62 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING 



"The masked bobwhite is found in the country lying 

 between the Barboquivari Range in Arizona and the 

 Gulf coast in Sonora, more especially between Barbo- 

 quivari and the Plomoso, where this species is quite 

 abundant. They are also found on the Sonoita Creek, 

 about 60 miles north of the Sonora line. From the 

 Sonoita Valley they range in a westerly direction fully 

 100 miles, and through a strip of country not less than 

 30 miles in width within Arizona Territory. Very 

 probably they may go beyond this, both to the east and 

 west. The habits of the masked bobwhite, so far as 

 we know them, appear to resemble very closely those 

 of the common quail, only slightly modified by the con- 

 ditions of their environment. They utter the character- 

 istic call of bobwhite with bold, full notes, and perch 

 on rocks or bushes while calling. They do not appear 

 to be a mountain bird, but live on the mesas (table- 

 lands), in the valleys, and possibly in the foothills. 



"The masked bobwhite was, three years since, abun- 

 dant in the neighborhood of Bolle's Well, a stage sta- 

 tion on the Quijotoa Road, near the northern end of 

 the Barboquivari Range, 29 miles southwest of Tuc- 

 son and about 40 miles north of the Mexican boundary 

 line. As the station was then comparatively new, the 

 grass thereabouts was high, and these quail could be 

 had for the taking; but now that the stock has eaten 

 away the grass, the birds have not for a year or more 

 been seen about the place. On the road from Bolle's 

 Well, west to the Coyote Range (about 25 miles), these 

 quail were frequently to be met with, but the teamsters 



