THE QUAIL. 121 



sally found in this country, the Quail, by its familiar habits, 

 invites the sportsman, who pursues it as a source of plea- 

 surable recreation, superior to all others; and thus, be- 

 tween man, hawks, and vermin, is a continual war waged 

 against this harmless bird, and every succeeding year 

 adds to the number and avidity of its enemies, but so great 

 is the fecundity of the Quail, that instead of decreasing in 

 quantity, they appear to thrive^ and multiply, in despite of 

 the system of extermination carried on against them. 

 The most are killed by man, and he may be fairly con- 

 s': rjered their greatest enemy ; but, the Quail is more fear- 

 ful of the hawk, for when pursued by this destructive bird, 

 terror overcomes its instinct, and it will oftimes fly, un- 

 mindful of the consequences, against a tree or house with 

 so much force, as to be killed ; in fact, frequently their 

 whole muscular powers become so paratyzed by dread, 

 that it will suffer itself to be trodded upon, or taken, with- 

 out making an effort to escape. 



At this time, the notes of the male are most frequent, 

 clear, and loud. His common, or early call, consists of 

 two notes, with sometimes an introductory one, and is sim- 

 ilar to the sound produced by pronouncing the words 

 " Bob White." This call may be easily imitated by 

 whistling, so as to deceive the bird itself, and bring it near. 

 While uttering this, he is usually perched on a rail of the 

 r ence, or on a low limb of an apple tree, where he will 

 sometimes sit, repeating at short intervals, " Bob White," 

 for half an hour at a time. It, however, is only practised 

 after pairing in the spring, and continues through the sum- 

 mer, until about the middle of August, when it is substi- 

 tuted by another call, which is used by them until the time 

 of pairing comes on again. When a covey are assembled 

 in a thicket or corner of a field, and about to take wing, 

 they make a low twittering sound, not unlike that of young 

 chickens ; and when the covey is dispersed they are called 



