180 
MEARNS OR MASSENA PARTRIDGE 
296. Cyrtonyx montezume mearnsi. 9 in. 
Bill very stout and compressed. Crest large, puffy 
and flat. Markings on the male very grotesque and 
clownish; general color of the female, pinkish brown 
with streaks of black, and white specks, below, and 
barred and streaked above. ‘These strange birds are 
very local in their distribution in the southwest, rare 
in some localities and occurring in quite large flocks in 
others. They are so confiding in their disposition, that 
this, in connection with their clownish plumage, has 
given them the name of “ Fool” Quail. They frequent 
dry deserts, valleys, or mountains up to an elevation of 
at least 8,000 feet. When startled, they often squat 
down, and can almost be caught in the hand, but when 
they do fly, their flight is very rapid, and accompanied 
with a peculiar clucking noise. 
Nest.—A depression in the ground, lined with grasses, 
and concealed in clumps of weeds or grass. Their eggs, 
like those of other partridges, are numerous, pure white, 
and not as sharply pointed as those of the Bob-white. 
Range.—Western Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. 
