Sept., 1907 THE GAMBEL PARTRIDGE IN CALIFORNIA 149 



Twenty-nine Palms and Virginia Dale, as well as others toward Palo Verde and 

 the Colorado River, is found this quail. 



They range upward to at least 4000 feet and at favorable points are found in 

 proximity to the Plumed Partridge {Oreortyx Rictus phini if e?'us) . At other places 

 the Valley Partridge {Lo-phortyx californicus vallicola) joins in and the three 

 species occupy the same territory. At Snow Creek at the north base of San 

 Jacinto Peak I have shot the three species and carried them home in the same bag. 

 Near Banning mixed flocks of gaviheU and vallicola have been seen and the 

 Plumed, or Mountain Quail as it is more commonly called, only a short distance 

 away. In canyons at Palm Springs the three can be found, and on Pinyon Flats, 

 altitude of 4,000 feet, lying about fifteen miles south of Palm Springs, I have seen 

 the three species drink from the same spring in course of half an hour. 



I have heard of hybrids between gamheli and vallicola being shot near White- 

 water but know nothing positive about it. I have shot Valley Quail at Whitewater 

 and at Palm Springs very light in color and with top of head approaching the red 

 of gamheli but with none of the distinctive breast markings. Desert surroundings 

 might account for the variation from type. Or perhaps a cross between the two 

 would not be a true hybrid and by mating with the California side of its parentage 

 most of the gambeli markings would be lost. I should like expert opinions as to 

 the possibility of a cross between L. gamheli and L. vallicola proving fertile in- 

 stead of hybrid. The structural differences seem slight or nil, and coloration so 

 much a matter of environment. The same question has been discussed in The 

 Condor concerning hybrid Flickers and no conclusion arrived at. But it seems to 

 me that experiments with the partridges could be easily made and something 

 definite learned. I have had Valley Partridges lay eggs in captivity; and with big 

 enough enclosures, experiments with the two species should yield results. 



Shiprock, New Mexico. 



NESTING OF THE BI-CODORED BLACKBIRD 



By H. F. DUPREY 



EVERY collector living near a tule marsh is well acquainted with one of our 

 most common birds, Agelaiiis giihernator californicus. Seven miles west of 

 Santa Rosa, California, lies the I,agoon, grown with tules, weeds, water 

 lilies, willows, etc., a tangled mass of swamp. For several years past I have paid 

 this swamp a visit to gather tribute in the way of the eggs of the Bi-color. While 

 Davie in his "Nests and Eggs" says that the nesting habits of Bi-color "are exactly 

 the same as the eastern Redwing" {Agelaiiis fhceniceiis^ the nests being placed in 

 water-cress or rushes along running streams, ditches and swamps, in this lagoon I 

 speak of I have in most cases found the nest fastened to three or four stalks of 

 tule 18 to 24 inches above the surface of the water. Then again I have found the 

 nests fastened to young willows growing along the banks of the lagoon. In 

 Solano County I have found a great many nests attached to wild mustard growing 

 in the grain fields several miles from any body of water. This wild mustard grows 

 in patches in the fields, and in a space of 40 or 50 feet square grown up with mus- 

 tard it is quite common to find seven or eight pairs nesting. It is also common to 

 find nests in low swales in the fields that carry water in the winter and spring and 



