THE OREGON NATURALIST. 



33 



constant singers, and their song is not unpleas- 

 ant in low but veiy agreeable notes. 

 THE SINGING QUAIL {Tetrao Cotiirnix. 

 Die Wachtel.) 



Of these birds 5 pairs were introduced by 

 the Society in 1889, they were turned loose in 

 the Waldo Hills in Marion County. This bird 

 in appearance almost like the Bobwhite, is 

 little moie than 7 inches in length. The beak 

 is short; blackish brown in summer, grayish in 

 winter and resembling in form that of the 

 Partridge; the iris is olive brown the feet a 

 whitish flesh colour. The upper part of the 

 body is spotted with blackish biown and rust 

 color, with a few small white stripes; the throat 

 blackish brown, and encircled by a double 

 streak of chestnut brown. The lower part of 

 the neck and breast are pale rust color, marked 

 by indistinct longitudinal stripes; the belly 

 dingy white; the shanks reddish grey; the wing 

 feathers dprk grey, crossed by narrow streaks 

 of rust color. The tail is dark brown, with 

 transverse stripes of rust color and white, and 

 very short. The female may be distinguished 

 by tlje fact that the throat is white, and the 

 breast likethatofa Thrush, spotted with black. 



This Quail which is a native of the old 

 country, is a bird of passage; ai living in Ger- 

 many in May, and departing about the end of 

 September. It chiefly frequents the fields of 

 grain; and esi ecially 'hose of autumn-sown 

 wheat. 



The only nest formed by this Quail, is a 

 hole scratched in the ground, and lined with a 

 few straws or grass stalks. The female does 

 not lay her eggs, which are 10 to 14 in number, 

 and bluish white with large brown spots till 

 late in the year, often not till July; the brood 

 is hatched in three weeks, and the young birds 

 run about with their mother before they are 

 fledged, though this takes place before the 

 autumn migration. The males are exceed- 

 ingly ardent. 



Their food consists of all kinds of seed and 

 grain; for example, wheat, millet, rape, hemp 

 and poppy seeds. It feeds also on green 

 plants. It moults twice a year, namely in 



spring and autumn. 



This Quail is a clean and lively bird; and 

 creates amusement by the singular manner in 

 which it walks on tiptoe, with outstretched 

 neck, and continually nodding its head. Its 

 cry, however which is very peculiar, is its chief 

 recommendation. In pairing time it consists 

 of the syllables: Vena, vena! very softly ut- 

 tered, followed by Pikvervik, pikvervik! re- 

 peated with a loud voice, closed eyes, and a 

 continued nodding of the head. The more a 

 bird utters the former of these words, the 

 less does ,he pronounce the latter; and a 

 Quail which repeats Pikvervik! ten or a dozen 

 times, is highly prized. As the call is chiefly 

 heard in harvest time, the peasants in Germany 

 interpret it into Bueck den Rueck! (Bend the 

 Back) and consider it as an exhortation to 

 industry. The song of the female is merely 

 Verra, verra! and in pairing time Peu, peu! 

 Peupeu ! when discontented or alarmed, they 

 utter the syllables Ghillah, and when pleased, 

 a sound like the purring of a cat. 



In confinement, the male will begin to sing 

 soon after Christmas, and continue to do so 

 till September. 



A WELL-PRESERVED IDOL. 



According to the Nooksack Reporter, an 

 idol has been discovered on Dr. Thompson's 

 ranch, near Nooksack, in a good state of pre- 

 servation. The idol is carved out of lava, is 21 

 inches high; widest breadth across the face, 

 12.V2 inches; the face and neck, is 16 inches 

 and the bust 5 inches long. The carving pre- 

 serves true lines, and the whole figure reminds 

 one of Phoenician handwork, as recently un- 

 covered in portions of Central America. The 

 bust carving, in defining the arms, makes a 

 nearly perfect keystone of the base, with a 

 smaller one on the breast. No hieroglyphics 

 are visible. The block has been about seven 

 inches in thL thickest part, but a portion of the 

 back has been broken off, probably struck by 

 a plow share. — Exch. 



