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MEARNS OR MASSENA PARTRIDGE 

 296. Cyrtonyx montezumce mcarnsi. 9 in. 



Bill very stout and compressed. Crest large, puffy 

 and flat. Markings on the male very grotesque and 

 clownish; general color of the female, pinkish brown 

 with streaks of black, and white specks, below, and 

 barred and streaked above. These strange birds are 

 .very local in their distribution in the southwest, rare 

 in some localities and occurring in quite large flocks in 

 others. They are so confiding in their disposition, that 

 this, in connection with their clownish plumage, has 

 given them the name of " Fool " Quail. They frequent 

 dry deserts, valleys, or mountains up to an elevation of 

 at" least 8,000 feet. When startled, they often squat 

 down, and can almost be caught in the hand, but when 

 they do fly, their flight is very rapid, and accompanied 

 with a peculiar clucking noise. 



Nest. A depression in the ground, lined with grasses, 

 and concealed in clumps of weeds or grass. Their eggs, 

 like those of other partridges, are numerous, pure white, 

 and not as sharply pointed as those of the Bob-white. 



Range. Western Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. 



