THE QUAILS OF CALIFORNIA. 65 



bag, there is a sad lack of that charm that comes from 

 hunting a bird that can rarely be seen, even on the wing, 

 without the aid of a well-bred and well-trained dog. 

 This quail never lies to the dog as Bob White does in the 

 Atlantic States, and only in the northern part of Cali- 

 fornia does he sometimes lie as closely as Bob White 

 does in the Western States. In the south of California 

 he rarely lies much better than Bob White does in the 

 Western States during those short periods of migra- 

 tion when, for two or three weeks in early fall, two or 

 more bevies sometimes run together, run into town, fly 

 against houses, and make fools of themselves generally. 

 The first dependence of the valley quail is upon its legs, 

 and it rarely trusts to hiding until thoroughly scared and 

 scattered, when it will often lie quite well. But by this 

 time the dog, unless kept at heel or tied up, is generally 

 demoralized by the running and rising of innumerable 

 birds, and feels more like hunting shade than birds. The 

 more it is hunted, the more closely this bird seems to lie, 

 but it is doubtful if any amount of hunting will give it 

 the habit of lying from the beginning as closely as Bob 

 White lies. Though a dog can, in many places, and in 

 all places where the birds are scarce, be used to great 

 advantage by one who thoroughly understands these 

 birds, as well as the proper working of a dog, no such 

 fine exhibition of dog intelligence is to be seen as is an 

 every-day occurrence in hunting Bob White. There are 

 those who think otherwise, but it only proves to me that 

 they have never seen handsome work by good dogs on 

 close-lying birds. 



Though large quantities of these quail may, in sum- 

 mer and early fall, be killed upon the ground by the 

 merest tyro, especially if shooting from a wagon, it be- 

 comes quite a different matter later in the fall, when they 

 are full-grown and strong, and especially where they are 



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