34 FRANK SCHLEY's PARTRIDGE AND PHEASANT SHOOTING. 



without white or MaCk stripes. Sides with a few iiaiTOW, 

 irregular streaks of black. 



Young. — Somewhat similar to the adult female, but lower 

 parts whitish, the feathers, especially ou the breast, with 

 transverse blackish spots on both webs. 



Chick. — Head dingy white, with a broad occipital ellipti- 

 cal patch of chestnut-brown, and a blackish streak behind 

 the eye. Above rusty-brown, obscurely spotted with black ; 

 a white stripe on each side of the rump. Beneath almost 

 uniform dull white. 



Hab. — Chiefly on the Upper Rio Grande from the high 

 plains of the Pecos. Fort Whipple, Arizonia ; Northern 

 Mexico, southward, on the west coast, to Mazatlan. — 

 Baird. Brewer and Ridgway. 



Habits. — Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway's description of 

 this bird's habits, in the North American Birds, is as follows: 

 "This Quail was first met with by Lieutenant Couch in the 

 canon Guyapuco, about twelve leagues south of Monterey. 

 Though rather shy, they seemed quite at home in the cul- 

 tivated fields and stubbles of the ranches." 



Mr. Clark first noticed the species among a flock of the 

 Ortyx lexana. Once, on flushing a covey of the latter, a 

 bird was seen to remain behind, and showed no inclination 

 to follow the rest. It attempted to hide in the grass, but 

 did not fl}', and, when shot, proved to be a Massena Quail. 

 He saj's they occur either in pairs or in flocks, and when 

 once flushed fly farther than the Virginia Quail, but do not 

 lie so close. They may be approached within a few feet, 

 and followed up, particularly when in pairs, running along 

 before one like so many domestic fowls. They are of quiet 

 as well as of retired habits, and a subdued though sharp 

 note is the only noise that Mr. Clark ever heard them make, 

 and that only when frightened. He has known them to be 

 pursued, and all the barrels of a six shooter fired one after 

 another without alarming them ; and they were forced to 

 fly at last only by an attack of stones and clubs. He first 

 met with them in the neighborhood of San Antonio, and 

 found them thence sparsely distributed as an inhabitant, 



