562 THE BOB-WHITE, 
In the fall, one who knows them well may become aware of a faint mur- 
muring and rustling which proceeds from the ground, and by attention may 
perceive the birds as they scuttle, apprehensive, thru the grass, and pause at 
every cover, hoping against hope that they are not seen. They would rather 
not fly, and if not too closely pressed, will scamper away with perking heads 
and lifting crests, or else traverse an unsheltered stretch with affected dainti- 
ness, like ladies at a muddy crossing. Or, again, they will gather closely and 
“freeze,” pending the final outcome. You approach slowly in dead silence— 
nearer—nearer—you cross the invisible danger-line. Pouf! and they are off 
like fragments of an exploding bomb. 
“amily groups, or coveys, are the rule in fall, when the Bob-whites fre- 
quent stubble-fields, fence-rows, weed-grown fallows, and brushy pastures. 
When pointed, not too closely, the birds will quit the covey by little irruptions 
of twos and threes, affording the hunter the much-prized opportunity for sue- 
cessive shots at the same brood. Truth to tell, he earns his meat, for each 
bird yields a mere bite, and they fly like little meteors. Flash! Bang! and an 
intrepid soul has paid its ransom of a mouthful of clay,—very sapid, they 
tell me. 
When the hunter and his dog have passed, the scattered flock reassembles, 
one member only, presumably the parent bird, if spared, sounding the call—a 
low, sweet, penetrating, quoi-hee quoi-hee quoi-hee. Much time is spent in 
search of the missing, for the Bob-whites are devoted brothers, and the quest 
does not end until the pangs of hunger intervene to distract attention. 
At the approach of winter decimated coveys unite to form “packs,’” some- 
times numbering as high as seventy-five birds, and these remain together thru 
the season. In extreme emergency Bob-whites will resort to trees, but roost- 
ing is ordinarily upon the ground, where the company, of whatever size, squats 
in a circle, tails to center and heads pointing outward, alert to every danger. 
About the first of April the flocks scatter, and the search for mates com- 
mences. Altho coming of polygamous ancestors, Bob-white is faithful thru 
the nesting season to a single mate. Indeed, it is not improbable that, where 
undisturbed, the same birds reunite year after year, after the fashion of the 
songsters. Instances are on record where the father has assumed charge ofa 
first brood while the female was occupied with the incubation of another. 
The number of eggs laid by the female Bob-white varies greatly accord- 
ing to locality. In the South, where at least two broods are raised in a season, 
the sets often contain only ten or a dozen eggs. But in the North, where only 
one brood is reared, no self-respecting Quail would lay less than eighteen 
eggs; and in several instances twenty-eight, thirty, and even thirty-two, have 
been found in a single nest. Needless to say, in these cases the eggs are piled 
two and three layers deep. 
The female is most particular regarding her eggs, and she resents even a 
