brant; and the Cygninae, the swans. 



The Columbae This order has but one family, the 

 Columbidae, composed of the pigeons and doves. 



The Limicolae This order has seven families, only 

 three of which I have mentioned as being of sufficient 

 interest to the sportsmen of the Pacific Coast to justify 

 a description of them. These are the Recurvirostridae, 

 composed of the stilts and avocets; the Scolopacidae, 

 the snipes, curlews, yellow-legs, willits, marlins, sand- 

 pipers, etc.; and the Charadridae, the plovers. 



The other two orders, the Herodiones and the Paludi- 

 colae, the first composed largely of the herons, storks, 

 ibises, and egrets, and the latter of the cranes, rails 

 gallinules and coots, afford more pleasure to the sports- 

 man through their stately appearance on his hunting 

 grounds than as game birds. The coots, however, are 

 not considered game by our sportsmen. 



It is well to state here also, that ornithologists do not 

 always agree in the classification and nomenclature of 

 birds. One claiming that a certain species or genus 

 should be separated, while others insist that there is no 

 reason for such separation. With the one exception of 

 the California valley quail, I have followed the plan of 

 the American Ornithologists' Union. In this exception 

 I have followed such good authorities as Banapart, El- 

 liott, Ridgeway and Gambel, and given the California 

 valley quail the generic name of Lophortyx, instead of 

 classing them with the Callipepla, to which belong the 

 scaled quail, a species with no distinction between the 

 sexes. 



THE QUAIL 



While the eastern half of the continent has but one 

 genus of quail, the Pacific Coast, including Mexico, is 

 well supplied with five genera and eighteen species, to 

 which may be added four subspecies. Nine species of 

 the genus, Col in us, however, and two of the genus, 

 Callipepla, do not come into the United States. 



Properly speaking we have no quail in America, all 

 of our so-called quail being partridges, but the use of 

 the word "quail" has become so common that these 

 birds will, in all probability, be known as quail for all 

 time. But whatever the name, they are resourceful 

 beyond comparison, and gamy to the fullest degree; 

 affording with dog and gun the most enjoyable of all 

 out-door sport. 



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