THE LAND BIRDS. 
GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. ORDER GALLINZ) 
BoB-WHITES, GROUSE, ETO, (FAMILY TETRAONIDZ,) 
Tuts is the family of the game birds—the aristocrats 
of the bird world. They are protectively colored birds, 
their rich brown, buff, and black plumage harmoniz- 
ing with their surroundings. Relying on their incon- 
spicuousness, they avoid danger by hiding rather than by _ - 
flight, taking wing only as a final resort. Then, with a 
startling whir-r-r, they spring into the air, their short, 
strong wings enabling them to reach their greatest speed 
within a short distance of the starting point. 
One of the best-known members of this distinguished 
family is our familiar Bob-white, the Quail of the North 
and Partridge of the South. The fact 
is, he is neither a true Quail nor Par- 
tridge, and those who claim that but 
one of these names is correct may compromise on “ Bob- 
white.” 
The Bob-white inhabits the eastern United States, and 
wherever “ound is resident throughout the year. The 
sexes are much alike in color, the only important differ- 
ence being in the throat and the line over the eye, which 
are white in the male and buff in the female. 
No bird better illustrates the peculiar potency of 
bird song, and the hopelessness of attempting to express its 
charm. If I should describe Bob-white’s call to a person 
who had never heard it, as two ringing notes, do you 
suppose he would have the faintest conception of what 
100 
Bob-white, 
Colinus virginianus. 
