ZOOLOGY. 93 



deep forests, nor in the mountains at any considerable elevation, nor in the interior basin, where 

 water and vegetation are scarce. Of the many specimens obtained, some were killed in different 

 parts of the Sacramento valley, at Fort Jones, and in the Willamette valley, n ar the Columbia. 

 There is no appreciable difference between these specimens. 



These birds make no elaborate nests, but lay a large number of eggs on the ground, and 

 generally hatch in June. They are susceptible of domestication, and would be a pretty orna- 

 ment for parks and lawns in the Atlantic States, where they would probably thrive. 



CALLIPEPLA PICTA. 



The Mountain Quail. 



This elegant bird, so similar to and yet so unlike the partridge of Europe, is nowhere so 

 common as to make it a valueless prize to the sportsman or naturalist It occurs sparingly 

 throughout the entire length of California and Oregon to, and perhaps across, the Columbia, 

 having much the range, in a general way, of the "valley quail," (C. californica,) though every- 

 where a rarer bird, and always confined to the hills or mountains, while the species just men- 

 tioned, as its name implies, inhabits the valleys or low hills. 



The habits of this bird are similar to those of the other species of the genus, but it is less 

 gregarious and more shy. It is usually found in the chapparal, where it is put up with diffi- 

 culty, choosing to gain safety by running on the ground rather than by flight. 



On the first of August, at the base of Lassen's butte, I found a solitary hen, with a brood of 

 very young chicks. The brood scattered like young partridges, uttered a piping note like that 

 of young chickens, and, when all was still again, were recalled to the mother by a cluck, much 

 like the cluck of the common hen. Until we reached the plains of Pit river we frequently saw 

 small covies and broods of these partridges, in which the young were about half grown. In the 

 Klamath lake basin we did not observe them, ost of that country being too flat and bare. We 

 found them again in the hills bordering the Willamette valley, and I hey extend from the 

 Columbia almost uninterruptedly, but no where abundantly, through the Siskiyou, Calapooya, 

 and Trinity mountains to California. They are favorite pets with the lonely miners, by whom 

 they are kept in confinement, and are frequently so much admired for their trim figures, elegant 

 plumage, aud chivalrous bearing, as to command a high price. Their flesh is white and excel- 

 lent, and quite equal to that of any of the family. 



TETRAO OBSCURUS. 



The Dusky Grouse. 



The dusky grouse among American species is only second in size to the "sage hen," T. 

 urophasiamis. The cock is decidedly the handsomest of all American grouse, and the flesh is 

 white, and equal to that of the ruffed grouse or the American partridge, (0. virginiana.) 



This bird inhabits the evergreen forests exclusively, and is found not uncommonly in the 

 Sierra Nevada, in California, and in the wooded districts of the country lying between the 

 Sacramento valley and the Columbia. 



In the Cascade mountains we found it associated with the ruffed grouse, which it resembles 

 in habit more than any other species. When on the ground they lie very close, flying up from 

 your very feet as you approach them, and, when flushed, always take to a tree ; while sitting 

 in the tree you may fire as many times as is necessary to hit the bird before you can dislodge it. 

 In the spring, the male, seated motionless on a branch of pine or fir where it issues from the 



