I 



MASKED BOB WHITE. 



39 



slight elevations. It has a second note, resembling^ }\oo- 

 i^r, which like the Quoi-i-hcc of Hob White, is uttered 

 wlR'n the birds are scattered and desirous of again 

 coming together. The habits of the two species are 

 very similar, and the present one feeds on insects of 

 various kinds, many sorts of seeds, and sometimes small 

 leaves. It is a very handsome bird, and in the sun the 

 breast of the male appears red and makes him a 

 vtry conspicuous object. The body is very plump and of 

 about the same size as Gambel's Quail. The eggs are 

 exactly like liob White's in size, color, and shape, and 

 the nest is also a similar structure, a depression in the 

 ground hidden amid the grass, or in some retired equally 

 well-screened position, withdrawn from the prying eyes 

 of its enemies. 



From having been taken at as lofty an elevation as 

 6000 feet, it would seem that this handsome species 

 was hardy and able to withstand quite severe weather, 

 and it might be a profitable bird to introduce in the 

 Northern States in those localities where the original 

 stock from various causes had disappeared. Until, how- 

 ever, they had become thoroughly acclimatized, the birds 

 would require considerable attention and care, especially 

 in severe winters and times of heavy snows. 



J: 



t'f, 



COLIN US RIDGWAVI. 



Geographical Distribution. — Southern Arizona to Sonora, 

 Mexico. 



Adult Af ale.— Head, black, mixed with chestnut on top, passing 

 into nearly all chestnut on occiput and hind-neck, the latter with 

 occasional spots of white. Upper part of back, chestnut, sparsely 

 mottled with black, but rest of upper parts and wings closely 

 barred with black and buff ; central tail feathers like the back, 

 remainder bluish gray slightly mottled with buff near the tips. 



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