GAME CHARACTERISTICS 251 



Steveston. They were strong on the wing, as if fully 

 acclimatized. Vancouver Island has also been 

 stocked with these birds, and they thrive round 

 Victoria. Two other species have been imported ; 

 the mountain partridge, Oreortyx pictus, and the 

 Californian partridge, Lophortyx californicus, both 

 of which have been introduced from California. 

 Californian quail have also been imported from their 

 native states, and have multiplied rapidly. The Bob 

 White species is still in the experimental stage. They 

 have not thriven as well as might have been ex- 

 pected on the mainland. 



The game birds of the Dominion have not been 

 sufficiently shot over to afford anything like the 

 sport enjoyed in the Old Country. In brushwood 

 they are not disposed to flush, even with dogs, and 

 on the wing their flight is often no farther than the 

 nearest tree, on which they perch. This may suit a 

 certain class of sportsmen, but it is scarcely satis- 

 factory to those who do not shoot for the mere 

 purpose of killing something. When the winter 

 frosts strip the woodland of its foliage, and the 

 willow grouse have been disturbed, they are more 

 disposed to use their wings, and with a breeze 

 of wind behind them the sport afforded is very 

 different. 



The species that frequent the high mountain ranges 

 and sweep down the hill when flushed, have earned 

 a better reputation amongst the true Nimrods. The 



