3« 



GAAfE BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 



different from those of the common Bob White. Occa- 

 sionally very much larger numbers are found in one nest, 

 but this is probably the production of more than one 

 hen. Eggs have been found in May, and again as late 

 as September, which would show that the entire summer 

 has been passed in hatching and tending the young. 

 Being so prolific, the wonder is not so much that the 

 birds are plentiful but rather that they are not more 

 numerous. This (^uail, when flushed, rises with the usual 

 loud, whirring sound and flies in a straight Hne, and will 

 lie close and well to the dog. When undisturbed, like 

 the northern Bob White, it takes flight quite noiselessly, 

 without any of the whirring made when suddenly 

 startled. 



The Texan Bob White has many enemies, but proba- 

 bly none so formidable as the rattlesnake, numbers of 

 which are found in the country it inhabits. Whether 

 the serpent crawls slyly up to the bevy when feeding or 

 resting, or lies in ambush and strikes the luckless birds 

 when passing, I know not, having never caught one 

 in the act of making a meal of Quail, but whatever the 

 method be, it is a fact that these reptiles kill many; five 

 having been found at one time inside of a dead rattler. 

 Other enemies among the wild creatures also make them 

 their prey, and so their number is kept from becoming j 

 too great. 



- \ '.(1 ! 



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!:;,';;'|| 



COLIN US VIRGINIANUS TEXAN US. 



Geographical Distribution. — Distributed throughout western 

 and southern Texas. In Mexico from Guadalajara in the west, to| 

 Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon in the south. 



Adult Male. — With the general style of markings seen in the I 

 Northern " Bob White " this bird is lighter in coloration, and lias 

 a tinge of olive-gray prevailing over the upper surface, which is 



