384 Qiiail and Grouse of the Pacific Coast 



Formerly they were easily found by their assem- 

 bling call, which they kept always going at such a 

 rate that it would generally enable you to locate 

 any flock within a quarter of a mile or more. But 

 now they have learned the use of silence. And 

 they know how to keep still before you come as 

 well as after. And instead of large, noisy flocks 

 in the valleys, they are now in smaller bands high 

 up the hillsides and more out of sight in the 

 brush. Every rise of the flock is now apt to be 

 out of shot, and it is only at the single ones that 

 one can point the gun with any hope, while the 

 rise of these is more than double what it was. 

 Instead of a great roaring blue cloud, you see 

 more often only a string of dark dots stretching 

 over some towering ridge, from which the sound 

 of wings is barely audible in the distance. 



When a flock first touched ground from a flight, 

 you were once quite certain to get a shot if you 

 were there soon enough. Now it is generally 

 impossible to reach that spot in time or the next 

 or even the next place. On the place where a 

 big flock first alighted after scattering, one could 

 once find many birds still lying closely an hour or 

 more after chasing the rest in different directions. 

 But to-day it is quite a waste of time to tramp 

 over old spots, though in a few places they still lie 

 well in good cover. The average rise both of the 

 flock and of single birds has also greatly increased. 



