270 ANIMAL LIFE IN THE YOSEMITE 



Valley Quail. Lophortjrx calif ornica vallicola (Ridgway) 



Field characters. — A quail with short, blunt-ended, forward-directed topknot on 

 head. Back, wings, and tail uniform grayish brown; breast clear bluish gray; belly 

 marked with crosswise scalings of black on a white or buffy ground. Sexes unlike; 

 males have throat black, outlined with white. Flight direct, with rapidly whirring wings ; 

 when on ground runs with celerity. Voice: An assembly call sounding somewhat like 

 the syllables pa-raJi' -ho ; when disturbed, an explosive, sputtering pit, pit, or whit, whit, 

 uttered many times in rapid succession; when on guard during breeding season, males 

 utter a single loud Jcyarlc at irregular intervals. 



Occurrence. — Common resident in Lower and Upper Sonoran zones west of the Sierran 

 divide; observed at Snelling and Lagrange and thence eastward to El Portal (altitude 

 2000 feet), and to Smith Creek, east of Coulterville (altitude 3200 feet). Frequents 

 hillside chaparral and river -bottom thickets, foraging under these and in adjacent open 

 areas. 



The Valley Quail is a characteristic inhabitant of the dry foothill belt 

 and is eminently suited in both structure and habits to gain a livelihood in 

 such an environment. The dense thickets of chaparral which clothe the 

 steep caiion sides afford both food and shelter for the quail, and the inter- 

 mittent streamlets which thread the deep ravine bottoms afford water 

 sufficient for their daily needs. Quail are also found in the plains region 

 west of the foothills, but only where adequate shelter is afforded by growths 

 along the big rivers, or by berry or other brush patches near farmhouses. 



Entering the Yosemite region by train and stage one is not likely to 

 see the Valley Quail at all, unless a pair or a flock be observed at El Portal ; 

 but when going in afoot or in an automobile, the species will be noted 

 commonly along any of the regular routes of travel. In the early morning 

 the dusty roads often bear evidence of the presence of quail, the tracks 

 showing plainly their identity, for they are in tandem alignment, one 

 foot in front of the other, with the middle toe dragging between and the 

 hind toe leaving a distinct impression of its own. 



Like many other species which are classed as game, quail are essentially 

 gregarious birds and spend most of the year in flocks. They separate into 

 pairs only for the nesting season. By the middle of spring the birds are 

 paired off and from then on, the males are to be seen perched in com- 

 manding situations in the brush or in low trees, on guard to sound alarm 

 if need be, while their mates are preparing their nests or caring for the 

 eggs or young chicks. 



In May, 1919, at Blacks Creek, just west of Coulterville, we found 

 Valley Quail to be exceedingly common. There were fully 25 pairs in 

 the little basin of which the old Merced Gold Mine is the center. Males 

 were calling all through the day, so that there was an almost continuous 

 chorus of 'guard' notes. Less often we heard one of the birds 'explode,' 



