IS4 NOKTII AMKIMCAN lUIlDS. 



call-iKitoa of tlio iimlo l)ir(l.s miiy lu; licanl, ;;,illii'iiii^' tlic sciittorcd uiciiibors 

 of till' lliK'ks, |)R'\inus lo issuing' tidiii tlic cdvci' wlu'ic tlicy have liccii coii- 

 coiilcil (.lurinij; tlic day. lii'surtiiij;' to tlic tniils imd tlit' mads in scair.li of 

 siilisisU'iicu, while tliu.s cii^amtd tlicy niter a low .soft note wliieli ketips the 

 llock to<j;ether. They are iiol of a wild iiatiive, nfu^n ])erniit a near aiiproauh, 

 seldom lly nnless suddenly Ihishetl, ami seem to ]n'ei'er to escape IVoni dangei' 

 liy retreating' to dense thickets. In another rujiort Dr. Ileerniann men- 

 tions Undine; this species in ('alil'orniii on the Mohave tlesurt, at the jioiiit 

 where the river empties into a kirj,'e salt lake l'ormin,i,' its lerminu.s. The 

 lloek was wild, and conld not lie approached. Afterwards he oliservod 

 them on tii" IJij,' Laj^oon of New Iliver. At Fort Ynma they wore (piite 

 abundant, con^'re,u;atin)j; in lar<;e coveys, freiinoiitin^ the thick underwood in 

 the vicinity of the mesiniite-trees. Their stomachs were found to l)e tilled 

 with the seeds of the me.sipiite, a few jL,'rass-seeds, and the berries of a 

 parasitic plant. On beinj,' suddenly Hushed these birds .separate very widely, 

 but imnu'diately uiion ali,i.;litin^' commence their call-note, rusemldiny the 

 .soft chir]i of a younj; chicken, wjiich is kej)t up for .some time. Tiie alarm 

 over, and the ilock once more reunited, they relajise into silence, only 

 l)roken by an occasional cluck of the male bird. Once scattered they can- 

 not be readily .started a;;ain, as they lie close in their thick, bu.sliy, and im- 

 penetral)le covert.s. Near Fort Yuma the Indians catch them in snares, 

 and briu"; them in ''real nundiers for .sale. 



Dr. Sanniel W. Woodhousc tirst met with this species on the liio (Jrande, 

 about fifty miles below Kl I'aso, up to wliicli jdace it was extremely abundant. 

 It was by no means a shy bird, freipiently coming alioiit the houses ; and he 

 very often observed the males perched on the top of a hi.gh bush, uttering 

 their ])e"uliarly nuairnful calls. Me found it in (piitc lar;;e flocks, feed- 

 inj,' ])rinei])ally on seeds and lierries. It became scarce as he a])proaclicd 

 Dona Ana, above which ])lace he did not meet with it again. lie again 

 encountered it, however, near the head of l>ill Williams Itiver, and after- 

 ward.s on the Tam])ia Cicek, and it was exceedingly abundant all along 

 the (Ireat Colorado, lie was informed that thoy are never found west 

 of the Coast IJange, in California. Aiiout Camj) Yuma, below the mouth 

 of the Oila Iiiver, they were very abundant and very tame, coming (piite 

 near the men, and picking up tla; grain wasted by the mules. They are 

 trapped in great numbers by the Indians. 



This (^uail is given by 'Sir. Dresstn- as octnirring in Texas, but not as a 

 conunon bird, and only found in certain hjcalities. At Muddy Creek, near 

 Fort Clark, they were not uncommon, and were also found near the Nueces 

 Iliver. 



Dr. Cones (Ibis, ISfiG), in a monograph upon this s]iecies, describes its 

 carriage upon the ground as being firm and erect, and at the same time light 

 and easy, and with coloi-s no less pleasing than its form. He found them 

 to bo exceedingly abundant in .\riznna. and soon after his arrival in the 



