GAME OF THE UNITED STATES. 



389 



trable swamps at their base. Occasionally it 

 lies well to a dog, but the majority of birds are 

 treed by barking curs and killed by market 

 shooters. The ptarmigan (Lagopus albus, Afu- 

 dubon), known as the "willow grouse" and 

 partridge of Newfoundland, is a resident of 

 the British possessions, although a few are 

 found in winter in northern Maine, New 

 Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. The 

 white - tailed ptarmigan {Lagopus Cucurus, 

 Swainson), sometimes called "white quail," is 

 found only on the highest peaks of the Rocky 

 mountains, and is but little known except to 

 the naturalist. 



Hares. Of the Leporida there are nine spe- 

 cies in America, eight common to the United 

 States. These are: the prairie hare (Lepus 

 campestris, Bachraan), whose habitat includes 

 the plains of the Saskatchewan southward to 

 middle Kansas, and from Fort Reilly west to 

 the Coast Range; the varying hare (Lepus 

 Americanus, Erxleben), with its varieties. The 

 habitat of var. Americanus is British America ; 

 of var. Virginianus, Nova Scotia to Connecti- 

 cut, the Canadas, the northern tier of States 

 westward to Minnesota, and southward in the 

 Alleghanies to Virginia ; of var. WasJiingtonli, 

 westward of Rocky mountains into British Co- 

 lumbia ; of var. Bairdii, the highest parts of 

 the Rocky mountains southward to New Mex- 

 ico. The gray rabbit, or cotton-tail (Lepus 

 sylvaticus, Bachman) with varieties Nuttalli 

 and Auduboni whose range is the whole of 

 the United States ; the Western hare (Lepus 

 Trowbridgei, Baird), found west of the Sierra 

 Nevadas from northern California to Cape St. 

 Lucas; the jackass rabbit (Lepus callotis, Wag- 

 ler), found in the United States between the 

 ninety- seventh meridian and the Sierra Neva- 

 da mountains, and from north Kansas and the 

 Great Salt Lake basin southward into Mexico ; 

 the California hare (Lepus Californicus, Gray), 

 whose habitat is confined to California ; the 

 swamp hare (Lepus palustris, Bachman), found 

 in the South Atlantic and Gulf States ; the 

 water hare (Lepus aquaticus, Bachman), whose 

 range is in the Gulf States, south through the 

 lowlands of Mexico to Central America. The 

 methods employed to secure these animals are 

 very numerous. The cotton-tail and the vary- 

 ing hare, the latter of which changes its coat 

 spring and fall, are usually hounded or tracked 

 in the snow. The jackass rabbit is coursed 

 with greyhounds by the officers of the West- 

 ern garrisons, and by a coterie of California 

 sportsmen who have recently formed a cours- 

 ing club. The other hare, which changes its 

 color on the approach of winter from brown 

 to white, is the prairie hare. Many hares are 

 trapped and snared, and during the winter 

 season car-loads are brought to the markets 

 of our cities and sold at cheap rates. 



Ploycr. The family of plover (Charadriidce) 

 includes eight varieties, two species of which 

 are followed by sportsmen : they are the black- 

 bellied plover (Squatarola Helvetica, Brehm), 



variously called the "bullhead," "black breast," 

 "ox eye," "pilot," and "bottle head," com- 

 mon on the Atlantic coast and Western plains, 

 and the golden plover (Charadrim fulvus, var. 

 Virginicus, Coues), known as the "frost bird," 

 " green back," and " whistling plover." It is 

 one of the most abundant migratory birds of 

 the United States. On the plains west of the 

 Mississippi it congregates in vast numbers. 

 Both the above-named varieties answer to the 

 whistling call of the fowler, and come well to 

 his decoys. The other members of the plover 

 family can not be classed as game. 



Quail. The Odontophorince, the sub-family 

 to which the quail belong, contains over forty 

 species. But a minor number of these, how- 

 ever, belong to the United States, the remain- 

 der having their habitat in Mexico and in Cen- 

 tral and South America. Yet three of the 

 southern species are found north of the Rio 

 Grande. Of the six varieties that occur with- 

 in the limits of the United States, the " quail" 

 (Oxtyx Virginianus, Bon.) of the North, " par- 

 tridge " of the South, which is also frequently 

 called "Bob White," is the only one that 

 lies well to the dog. By many sportsmen it 

 is considered the typical game bird of North 

 America. It is found generally throughout the 

 United States, being most abundant in the 

 West and South. It has recently been intro- 

 duced in Utah. The quail is better protected 

 during the close season than any other game 

 bird. During the months of November and 

 December it is shot and trapped in immense 

 numbers. The mountain quail of California 

 (Oreortyx pictus, Baird) is the largest species 

 of quail. It inhabits the mountains of Oregon 

 and California. It runs before the dog, and 

 when flushed takes to the trees. The valley 

 quail (LopJiortyx California, Bon.), or, as it 

 is sometimes called, the "meadow quail," is 

 met with chiefly in California. In autumn 

 the bevies pack and inhabit the plains, where 

 the birds are easily shot. The Arizona quail, 

 or Gambel's partridge (Lophortyx Gambeli, 

 Nuttall), is confined to the southwestern por- 

 tion of our territory. It is most abundant in 

 New Mexico and Arizona. The blue quail, or 

 scaled partridge (Callipepla squamata, Gray), 

 is a great runner. It is most abundant in 

 Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. 



Rails. The family of the rails (BalUdce) 

 comprises a group of migrants which are 

 very interesting little water birds. They are 

 shot principally at high water, the sportsman 

 standing erect in a boat, which is pushed 

 by an attendant through the wild oats and 

 floating reeds. As the boat surges ahead, the 

 close-lying birds are forced to take wing, and 

 thus afford an easy mark. Six species are 

 more or less abundant in the United States 

 these are th clappere rail (fiallus longirostris, 

 Bodd.), an inhabitant of salt-water marshes, 

 commonly known as the "mud hen"; the 

 fresh-water marsh hen (Rallus elegans, Aud.), 

 known as the "king rail," and considered a 



