PERDiriD-K — THE PA IlTm DO ES. 493 



but (lid not ily, and, when slint, provod to bo a Massona Quail. Mo says tlioy 

 occur citiicr in ])aii'.s or in tlocks, and wlicn once Ibislied Hy iartlicr tlian 

 the Virj,'inia Quail, but do not lie so close. They may be approached 

 within a tew feet, and followed u]), jiarticularly when in pairs, ruiniin^ 

 alon<.f before one like .so many douKvstic fowl. Tliey are of (|uiot a.s well 

 a.s of retired habits, and a subdued tliouj^h sharp note is the only noise that 

 Mr. (,'lark ever heard them make, and tliat only when frightened. He ha.s 

 known tliein to be pursued, and all the liarrels of a six-shooter fired one after 

 another witliout alarminu them ; and tliey were forced to fly at last only Ity 

 an attack of stones and clubs. He first met with them in tlie nei,i;hliorhood 

 of San Antonio, and found tiiem thence sparsely distributed as an inhaliitant 

 both of jirairies and mountains as far westwanl as Sonora. Tliey are wilder 

 than the Scaled l*artridf,'e, arc less consjiicuous and noisy, and are never seen 

 in flocks, or, like the latter, living about old camps. Their haunts are j^'en- 

 erally far removed from the halntations of man, and the indifference they 

 sometimes manifest to his ])resence seems to be due to i},niorance of the 

 danger from the power of that enemy. Though distributed over tiie same 

 country as the C. sqiuunata, they are never found in such liarren regions, 

 always seeming to prefer the districts most luxuriantly covered with vege- 

 tation. 



Dr. C. B. R. Kennerly states that this bird was never seen farther south in 

 Texas than Turkey Creek. In that vicinity it was very common, and it also 

 occurred at various points thence to the Itio Grande. In the valley of this 

 river it was very rarely seen, giving way aitjiarently to the Scaly and to 

 Gambel's Partridge. West of the river it was very connnon, as far as the party 

 travelled, wherever there was a permanent sujjjdy of fresh water. In the 

 valley of the Santa Cruz Kiver and among the adj.acent hills it w-as ex- 

 tremely abundant. In the months of June and July it was oliserved there 

 always in pairs, while in Texas, in the months of October and November, it 

 was found in very large Hocks, sometimes of various ages, from the very 

 small and partly Hedged to the fnll-grown bird. When hunted, they 

 hide very closely in the grass, and Dr. Kennerly has often known the 

 Mexican soldiers in Sonora kill them with their lances by striking them 

 either while oi. the groiuid or just as they rise. Some of these men were 

 very expert in the business, and obtained a good many in the course of a 

 day's travel. 



1 )r. Woodhouse met with this species a few miles above the head of the 

 Tlio San Pedro, where he secured a single specimen. He was informed by 

 Ca]»tain S. (}. French that when he first ])assed over exactly the same route in 

 1849, he met with a inimber of them in different localities, — at the head of 

 San Pedro, Howard Springs, and also at Eagle Springs, — showing evidently 

 that they have a range over the country lying between the Pio Grande and 

 the San Pedro Rivers. He also stated that he had never met with any near 

 the settlements, but always among the wild, rocky, and ilmost barren hills of 



