58 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING 



offered by the weeds and grass that grow about the nest. 

 Captain Bendire says that in the south, cotton rows are 

 a favorite nesting place. 



It rarely happens that for some reason or other a 

 second brood of quail may be very late. Such a case 

 was mentioned in Forest and Stream in February, 1879, 

 where a quail's nest is stated to have been found in the 

 month of January. 



From twelve to eighteen white eggs are laid. Some- 

 times many more are found in a nest. In such cases 

 it is probable that two hens have shared a single nest. 

 Captain Bendire tells of a nest of nine eggs taken in 

 Texas, all of which were more or less spotted and 

 streaked with reddish brown and lilac markings, es- 

 pecially about the larger end. 



While the hen is sitting on her eggs, the male from 

 some elevated perch not far off whistles through much 

 of the day the cheerful notes which give him his name 

 and which are also interpreted as more wet. When 

 one is near the bird, a third note is heard preceding the 

 two most striking ones, and much lower pitched, mak- 

 ing the whole call seem more like ah bobwhite. It is 

 generally supposed that this call is peculiar to the male, 

 but the female also utters it, though not with the same 

 fullness and vigor as the male. On one occasion while 

 driving slowly along a narrow grassy lane I heard a 

 quail whistling at some distance ahead of the horse. 

 We drew nearer and nearer, yet the sound seemed 

 hardly strong enough for that of a full-grown male, 

 and presently I distinctly saw whistling, a female quail, 



