28 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



being laid on the last syllable). This is usually uttered when the bird is 

 perched on the topmost lobe of a cactus or other commanding point, and is 

 repeated at intervals of two or three minutes for hours. The call from the male 

 to his mate is a soft-tuned 'ah-wah' or 'ah-hooh,' tender and clear, and is 

 heard during the entire nesting season. The alarm note of both sexes is a low 

 'quit-quit-quit,' usually uttered as the birds cluster under the shelter of a 

 bush before they begin to scatter and run; and it seems to be rather more of a 

 discussion as to the extent of the danger and the best method of avoiding it 



o o 



than the note which is heard a moment later when they have decided that the 

 case is serious and requires a prompt retreat. Then a sharp 'chip-chip,' or 'pip, 

 pip-pip' is uttered by each bird as it dashes forward a few feet before taking 

 wing or till hidden in the nearest manzanita thicket. By far the most common 

 call at all seasons is one resembling 'ca-ra-ho,' repeated four or five times, 

 and the accent shifted from one syllable to another as suits the fancy of the per- 

 former. This note is often heard when the covey has been suddenly surprised, 

 and sounds very much like an angry remonstrance against the intrusion. 

 Sometimes when the covey is scattered, or the old bird is calling her brood 

 together, a call something like 'ca-raw' is used." 



Mr. William Proud, who is quite familiar with the habits of the Valley 

 Partridge, writes me from Butte County, California, regarding them as follows: 

 "Hundreds of these birds roost every night in the shrubbery around my house. 

 Some of them are very tame, feeding among the chickens and coming on the 

 veranda. They appear to know that they are protected. They mostlv roost in 

 thick brush, and on the ground when the brush is not at hand. In early sea- 

 sons they begin to pair in the last week of February, but the time varies some- 

 what according to the season. During this period there is considerable lighting 

 among the males for the favor of the coveted female. This is kept up until they 

 are suitably mated and the nesting season arrives. This usually begins here 

 about the last week in March, when the pairs scatter among the shrubbery 

 along the banks of creeks and in adjacent ravines, along hedge rows and brush 

 fences' and on the borders of cultivated fields. The earliest nest I ever found 

 was on March 15, and on April 15 I met young birds probably a couple of days 

 old. I consider fourteen eggs to be about the average number laid by these 

 birds, and have found as many as twenty-four in a nest. The large sets I attri- 

 bute to other hens laying in the nest, probably young birds which have failed to 

 make preparation for their own eggs. On May 21 my dog pointed a Valley 

 Partridge on her nest which contained twenty -two eggs, and every one hatched. 



" During incubation the male is very attentive and watchful, usually- 

 taking an elevated position near the nest, where with crest erect and tail 

 spread he bids defiance to all intruders, uttering an oft-repeated 'whew-whew- 

 whew.' When the brooding hen leaves the nest to feed, should he be absent 

 from the post of duty, her cry of ' tobacco, tobacco,' very plainly given, 

 brings him up at once. In fact, their call notes are very varied. I frequent]} 

 heard an old cock call out at night ' ah-hooh, ah-hooh,' the first note in a 

 low key. 



