130 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS— PARTRIDGES 



sides over their heads and in front of them, until they 

 are in " a state of such alarm that they will trust to 

 hiding." He then advises that the dog (which I pre- 

 sume has been used in coursing the birds) be tied to a 

 shady bush and that the coat be laid aside, that the 

 sportsman may travel fast after the scattered birds. 



The dogs which have had experience with these 

 birds are of course better than dogs which have been 

 trained on the Eastern partridge, Bob-white. There 

 are now many fine dogs owned in California, and these, 

 no doubt, have learned to point the running birds at 

 long range, and do good work with them whenever 

 they consent to lie to them. Fast, wide-ranging dogs, 

 such as are good on snipe on the vast Western marshes, 

 dogs with excellent noses, that can point the game 

 when it is a long way off and keep after it, always care- 

 ful not to flush the birds, are no doubt the dogs the 

 sportsmen of California must rely on„ 



The birds to-day are described as much more wild 

 than those of former years, and do not show progress 

 toward that happy day when their education will be 

 complete, and they will cease to trust to their legs and 

 lie well to the dogs. I fear the opinion of the famous 

 ornithologist, the late Dr. Coues, which I have given 

 in the chapter on Bob-whites, may not prove to be 

 correct. 



The valley partridge nests upon the ground. There 

 are usually twelve or fifteen eggs. The food consists 

 of seeds, insects, and leaves ; the birds are very fond of 

 grapes. 



Although known everywhere as the valley-partridge, 

 these birds are often found at an elevation of several 



