I'KKDICID.K— TIIK PARTRIDlJKS. 4SU 



Tlidii.uli Inmid ill tlio same si'ctioii of (•(mntry with (iiiiiiber.sQimil, they were 

 not olisened to ii.ssdciate to^^ctlier in the .Siime lloek. Their I'livurite resorts 

 were Siimly chai)arral and uiesiniite hushes. Through these they ran with 

 great swil'tness, resorting only, when greatly alarmed by a sudden apiiroaeh, 

 to their wings. They were very shy, and were .seMom t'nund near Habita- 

 tions, though once a large covey ran through his camii in the sulnirlis of 

 El I'aso. 



Colonel McCall (Proc. Phil. Ac. V, ]>. '2'2'2) mentions meeting with this 

 species throughout an extended region, from (amargo, on the Lower IJio 

 Grande, to Santa Fe. They were most numerous lietween the latter jilaee and 

 Dona Ana, preferring the vicinity of watercourses to interior tracts. Tliev 

 were wild, exceedingly watchful, and swift of foot, eluding ]iursuit with sur- 

 prising skill, scarcely ever resorting to tlight even on the open sandy grouiul. 

 For the table tlu'y are said to possess, in a high degree, the requisites of 

 jjlumj) nuiscle and delicate flavor. 



In a subseipient sketch of this specijs, ([Uoted Ity Mr. Cassin, the same 

 writer gives as the habitat the entire' valley of the IJio (Irande, — a terri- 

 tory of great extent from north to south, and embracing in its stretch 

 between the Jtocky ^Fountains and the (lulf of Mexico every variety of 

 climate. This entire region, not exce])ting even the mountain valleys cov- 

 ered in winter witii deej) snow, is inhabited by it. It was found by liini 

 from the li'tth to the 38th degree of north latitude, or from below Monterey, 

 in Mexico, along the bordei-s of the San Juan Piver, as high uj) as the Taos 

 and other nortluirn brunches of the I!io (Jrande. lie also found it lu-ar the 

 head of the lliado Cr 'ck, which rises in the Pocky Mountains and runs east- 

 wardly to the Canadian. 



Wherever found, they are always resident, proving their ability to endure 

 great extremes of heat and cold. In swiftness of foot, no s]iecies of this 

 family can compete with them. When running, they hold their heads high 

 and keep the body erect, and seem to skim over the surface of the ground, 

 their white plume erected and spread out like a fan. 



On the Mexican side of the Kio (Jrande this species is found farther south 

 than on the western bank, owing to the rugged character of the country. In 

 Texas its extreme southern point is a little above Peinosa, on the iirst high- 

 lands on the bank. 



Don Pablo de la Llave, a ^fexican naturalist, states, in an account of this 

 s])ecies (Pegistro Trinu!stre, 1, j). 144, Mexico, 18!?L*), that he attem])ted its 

 domestication in vain. In conlinement it was very timid, all its movements 

 were rapid, and, although he fed his specimens lor a long dnu' each day, 

 they seemed to become nu)re wild and intractalile. It was found by him 

 in (ill the mes(|uit(^ regions of Northern Mi'xico. 



Specimens of this Partridge were taken iii^ar Sari Pedro, Texas, by INIr. .1. II. 

 Olark, and in Xew Leon, I\Iexico, liy Lieutenant Couch. According to Mr. 

 Clark, they are not found on the grassy prairies near the coast. He met with 



vol.. III. (i2 



