128 GALLINACEOUS BIRDS PARTRIDGES 



when once they are on the wing and when I first 

 observed them they were so tame as easily to be ap- 

 proached within short range, but the difficulty was to 

 make them take wing, for no one cares to pot a covey 

 on the ground. Their speed afoot was most remark- 

 able. They were often in sight in the open brush or 

 on the roads racing on ahead. I am quite sure we 

 saw as many as fifty flocks in a day without leaving 

 the wagon, and it may be many more. When on the 

 wing they flew but a short distance, and as I have said 

 in writing of these birds, their feet began to go before 

 they fairly touched the ground, and as they sailed 

 along the surface it was difficult to tell just when the 

 flying ceased and the running began. Their speed 

 afoot seemed quite equal to their speed in air. 



Sportsmen who have had much experience with 

 these birds informed me that by persistently chasing 

 them about until they were well scattered they some- 

 times could be made to lie to the dog, but as a game 

 bird they are in no way to be compared to the par- 

 tridges of the Eastern States. 



The California valley partridge was formerly dis- 

 tributed throughout the coast and interior valleys and 

 on the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. 

 They have been introduced into Oregon, Washington, 

 and British Columbia. 



In the southern parts of California the birds are 

 often found on grounds overgrown with cactus, which 

 presents another serious difficulty for the dogs. A 

 friend who has shot much on such ground informs me 

 that on one plantation the owner had paths cut through 

 a large field of cactus, which was a harbor of refuge 



