380 Quail and Grouse of tbe Pacific Coast 



one more strongly drawn, and the last dropped 

 so that the call becomes a ringing k-woick. The 

 alarm is a sharp whit-w hit-whit of metallic ring, 

 mingled with a muffled wook-wook-wook k-wook- 

 ook; and when the birds are so scattered that they 

 rise singly, many give a sharp chirp-chirp-chirp 

 when they rise near you, while nearly all that rise 

 wild are silent. The brooding call is a soft wah 

 or waw from the male on some bush or cactus 

 near where the female is sitting. During this 

 time he often utters a sharp tee-oo, but this is most 

 always when he is on the ground and generally out 

 of sight in cover ; while the other is almost never 

 heard except when he is in sight on some perch. 

 By that class of sportsmen to whom size, flavor, 

 heads, etc., count for nothing, but who love game 

 for its slippery qualities, the valley-quail where 

 well known stands at the head of American 

 game-birds, being surpassed in smartness only by 

 Gambel's partridge. For no other bird equally 

 approachable and of equal numbers can so puzzle 

 even the expert as these two. Like its cunning 

 cousin, the valley-quail trusts first to its legs to 

 escape, and often when you see one run along the 

 ground and then break into flight, it seems a 

 needless absurdity, for the increase in the speed 

 is so slight. No one need have any scruples 

 about shooting at a single bird running, especially 

 when dodging among small bushes. 



