QUAILS. 203 



vales adjacent to cultivated ground; and, unlike its East- 

 ern cousin, the Bob White, or Virginia quail, roosts in 

 the thick cover of scrub oaks and other shrubbery, in- 

 stead of squatting on the ground. This bird has a fine 

 crest of from six to ten keeled, black feathers, about an 

 inch in length, which curve forward at such an angle as 

 to give it a jaunty appearance. The male has a small 

 white line from the bill to the eye; the forehead is whit- 

 ish, with black lines; the occiput is brownish; the gen- 

 eral hue of the upper part is ashy, with a strong olive- 

 brown gloss; the forebreast is slaty-blue; the under parts 

 arj tawny, deepening centrally into an orange-chestnut; 

 and the vent, flanks, and crissum are tawny. This quail 

 is rarely found in deep forests, in low swampy ground, 

 or where water and vegetation are scarce. It congre- 

 gates in large flocks in autumn, and, when flushed, takes 

 to trees, and as it flies rapidly, a person must handle his 

 gun promptly to kill it ere it can reach cover. Being 

 very prolific, it has, thus far, defied all the efforts of 

 poisoners, pot-hunters, and trappers to exterminate it. 

 Some persons say that it raises two broods in a season, 

 the second appearing in August or September. This 

 seems probable, as very young birds are frequently seen 

 in the latter month. It is so abundant in Southern Cali- 

 fornia that large numbers are poisoned annually with 

 strychnine, which is scattered over the fields they fre- 

 quent. The cause of this wholesale destruction is said 

 to be on account of the injury they inflict on vineyards, 

 and on such green crops as peas and beans, as they eat 

 the sprouts with avidity as soon as they appear above 

 ground. Some persons think that the grapes the birds 

 eat are a mere nothing compared to the numbers of insects 

 they devour, and which, but for them, would destroy the 

 vines. 



Quail were so numerous in California a few years 

 ago that it was no uncommon thing for a sportsman to 



