24 FRANK SCHLEY'S PARTRIDGE AND PHEASANT SHOOTING. 



reunited, they relapse into silence, only broken by an occa- 

 sional cluck of the male bird. Once scattered they cannot 

 be readily started again, as they lie close in their thick., 

 bushy, and impenetrable coverts. Near Fort Yuma the 

 Indians catch them in snares, and bring them in great 

 numbers for sale. 



Dr. Samuel W. Woodhouse first met with this species on 

 the Rio Grande, about fifty miles below El Paso, up to 

 which place it was extremely abundant. It was by no 

 means a shy bird, frequently coming about the houses; 

 and he very often observed the males perched on the top 

 of a high bush, uttering their peculiarly mournful calls. 

 He found it in quite large flocks, feeding principally on seeds 

 and berries. It became scarce as he approached Dona 

 Ana, above which place he did not meet with it again. He 

 again encountered it, however, near the head of Bill Wil- 

 liams Eiver and afterwards on the Tampia Creek, and it 

 was exceedingly abundant all along the Great Colorado. 

 He was informed that they are never found west of the 

 Coast Range, in California. About Camp Yuma, below the 

 mouth of the Gila River, they were very abundant and 

 very tame, coming quite near the men, and picking up the 

 grain wasted by the mules. They are trapped in great 

 numbers by the Indians. 



This Quail is given by Mr. Dresser as occurring in Texas, 

 but not as a common bird, and only found in certain locali- 

 ties. At Muddy Creek, near Fort Clark, they were not 

 uncommon, and were also found near the Nueces River. 



Dr. Coues (Ibis, 1866), in a monograph upon this species, 

 describes its carriage upon the ground as being firm and 

 erect, and at the same time light and easy, and with colors 

 no less pleasing than its form. He found them to be ex- 

 ceedingly abundant in Arizona, and soon after his arrival 

 in the Territory he came upon a brood that was just out of 

 the egg. They were, however, so active, and hid them- 

 selves so dexterously that he could not catch one. This 

 was late in July, and throughout the following month he 

 met broods only a few days old. The following spring he 



