380 Quail and Grouse of the Pacific Coast 



one more strongly drawn, and the last dropped 



so that the call becomes a ringing k-woick. The 



alarm is a sharp whit-w hit-whit of metallic ring, 



mingled with a muffled wook-wook-wook k-wook- 



00k; and when the birds are so scattered that they 



rise singly, many give a sharp chirp-chirp-chirp 



when they rise near you, while nearly all that rise 



wild are silent. The brooding call is a soft wah 



or waw from the male on some bush or cactus 



near where the female is sitting. During this 



time he often utters a sharp tee-00, but this is most 



always when he is on the ground and generally out 



of sight in cover ; while the other is almost never 



heard except when he is in sight on some perch. 



By that class of sportsmen to whom size, flavor, 



heads, etc., count for nothing, but who love game 



for its slippery qualities, the valley-quail where 



well known stands at the head of American 



game-birds, being surpassed in smartness only by 



Gambel's partridge. For no other bird equally 



approachable and of equal numbers can so puzzle 



even the expert as these two. Like its cunning 



cousin, the valley-quail trusts first to its legs to 



escape, and often when you see one run along the 



ground and then break into flight, it seems a 



needless absurdity, for the increase in the speed 



is so slight. No one need have any scruples 



about shooting at a single bird running, especially 



when dodging among small bushes. 



