120 LAND BIRDS 



they themselves are not much larger thaa a good-sized 

 beetle. Although so capable and independent, they are 

 constantly attended by both parents until the down has 

 merged into fully developed feathers. Then the gregari- 

 ous habits of the grouse blood assert themselves, and by 

 September 1 all the broods of that district band to- 

 gether to the number of several hundred individuals, and 

 remain so throughout the fall and winter. This is the 

 harvest time of the hunters and the season of unrest for 

 the birds. In the early autumn mornings in the stubble 

 of the field and the underbrush of the canons, you may 

 hear their plaintive whistle, " who-are-you," questioning 

 whether friend or foe is astir. 



294 a. VALLEY PARTRIDGE. — Lophortyx califomicus 

 vallicola. 



Family : The Grouse, Partridges, Quails, etc. 



Length: 9.50. 



Adults: Similar. to the California partridge; upper parts grayish ; sides 



olive ; crest short and tipped forward. 

 Young: Breast gray, marked with wedge-shaped black spots; helly 



faintly barred dark and light gray ; upper parts striped brown and 



white. 

 Downy Young : Upper parts white, washed with rusty and mottled with 



dark brown ; under parts plain dull whitish. 

 Geographical Distribution: Pacific coast region from Southern California 



to Oregon ; through upper and lower Sonoran zones. 

 Breeding Range : The interior valleys between the humid coast belt and 



the Sierra Nevada. 

 Breeding Season: April and May. 



Nest : A slight depression in ground, under hedge, bush, or brush-heap. 

 Hggs : Generally 10 to 12 ; buffj', thickly spotted with shades of brown. 



Size 1.23 X 0.94. 



So closely allied are the California partridge and the 

 Valley Partridge that only by direct comparison of the 



