FIG. 9. CALIFORNIA QUAIL (L. C. GALIFORNIGA). 

 Note that the feathers of the ornament of the head arc drawn together so i 



MALE. 

 s to appear as one feather. 



lengthwise stripe seen in all of our United 

 States Quail, it being formed by the light- 

 colored 1 edgings of the inner secondary feath- 

 ers. Tail, lead-colored. Primaries, fuscous 

 and unmarked. These birds lay from eight 

 to sixteen eggs to the clutch in a nest they 

 build on the ground; they are generally of a 

 pale, buff shade and evenly speckled. 



Lastly, in this genus we have the Chestnut- 

 bellied Scaled Quail or Partridge (C. s. cast- 

 anogastris), which is a subspecies resembling 

 the former; but the plumage is generally 

 darker, the crown and the dorsum being of 

 the same shade as is the breast and sides of 

 the head. Throat lighter. In the male bird 

 there is an abdominal median area of a dark 

 chestnut color which is conspicuously defined. 

 This is rarely found in any of the females of 

 this interesting subspecies of Callipepla. 



C. squamata is widely known in the South- 

 west as the "Blue Quail," and it associates, 

 as I have been told, with Gamfcel's Quail 

 that is, Lophortyx gambeli of the genus to be 



described in the remaining Part (IV) of this 

 series of articles. 



A good many years ago, when I was serv- 

 ing as Post Surgeon at Fort Wingate, New 

 Mexico, these birds, that is C. s. squamata, 

 were not uncommon in the county about forty 

 miles east of the Post on the plains, near a 

 place called Grant; while in the nearby hills 

 the 'Tool hen" or Mearns' Quail (Cyrtonyx 

 m. mearnsi) was occasionally to be found, 

 that locality being the northern limit of its 

 range in those times. 



There is no question but what any of these 

 quails might be successfully raised in cap- 

 tivity, proper regard being paid to their 

 necessities and food. Just at this time there 

 seems to be some evidences that the matter 

 of rearing all kinds of game birds in this way, 

 on public and private preserves, is attracting 

 more general attention, and enterprises of 

 the kind should 1 be encouraged in every pos- 

 sible way. 



