rERDiciD.Ti; — THE parthidges. 4 S3 



An adult iiiiilo onllcctcd in Soutliern I'tah by ^Fr. Ileusluiw of Licii- 

 tciumt WliecU'i's Kxpuditinn ditleis t'ruiii idl otliui's which wi; iiiivc slh'ii, 

 intdudiiii^ a hirgo series I'nnii the .same locality, in having the alxloiiu'ii 

 diictly pluniljeou.s, with a lew eloudings of lilaek, in the place of a niii- 

 i'onnly black ])atc]i. Kxcvjtt in this respect, iiowever, it does not differ at 

 all I'roni other adult male sj)ecimens. 



IlAlilTS. (iambel's Cartridge was obtained by Dr. Kenncrly, near San 

 Elizario, Texa.s, and on Colorado IJiver, California, l)y Mr. A. Schott, and also 

 by J)r. Kenncrly. It was not ob.served by Dr. Kenncrly until he reached 

 the valley of the I!io (Irande, nor did he meet with any farther west, in any 

 part of jNIexico, than San Bernardino, in Sonora. Though closely rescndiling 

 in its habits the Scaly Partridge {Ca/hjicpla squaiiutfii), ixnd in some in.stances 

 occujiying the same districts, he never found the two species together. 



According to Mr. J. 11. Clark, this sjiecies was not met with east of the 

 Rio tJrande, uor farther south than Presidio del Xorte. I'nlike the sijiimukiIk, 

 it is very common for this species to sit on the branches of trees and bushes, 

 particularly the male, where the latter is said to utter the most sad anil 

 wailing notes. They are so very tame as to come about the Mexican 

 towns, the inhabitants of which, however, never make any efl'ort to caj)- 

 ture them. They only inhabit wooded and well-watered regions, and are 

 said to feed indifferently on insects or on l)erries ; in summer tluty make 

 the patches of Siilftiunn their home, feeding on its quite jialatable fruit. 

 When flushed, this Quail always seeks the trees, and hides successfully 

 among the branches. 



Dr. Kenncrly found this beautiful species in great nundjcrs during the 

 march of his party up the l!io CJrande. Large flocks were continually 

 crossing the road before them, or were seen hudilled together under a bush. 

 After passing the river he met with them again so abundantly along Par- 

 tridge Creek as to give rise to the name of that stream. Thence to the 

 dreat Colorado he occasionally saw them, but after leaving that river they 

 were not again seen. They are said to liecome quite tame and half do- 

 mesticated where they are not molested. When i)ursued, they can seldom 

 be made to fly, de[)ending more upon their feet as a mode of escaj)e than 

 upon their wings. They run very rapidly, but seldom, if ever, hide, and 

 remain close in the grass or bushes in the manner of the eastern (i|uail. 



From Fort Yuma, on the Colorado liiver, to Eagle Springs, between El 

 Paso and San Antonio, where he last saw a flock of these birds. Dr. Heer- 

 mann states he found them more or less abundant whenever the party fol- 

 lowed the com-se of the Gila, or met with water-holes or streams of any 

 kind. Although they frequent the most arid ]iortions of the country, where 

 they find a scanty subsistence of grass-seed, mesipiite leaves, and inisects, 

 they yet manifest a marked preference for the habitations of man, and were 

 much more numerous in the cultivated fields of Tucson, IMesilla Valley, and 

 El Paso. Towards evening, in the vicinity of the Mexican villages, the loud 



