Tbe Partridges 91 



THE PARTRIDGES 



Subfamily Odontophorina. Genus, Oreortyx (literally mountain 

 quail). Head with long, slender crest of two feathers, upright, 

 or inclined backward. Mountain dwellers. Plumage very 

 beautiful with sharply contrasting markings. The genus em- 

 braces one species and two subspecies, viz. : O. pictus, the 

 mountain partridge ; O, p. phimiferus^ the plumed partridge ; 

 and O. p. confinis, the San Pedro partridge. 



Genus Callipepla, crest full and short. C. squamata, the scaled 

 partridge, and C. s. castaneigastra, the chestnut-bellied scaled 

 partridge. 



Genus Lophortyx* crest of several overlapping feathers, recurved, 

 upright, widening from base to tip, distinct from crown feathers. 

 Z. californicus, the California partridge ; L. c. vallicola, the 

 valley partridge ; and L. gambelli, Gambel's partridge. 



Genus Cyrtonyx, crest full, soft, depressed. Species, C. montezuma, 

 the Massena partridge. 



THE MOUNTAIN PARTRIDGE 

 ( Oreortyx pictus} 



Adult male Top of head, sides of neck and breast, plumbeous; 

 entire upper parts, upper tail-coverts and wings, deep olive- 

 brown, sometimes tinged with rufous ; crest of lengthened 

 straight feathers, black ; chin, white ; entire throat, rich chest- 

 nut, bordered on the sides with black, and separated from the 

 bluish neck by a conspicuous white line ; a white spot behind 

 the eye ; flanks, deep chestnut, broadly barred with black and 

 white ; middle of belly, white ; under tail-coverts, black, the 

 feathers showing a central line of deep chestnut ; tail, olive- 

 brown, mottled with black ; inner edges of tertials broadly 

 marked with ochraceous white ; bill, black. Total length about 

 10 inches, wing, 5!; tail, 3^; tarsus, if; bill, f . The adult 

 female closely resembles the male, the only noticeable differ- 

 ence being a somewhat shorter crest. Range, from the Bay of 

 San Francisco, California, through Oregon and Washington. 

 Introduced on Vancouver Island. 



