The Partridges 93 



color from pale to rich buff, without spots. The 

 food of this species consists of various seeds and 

 insects, occasionally varied with grain. The bird, 

 however, is too shy and retiring in habit to ever 

 make itself at home on cultivated ground. 



THE PLUMED PARTRIDGE 

 {Oreortyx pictus plutniferus) 



To the ordinary observer this bird is exactly 

 like O, pictus, but the habits vary. Strangely 

 enough, the mountain partridge is less a fre- 

 quenter of high altitudes than this species, which 

 is frequently found at an elevation of between 

 eight and ten thousand feet. Its range includes 

 both sides of the Sierra Nevada, eastern Oregon, 

 and to the Panamint Mountains and Mount Ma- 

 gruder, Nevada ; in California, from San Francisco 

 Bay to the Argus Mountains. It prefers the drier 

 country away frofn the coast. It, too, is a runner, 

 and an unsatisfactory object of pursuit. The nest, 

 eggs, young, habits during the breeding season, 

 and food are identical with those of the preceding 

 species ; in fact, the one marked difference lies in 

 the preference of O. p. plumifertis for higher 

 ground. To the eye, the female is distinguishable 

 by her shorter crest. 



