Vol. xxn Brown, Masked Bob-white. 2\'\ 



1904 J ' o 



that were then in it. I was, however, notified of the find, but 

 when I reached there I found only an empty nest, a bowl-shaped 

 depression in a bunch of mountain grass. I have regretted many 

 times that I did not dig up the "situation " and take it home with 

 me, but I did not then dream of their future rarity. The eggs had 

 undoubtedly been taken by some reptile or animal, as no broken 

 shells were found to indicate that they had hatched. Later I 

 offered five dollars for the first egg of a Bob-white brought to me. 

 I received a quail egg from a party by the name of Sturgis, then 

 living at La Osa, a few miles north of the Mexican line. He 

 claimed to have personally taken the egg from the nest and knew 

 it to be that of a Bob-white. Although I had my misgivings I 

 paid the money and then sent the egg to Major Bendire for exam- 

 ination. He reported it to be nothing more than a very pale tg'g 

 of a Callipella sqiiainata. I then wrote to friends in Sonora, but 

 they never succeeded in getting me the much coveted egg. 



The causes leading to the extermination of the Arizona Masked 

 Bob-white {^CoHniis ridgivayi) are due to the overstocking of the 

 country with cattle, supplemented by several rainless years. This 

 combination practically stripped the country bare of vegetation. Of 

 their range the CoUmis occupied only certain restricted portions, 

 and when their food and shelter had been trodden out of existence 

 by thousands of hunger-dying stock, there was nothing left for 

 poor little Bob-white to do but go out with them. As the condi- 

 tions in Sonora were similar to those in Arizona, birds and cattle 

 suffered in common. The Arizona Bob-white would have thriven 

 well in an agricultural country, in brushy fence corners, tangled 

 thickets and weed-covered fields, but such things were not to be 

 had in their habitat. Unless a few can still be found on the 

 upper Santa Cruz we can, in truth, bid them a final good-bye. 



