est scent. After years of experience with all of the up- 

 land birds of the United States and half of Mexico, I 

 do not hesitate to pronounce the California quail the 

 chief of them all in gameness, in resourcefulness, and 

 in its general adaptability to furnish the highest form 

 of upland shooting. But California quail can not be 

 hunted successfully without a good dog. 



The food of the adult California quail, according to 

 an investigation made by the United States Agricul- 

 tural Department, through the examination of the stom- 

 achs of 619 birds, taken during every month of the 

 year, except May, consists of 97 per cent vegetable and 

 3 per cent animal matter, the vegetable varying accord- 

 ing to the seasons. During the rainy season, when 

 green vegetation is abundant, grasses and foliage of 

 various kinds form fully 80 per cent of the entire food, 

 while in the dry season it forms barely one per cent. 

 In the dry season weed seeds form as high as 85 per 

 cent of the food; one stomach examined containing 2144 

 seeds of various kinds. During the harvesting season 

 when there is a good deal of grain on the ground, and 

 during the sowing season, grains form about 6 per cent 

 of the diet. During the season when wild blackberries, 

 elder and other wild berries are ripe, these, with a few 

 grapes and a little of some other fruits, form 23 per 

 cent of the food. 



During the first week of the life of the young birds, 

 insects of various kinds make up 75 per cent of their 

 food, but by the time they are a month old their animal 

 food is no greater than that of the old birds. 



Color Male Forehead, gray; top and back of head, 

 sooty black, bordered with white running around from 

 one eye to the other, and this again has a faint edging 

 of black; throat, black, margined with white; plume, 

 narrow at the base and wide at the top, consisting of 

 six black, V-shaped feathers, each folded within the 

 other and curved forward; back and sides of the neck 

 to the shoulders, deep ashy blue with the feathers mar- 

 gined with black. Back and wings, bluish brown; 

 primaries, or longest wing feathers, dark brown; breast, 

 deep ashy blue, shading into a dirty buff at the lower 

 part of the abdomen; flanks, dirty brown with white 

 markings. 



The northern coast species are darker with more of 

 an olive tinge. But all the markings are the same. 



Female The female resembles the male in general 

 color, but without the black head and throat. The 



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