THE AMERICAN QFAIL. 261 



mediate bird between the two, named by the naturalists 

 OrtyX) which is the Greek term for true Quail, is peculiar 

 to America, of which "but one species, that before us, is 

 found in the United States, except on the Pacific coast 

 and in California, where there are many other beautiful 

 varieties. Our bird is known everywhere East, and 

 everywhere Northwest of Pennsylvania, and in Canada, 

 as the Quail everywhere South as the Partridge. In 

 size, plumage, night, habits, and cry, it more closely 

 resembles the European Quail ; in some structural points, 

 especially the shape and solidity of the bill, the Euro- 

 pean Partridge. On the whole, I deem it properly 

 termed AMERICAN QUAIL ; but whether of the two it shall 

 be called, matters little, as no other bird on this conti- 

 nent can clash with it, so long as we avoid the ridicule 

 of calling one bird by two diiferent terms, on the oppo- 

 site sides of one river the Delaware. The stupid blun- 

 der of calling the Ruffled Grouse, Pheasant, and Part- 

 ridge, in the South and East, is a totally different kind 

 of misnomer ; as that bird bears no resemblance, how- 

 ever distant, to either of the two species, and has a very 

 good English name of his own, videlicet, " Ruffed or 

 Tippeted Grouse," by which alone he is known to men 

 of brains or of sportsmanship. With regard to our 

 Quail, it is different, as he has no distinctive English 

 name of his own ; but is, even by naturalists, indiscrim- 

 inately known as Quail and Partridge. The former is 

 certainly the truer appellation, as he approximates more 



