28 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
palatable morsel, but late in the winter the flesh is apt 
to be dry and rather tasteless; while those birds which 
are kept from year to year in enormous cold-storage 
houses, and thousands of them are, have about as much 
flavor as a chip of dried wood. It is a pity that those 
cemeteries, at least for wild game, could not be broken 
up and done away with. 
Quail are in the habit of roosting in or near the same 
spot so long as they remain in any one locality, and such 
places can frequently be determined by the droppings 
on the ground. When settling for the night they 
arrange themselves in a circle, each bird close to his 
fellow, and with all the tails inward. This method is 
advantageous for the warmth derived from the close 
contact of so many little bodies, and also if alarmed or 
attacked during the night by any foe, each bird can 
spring directly forward and take wing unimpeded by any 
of his fellows. Of course the bevy becomes greatly scat- 
tered, as each one goes away in a different direction. 
In such a case they remain quiet until the day begins 
to break, and then the Quoi-i-hee will be heard re- 
sounding from every side, as the birds gradually draw 
together into a once more united family. Quail are able 
to stand cold very well, provided food is abundant, but 
when this is scarce and the winter severe, they suffer 
greatly, and many a covey is frozen to death. 
When the snow begins to fall they huddle close 
together, and are frequently entirely covered with a white 
mantle. If no crust is formed they easily break through, 
but should they remain in their warm quarters until 
the sun has partly melted the snow and it becomes frozen 
again, they are unable to escape from their prison and 
perish miserably. Many a covey has been found in such 
a situation after the snow has melted in the spring, the 
