188 Tue Brrps Asout Us. 
road, dusts itself in the lane, and, perching on a fence- 
post, whistles the two short, clear notes that have 
given it one of the many common names by which 
we know it. When the brood is young it is so well 
cared for that we do not often see either parents or 
offspring ; but in autumn, when the young are strong 
of wing, a greater caution comes upon them all, and 
they endeavor to keep quite clear of man. They are 
not equal to it, and suffer in consequence, being 
chased by dogs and hunters until their life must be 
a veritable burden; but in winter, when the deep 
snows have come, these same quails come without 
hesitation to the farm-yard and ask a portion of the 
poultry’s daily meal. They are tame again, and, 
being so, are very entertaining. 
The Mountain-partridge, or Quail of California, is 
“much the largest and handsomest of this country. 
Its distribution is limited and rather peculiar, as it 
inhabits almost exclusively the mountain ranges of 
Oregon and California.” This bird in a general way 
has the habits of the Eastern bird. 
There are several others in the Southwest, their 
habits varying only so much as the country calls for. 
They are reported as affording good sport, and what 
persecution they suffer in that direction now will be 
as nothing to what is in store for them when the 
now sparsely-settled region is more generally occu- 
pied. The Pacific slope and the Western plains be- 
yond the Mississippi are the homes of the grouse of 
this country. It is true that we have one species 
still here in the East, and formerly had two, and that 
there are ptarmigan in Canada and Northern New 
