QUAILOLOGY - ORNITHOLOGY 17 



the ground beside or under an old log, or on a side hill under a 

 thick bush or clump of ferns, occasionally along the edge of clear- 

 ings, grain fields or meadows. The eggs, six,; to sixteen in 

 number, usually ten to fourteen, vary from a pale cream color to 

 rich creamy buff; unspotted; short ovate in form. Nesting com- 

 mences in May, and ordinarily but one brood is raised in a season. 

 The eggs measure 1.36 x 1.02. 



HABITS 



This species is a larger and more handsome bird than the Bob 

 White, being the largest of the American Partridges. The 

 plumes which adorn the head are two in number, arrow-like and 

 from three to four inches in length. These are noticable in the 

 chick in the form of tufts of down. 



It is found breeding in the higher mountain ranges, not below 

 4000 feet, and is a constant resident wherever found. It is found 

 very abundant in Oregon. 



Prof. 0. B. Johnson of the University of Washington (Seattle) 

 reports a covey wintering in a barn lot with the domestic poultry 

 at the outskirts of Seattle, (a) 



Their food consists of insects and various kinds of seeds, and 

 grain is never refused where it can be obtained. 



PLUMED PARTRIDGE 



Oreortyx pictus plumiferus. ( Gould. ) 



Geog. Dist.— Sierra Nevada ranges from Oregon southward; coast ranges 

 of California to Cape St. Lucas. South of latitude 34 deg. in California only. 



Sp. Chak. Above grayish olive, the hind-neck usually partly or wholly 

 plumbeous, like the breast; inner edges of tertials light buff or buffy white; 

 forehead distinctly paler ( often whitish ) anteriorly. (|) 



NESTS AND EGGS 



The nest is but a slight depression in the ground, scratched 

 out, and lined with dry leaves, pine needles and such feathers as 

 are lost by the hen during incubation. It is situated along or 

 under an old log, under low bushes, tufts of weeds or ferns. The 

 favorite nesting site is in the vicinity of logging camps, under 

 the fallen tops of pine trees that are left by the choppers, which 

 offer an excellent cover for their nests. The mating season com- 



(a) Bendire's "Works. 



X Bidgways Nomiculture 



