140 Twelve Months With 



away far enough to give the brood time to skulk, 

 which they proceed rapidly to do, with marvelous 

 success. 



Quails usually raise two broods of twelve or 

 more birds, and often the father bird conducts the 

 first little family of chicks about the fields, help- 

 ing them feed, while the mother lays and hatches 

 the second set of eggs. When the large family, 

 consisting of father, mother and two broods of 

 young, go about in August, and later in the hunt- 

 ing season, they are numerous enough to comprise 

 the covey so eagerly sought by the sportsman. At 

 night the family squats on the ground, the 

 younger and weaker birds in the center and the 

 older and stronger ones around the outside, 

 with tails to the center and heads pointed out- 

 ward. 



Bobwhite has at least two calls in addition to 

 his well-known whistle, "Bob-bob-white!" One 

 "bob" is frequently omitted, and sometimes he 

 contents himself with a clearly whistled "white." 

 When a flock of quail is flushed and becomes scat- 

 tered about in the grass, if one quietly waits a few 

 moments he will hear them calling to each other 

 with three soft, cooing notes repeated several times, 

 about as follows : 



I r^i f^ fJi 



with a little liquid gurgle connecting the first 

 two notes. By this means they learn the where- 



