GAMBEL PARTRIDGE 
295. Lophortyx gambelii. 10 in. 
Head with an elegant recurved crest of six or seven 
feathers; normally these are carried in one packet so 
that there appears to be but one feather, but when ex- 
cited, or during the mating season, they may separate 
the feathers, or sometimes curve them forward so as to 
touch the bill. Hindhead and sides chestnut, throat and 
middle of beitly black. Female with the throat light 
and hindhead gray; crest small; no black on belly. An 
abundant species both in mountains, valleys or deserts, 
near or remote from water. Habits like those of the 
eastern Bob-white, but instead of taking wing, they will 
generally run. 
Nest.—Eggs laid on the ground under any suitable 
cover; creamy-white, handsomely blotched with brown. 
Range.—Resident in western Texas, New Mexico and 
Arizona, north to southern Utah and Nevada. 
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