THE GAME BIRDS OF THE 

 PACIFIC COAST 



In describing the game birds of the Pacific Coast, I 

 have included all those found in any considerable num- 

 bers from the British Columbia line, south to and in- 

 cluding the state of Arizona, the Mexican states of 

 Sonora and Chihuahua and the peninsula of Lower 

 California, for in some of these less frequented places, 

 game birds are found in great numbers and great va- 

 riety. This is especially true in these southern sections 

 with the quail, for here its voice is heard in all the 

 notes of the gamut, from the soft, turkey-like call of the 

 mountain species, the soul-stirring whistle of the bob- 

 white, or the sharp, decisive "can't see me" of the val- 

 ley quail, through all the varied changes of the blue 

 quail family, to the low plaintive note of the massena 

 quail of Mexico. 



While it is not the purpose of this work to give a 

 scientific classification of the game birds of which it 

 treats, a brief statement of the manner in which they 

 are grouped and classified by the ornithologist will ma- 

 terially assist the reader in the study of those species 

 herein mentioned. 



The ornithologist groups all the birds of North Amer- 

 ica into seventeen "Orders"; each of these including all 

 birds of a similar nature. Some of these orders are 

 divided into two or more suborders, where, while clear- 

 ly belonging to the order, there is yet a sufficient differ- 

 ence in certain groups of families to justify this further 

 separation. The next division is the "family," which is 

 again divided into "genera," and each "genus" into 

 "species." 



Of the seventeen orders of American birds, the scope 

 of this work includes only six; for all of the birds, com- 

 monly called game birds, belong to one or the other of 

 the following orders: 



The Gallinae All gallinaceous, or chicken-like birds. 

 Of this order we only have to consider two families: 

 The Tetraonidae, composed of the quail and grouse, and 

 the Phasianidae, composed of the turkeys and pheasants. 



The Anseres Lamellirostral, or soft-billed swimmers, 

 such as the ducks, geese, swans and mergansers, com- 

 prising the one family, Anatidas, which is divided into 

 five subfamilies, with four of which we are concerned, 

 viz.: The Anatinae, the fresh-water ducks; the Fuligu- 

 linae, the salt-water ducks; the Anserinas, the geese and 

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