568 THE CALIFORNIA QUAIL. 
THIS bird, rather than the preceding, deserves the name Mountain Quail, 
for its normal range includes the middle slopes of the Sierra Nevada Moun- 
tains. The distinction in names, therefore, is purely arbitrary, but since it is 
established it would better be adhered to. Importations to Washington have 
been chiefly of the coastal form (O. pictus), but a specimen with a lighter 
colored wing-stripe turns up now and then to show that importers have been 
careless as to where they got their stock, and the resultant breed on Puget 
Sound will evidently be an amalgamation of the two forms. There are no 
local differences of range or habit. 
No. 2209. 
CALIFORNIA QUAIL. 
A. O. U. No. 204. Lophortyx californicus (Shaw). 
Synonyms.—CatirorNniA Partripce. VALLEY Quart (Name properly re- 
stricted to L. c. vallicola). Tor-KNot Quam. 
Description—<Adu/t male: Recurved crest glossy black; throat black, bor- 
dered sharply by white line curving on cheek and passing below eye to bill; fore- 
head whitish, streaked narrowly with black; a clearly defined lateral white streak 
from eye bounding olive-brown crown-patch ; general color of upperparts ashy 
overlaid with olive-brown; the feathers of occiput, nape, and sides of neck nar- 
rowly edged with blackish and speckled with white; the inner webs of tertials 
rufous brown, forming conspicuous stripe; breast slaty-blue; sides color of back, 
sharply streaked with white; remaining underparts tawny to bright chestnut, the 
feathers of the belly, except centrally, sharply bordered w ith black, and presenting 
a handsomely scaled appearance. Adult female: Similar to male, but without 
characteristic head-markings ; breast olive-gray ; belly whitish or pale tawny with 
black edgings as in male. Jmmature birds are grayish brown above with dusky 
and whitish edgings on back and wings, feathers of nape with whitish shaft- 
streaks and dusky borders. Adult length: 10.00-11.00 (254-279.4); wing 4.50 
(114.3); tail 4.40 (111.8); tarsus 1.25 (31.8). 
Recognition Marks.—Robin size; recurved crest of 4 to 10 feathers dis- 
tinctive; black throat of male, scaled appearance of belly (except centrally) ; size 
of Bob-white; weight much less than that of Mountain Quail. 
Nesting.—Nest; a slight grass-lined hollow usually under protection of 
fallen tree or bush-clump. Eggs: 12-18, creamy white or buffy, spotted or 
coarsely blotched with yellowish brown. Av. size, 1.20%.93 (30.5 x 23.6). 
Season; c. May 25; one brood. 
General Range.—Pacific Coast region from Monterey, California, north to 
southern Washington; introduced in Washington and southern British Columbia. 
Range in Washington.—\est-side, probably indigenous but also heavily 
introduced, and now thoroly established at all lower levels in or near cultivated 
areas. 
