28 



GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 



palatable morsel, but late in the winter the flesh is apt 

 to be dry and rather tasteless; while those birds which 

 are kept from year to year in enormous cold-storap^e 

 houses, and thousands of them are, have about as much 

 flavor as a chip of dried wood. It is a pity that those 

 cemeteries, at least for wild game, could not be broken 

 up and done away with. 



Quail are in the habit of roosting in or near the same 

 spot so long as they remain in any one locality, and such 

 places can frequently be determined by the droppings 

 on the ground. When settling for the night they 

 arrange themselves in a circle, each bird close to his 

 fellow, and with all the tails inward. This method is 

 advantageous for the warmth derived from the close 

 contact of so many little bodies, and also if alarmed or 

 attacked during the night by any foe, each bird can 

 spring directly forward and take wing unimpeded by any 

 of his fellows. Of course the bevy becomes greatly scat- 

 tered, as each one goes away in a different direction. 

 In such a case they remain quiet until the day begins | 

 to break, and then the Qtioi-i-hee will be heard re- 1 

 sounding from every side, as the birds gradually draw 

 together into a once more united family. Quail are able | 

 to stand cold very well, provided food is abundant, but 

 when this is scarce and the winter severe, they sufiferj 

 greatly, and many a covey is frozen to death. 



When the snow begins to fall they huddle close I 

 together,, and are frequently entirely covered with a white 

 mantle. If no crust is formed they easily break through. 

 but should they remain in their warm quarters until 

 the sun has partly melted the snow and it becomes frozen 

 again, they are unable to escape from their prison and 

 perish miserably. Many a covey has been found in such 

 a situation after the snow has melted in the spring, the 



