QUAIL. 147 



Old birds are up to all manner of tricks, and are extremely- 

 cautious, and very often will not lie to the dog ; they run away as 

 soon as they observe his approach, and frequently fly up before the 

 dogs get within fifty or a hundred yards of them, and take imme- 

 diately to the thick cripples, or disappear over the tops of the 

 highest trees ; and, often when they are hit hard, will carry off 

 several pellets of shot, if not struck in some vital part, and, with a 

 broken wing, will run so fast as to escape the dog and huntsman. 



About the beginning of October, Quail frequently abandon the 

 high ground where they are hatched and reared, and resort in 

 large numbers to the river banks and other water courses, and 

 about the first of November return to their old haunts. This is 

 called their running season, and at this period they will not lie to 

 the dog, and to follow them is so much lost time, as it is impos- 

 sible to keep up with them. Hundreds of birds are often found in 

 these companies, and they very seldom fly, but run as fast as a 

 dog, and scatter through the brier bushes and thick undergrowth, 

 where it is impossible for the dogs to follow them. The cause of 

 these movements has never been satisfactorily explained. Some 

 attribute it to a scarcity of food, but that cannot be the cause, 

 as they return again to their old haunts after the lapse of a few 

 weeks. 



In clear, frosty weather Quail will be found in stubble-fields, or 

 even in corn-fields, if they lie contiguous to a wood, and also in 

 buckwheat patches, as they are very partial to this kind of grain, 

 and prefer it to all others. They generally feed until about eleven 

 o'clock in the morning, and then resort to some quiet nook along 

 the banks of a stream, or lie under the sunny side of the trunk of 

 a fallen tree, where they scratch and preen themselves. It is 

 about as well for the sportsman, during this part of the day, to 

 rest from his labors, and refresh himself and his dogs. The tim.e 

 so occupied will not be wasted, as, after a couple of hours of rest, 

 both himself and his dogs will be in better condition for work ; 

 and even if he retraces his steps over the ground where he hunted 

 in the morning, he will often find fresh coveys of birds, and those 

 which he has shot into in the morning will have had time to col- 

 lect together, and will often be found scattered over the stubble 

 peacefully feeding. 



