122 LAND BIRDS 



of any bird, unless the cock comes out into view for a 

 moment to sound his warning and draw your attention 

 from tlie brood to his handsome self. 



295. GAMBEL PARTRIDGE. — LophoHi/x gambelu 



Family : The Grouse, Partridges, Quails, etc. 



Length: 9.00-10.00. 



Adult Male : Crest black ; forehead and throat black, edged with white ; 



crown chestnut ; upper parts slate-color ; breast gray ; belly buff, 



with black patches ; sides bright chestnut, streaked with white lines. 

 Adult Female : Similar to male, but plainer; belly without black patches, 



and sides without white stripes. 

 Young : Upper parts brownish gray, finely mottled black and white ; 



belly uniform white ; breast gray, striped with white. 

 Geographical Distribution : Lower Sonoran zone from Western Texas to 



Southeastern California, and from Southern Utah to Mexico. 

 Breeding Range : The desert region of California southeast of the Sierra 



Nevada. 

 Breeding Season ; April 15 to July 1. 

 Nest ; A slight depression in the ground, under a bunch of tall grass ; 



usually without lining. 

 Eggs: 10 to 12; buffy, marked with brown and blotched with light 



purple. Size 1.27 X 0.98. 



Eaklt in the morning during the months of March 

 and April, the love note of the Gambel Partridge may be 

 heard from the underbrush of the valleys and foothills 

 of Southeastern California. So handsome, so corjfident 

 in his wooing is he that he sounds it over and over, alike 

 in the warm spring sunshine and the soft spring rain. 

 And it is always answered by a demure little hen that 

 comes stealing noiselessly through the mesquite to peep 

 coyly at her lordly wooer. She admires him. Who 

 would not, as he swells and struts before her, lowering 

 his pretty crest, assuming such loverlike airs ? And the 



