434 PLUMED QUAIL — LOPHOETYX GAMBELI. 



But great as are the natural disadvantages of the surronndings, tbe 

 bird's attractions are still greater, and partly so from this very fact. 

 But Arizona is a large place, and one need not always endure desert in 

 his Quail- shooting. There is a much brighter side to the picture^ we 

 have just seen only the darkest possible. Perhaps no Territory rivals 

 Arizona in variety of climate, physical geography, and natural produc- 

 tions. Between rugged mountains that lift snow-capped peaks among 

 the clouds lie hidden pleasant green valleys, whose fresh verdure con- 

 trasts with surrounding desolation. Vast primaeval forests stretch for 

 leagues, or are only interrupted by oak and cedar openings. Bright 

 fringes of cottonwoods and willows mark the devious course of streams, 

 where walnut and cherry are scattered, and grape-vines cling to them, 

 and roses bloom beneath leafy boughs. Here is plenty at least, if not 

 Ijeace. Nothing mars the pleasures of the chase, but the chances of 

 being chas^ed. Were it not for Indians, we should have here the acm6 of 

 Quail-shooting. 



Gambel's Quail may be looked for in every kind of cover. Where 

 they abound it is almost impossible to miss them, and coveys may 

 often be seen on exposed sand-heaps, along open rrads, or in the cleared 

 patches around settlers' cabins. If they hare any aversion, it is for 

 thick high pine-woods, without any undergrowth ; there they only 

 iCasually stray. They are particularly fond of the low, tangled brush 

 .along creeks, the dense groves of young willows that grow in similar 

 j)laces, and the close set chaparral of hillocks or mountain ravines. 

 I have often found them, also, among huge granitic boulders and 

 jnasses of lava, where there was little or no vegetation, except some 

 .straggling weeds ; and have flushed them from the dryer knolls in the 

 midst of a reedy swamp. Along the Gila and Colorado they live in 

 such brakes as I described in speaking of Abert's Finch; and they 

 frequent the groves of mezquite and mimosa, that form so conspicuous 

 a feature of the scenery in those places. These scrubby trees form 

 dense interlacing copses, only to be penetrated with the utmost dif- 

 ficulty, but beneath their spreading scrawny branches are open inter- 

 secting ways, along which the Quail roams at will, enjoying the slight 

 shade. In the most sterile regions they are apt to come together in 

 numbers about the few water-holes or moist spots that may be found, 

 and remain in the vicinity, so that they become almost as good indi- 

 cation of the presence of water as the Doves themselves. A note- 

 worthy fact in their history, is their ability to bear, without apparent 

 inconvenience, great extremes of temperature. They are seemingly at 

 ease among the burning sands of the desert, where, for months, the 

 thermometer daily marks a hundred, and may reach a hundred and 

 forty, " in the best shade that could be procured," as Colonel McCall 

 says; and they are equally at home the year round among the mount- 

 ains, where si:ow lies on the ground in winter. 



The Quail's food is made up of various substances. Like the rest of 

 its tribe, it is chiefly granivorous, eating seeds of every description ; 

 but fruits and insects form a large portion of its fare. It devours 

 insects of such sorts as it can capture, and particularly those kinds 

 that infest plants. In the fall it gathers cherries and grapes, and other 

 "fruits" properly speaking, as well as the various berries not usually so 

 called. It visits patches of prickly-pear {Opuntia) to feed upon the soft 

 Juicy "tmias." that are eaten by everything in Arizona, from men and 

 bears, to beetles. In the spring it shows fondness for the buds of differ- 

 ent plants, particularly mezquite and willow ; birds shot at this time 

 are Irequently found with sticky bits of the buds about their bills. But 



