which the flock takes when all but the lost ones return does 

 not seem to be known. It probably varies according to cir- 

 cumstances, since on one occasion I noted the formation of 

 the bomb, but on others merely a compact flock without the 

 bomb form. 



Mr. Robert J. Sim, of Jefferson, Ohio, enjoyed the pres- 



