84 BIRDS OF OHIO. 



is evidently less numerous than a score of years ago. It 

 is reported as abundant from a few localities. The prohib- 

 itive laws have prevented any great diminution in numbers. 

 It ' seems likely that the modern restrictions thrown around 

 the sportsmen will tend to diminish their numbers or at 

 least dampen their ardor for the chase, thereby increasing 

 the chances of life for the "Quail." It would be a distinct 

 aesthetic loss if the Bob-white should wholly disappear from 

 our fields and woods. Literature is too full of references 

 to his prophetic warning or encouragement for us to consent 

 to his extinction. 



I find no evidence that Bob-white migrates to any appre- 

 ciable extent: It is probably hardly proof that he does not 

 because a flock or covey is known to occupy the same re- 

 gion the year through, but it looks in that direction. Unfor- 

 tunately we have almost no means of knowing for a certain- 

 ty the individual birds, and so are unable to follow them all 

 the year. It seems likely that there is some small southward 

 movement during the colder weather, or with the appear- 

 ance of considerable snow. .1 



Dr. Sylvester D. Judd has proved that Bob-white eats 

 very little grain, and that little is probably largely waste 

 grain, but he does consume great quantities of weed seeds, 

 particularly those of the ragweed. Farmers can coax a flock 

 of Bob-whites to their barn-yards by throwing grain out to 

 the flock, but it would be a pity to do so for-the purpose of 

 killing them. 



116. (300.) BONASA UMBELLUS (Linn.). 182. 

 Ruffed Grouse. 



Synonyms: Tetrao umbellus. 



Partridge, Pheasant. 

 Kirtland, Preliminary Report, Ohio Geol. Surv., 1838, 67. 



This strictly woods game bird has rapidly decreased in 

 numbers in the last decade ; partly because it has been so 

 persistently hunted and partly because its breeding haunts 

 have been destroyed in so many places. It is reported as 

 still fairly common in the north-eastern third of the state, 



