492 Colorado College Publication 



them protection. They have become plentiful along the Ar- 

 kansas Valley since its settlement and cultivation as far west as 

 least as La Junta where Aiken saw many in June, 1908. They 

 very probably may have extended as far west as Pueblo as 

 conditions are favorable for them all along that valley, but it 

 is not believed that any of the birds in El Paso County have 

 come from that source. 



Callipepla squamata squamata. Scaled Quail. "Blue 

 Quail." "Mexican Quail." 



Locally common ; resident. 



Until recent years the Scaled Quail has been generally 

 known as restricted to the southern and central portions of 

 New Mexico, Arizona, and western Texas, yet as long ago 

 as May, 1876, Aiken learned of it as a common resident along 

 the Purgatoire River north of Trinidad in Colorado. It was 

 not recorded from the State, however, until 1895 when W. P. 

 Lowe noted in the Auk, Xll, p. 298, his finding one in the 

 Wet Mountains southwest of Pueblo. Previous to this, in 1884, 

 T. S. Brigham of Colorado Springs liberated several pairs on 

 his ranch west of Fountain, but it is not known that any of 

 these survived as they soon disappeared from the premises. 



With the settlement and cultivation of the land along the 

 Arkansas River east of Pueblo this quail coming in from the 

 Purgatoire valley and the cedar hills east of it increased and 

 spread rapidly. For twenty years they have been plentiful in 

 the region of Rocky Ford and La Junta, later extending up 

 the valley to Canon City, and spreading northward. In the 

 spring of 1908 Scaled Quail made their appearance in El Paso 

 County in several localities. May 8 Aiken found a pair at the 

 mouth of Bear Creek (later their nest with 18 eggs was found). 

 A few days after this Sclater saw several near Glen Eyrie, and 

 in June Scheutze learned that two or three had been shot along 

 the mesa west of Colorado Springs. 



Charles O'Connor reported that 42 had wintered at the 

 Franceville coal banks, taking shelter at night in a aeserted 

 coal shaft. A surprising appearance was that of a pair at 



