452 BIRDS — PEEDICID^. 



has often attracted my attention. I once discovered by accident, a nest nicely con- 

 cealed by some tnf ts of grass, after being placed under the projecting end of a fence rail. 

 At this time there were in it five eggs. This number increased daily until twenty-three 

 eggs filled the nest, and incubation began. All went happily, until one morning there 

 was evidently great distress in this little household. The male bird was sounding his 

 anxions alarm — he went hurredly from one part of the farm to that of every other — 

 sometimes running— sometimes flying — stopping a moment here — a moment there — call- 

 ing at the top of his voice for his mate, in that peculiar tone which denotes distress. 

 His unanswered cry soon told the tale — some accident — some ruthless Hawk — some 

 sneaking cat, or some other enemy had captured and destroyed his faithful companion. 

 He kept up his call for several hours, sometimes coming close after me, making a low,. 

 chittering noise, as if suspicious something could be told— that I could tell him where 

 his love had gone. Far from it, I was also in search — in search of anything that could 

 give a clue to the unfeeling wretch that had done the bloody deed. I was excited, and 

 ■would have executed the severest penalty known, if the guilty one could have been 

 found. I had been to the nest several times, with merely the thought she might be 

 testing the affections of her lord, or playing him a practical joke ; but no, the eggs were 

 bare. About noon of that day he ceased his noise, and, hoping his mate had returned, 

 I hastened to the nest again; but in this again disappointed. The reason, however,, 

 for his stillness was explained. He was on the eggs, keeping life in the prospective 

 family. For several days he left his charge frequently, to make farther search for the 

 missing partner. One morning I stopped as usual to see how the little widower was 

 getting along, and found nothing but a bundle of egg shells. Every egg had been 

 hatched. Not far from the nest I heard a low chit-cMt-cMt, and soon discovered Bob with 

 his brood. He continued to care for the young, as I can testify from our frequent meet- 

 ings, and reared a fine large covey, which received protection and synjpathy, during 

 the following winter, of all the farm hands and sportsmen who knew him and his well- 

 behaved family. 



QuaU are not strictly granivorous in their notions of diet. In autumn and winter,. 

 they subsist chiefly upon grain, berries, grapes, black-haws, and seeds of weeds and 

 vines. Bat in the spring and early summer, their food is almost exclusively composed of 

 ants, bugs, and other insects. While Henry William Herbert justly extols the benefits 

 the agiicnlturist derives from the consumption of weed-seeds by these birds ; he omits. 

 to give them credit for their insectivorous qualities. He says : when it is taken into 

 consideration that each individual Qnail consumes daily nearly two gills of weed-seed, 

 it will be at once evident that a few bevies of these littla birds, carefully and assiduously 

 preserved on a farm, will do more toward keeping it free of weeds, than the daily annual 

 labor of a dozen farm seivants. With the endorsement of the above it is highly impor- 

 tant to add, that a few coveys carefully preserved would protect the farmer against the 

 ravages of many destructive insects, which are by far greater pests and more to be 

 feared than the ragweed, the dock, or the brier. As ai insect exterminator, the Quail 

 may be placed in the front ranks of our native birds. I examined the crop of one that 

 was killed by flying against a white house, having been frightened from a potato^patch 

 near by, which contained swenty-five potatc->buge. This is only one of many instances 

 illustrating the practical usefulness of these birds to the farmer. 



Qnail are pursued by man and beast and bird and reptile ; hut with a fair opportun- 

 ity and timely warning, they manifest a wonderful faculty for evading their foe. Ex- 

 cepting against the pot-hunter, they are provided with ample means for telf-preservation. 

 He who steals upon them while enjoying the sunshine by the tide of some old log or 



