QUAIL SHOOTING 357 



MEARNS' QUAIL. 



With Mearns' quail the case is quite different. This 

 bird, while not at all shy, possesses markedly swift 

 flight, and lies exceedingly close. 



Dr. L. C. Frick, who has had much experience in 

 shooting them in New Mexico, considers them a better 

 game bird than bobwhite. In shooting them he uses 

 pointer dogs, which have proved very efficient. Dr. 

 Frick believes that if this bird could be introduced 

 into the Mississippi Valley and the country east of it, 

 it would at once become enormously popular as a game 

 bird. He mentions as a great point in favor of this 

 species, that when the birds rise the sexes can always 

 be distinguished, and that therefore cocks may be se- 

 lected for killing and the hens preserved. He believes 

 that the males greatly exceed the females in number, 

 and that therefore it is practicable to do a good deal 

 of shooting without lessening the productive power 

 of the birds in a particular district. The eggs are given 

 by Captain Bendire as eight or ten in number, but, on 

 the other hand, Mr. Nelson, who has been much in 

 the range of these birds, says: 



"I have never seen the Massena partridge in coveys 

 larger than would be attributed to a pair of adults with 

 a small brood of young. Frequently a pair raise but 

 three or four, and I do not remember having ever seen 

 more than six or seven of these birds in a covey." 



Mearns' quail is odd in appearance and odd in habits, 

 but one of its chief peculiarities seems to be that in 



