THE ^' QUAIL" 63 



of a reddish brown hue, mottled and banded 

 with yellow, black, and a bluish gray, which 

 gives his plumage a purplish bloom. His 

 breast is of the same reddish tinge, fading into 

 a grayish white, these colors irregularly barred 

 with fine jet black lines. The feathers of the 

 top of the head are a trifle elongated and may 

 be erected into a slight crest. A white band 

 beginning at the base of the bill runs over each 

 eye to the nape. On the throat is a broad 

 patch of snowy white, bordered with black, 

 as is also the line above the eye, just men- 

 tioned. 



The female is similarly marked, though paler 

 in hue, and the lines over the eyes and the patch 

 on the throat are dull yellow. The male bird 

 is about ten inches long, and in extent of wings 

 fifteen inches; female a trifle smaller. Weight 

 averages between six and eight ounces. 



''Bob White" varies much in his shading 

 and depth of color in the different parts of his 

 range. In general the northern Quail is larger, 

 stronger of flight and rather more brilliantly 

 colored than the bird of the south and south- 

 west ; the Bob White of the last named section 

 is especially pale in coloring. But even in the 



