QUAILOLOGY - ORNITHOLOGY 19 



acteristic of N. A. partridges. Quills plain fuscous; tailfeathers plumbeous. 

 No definite stripes about the head; crest dark brown ending in pure white. 

 Length 10.00-11.00; extent 14.50-15.50; wing 4.50; tail 8.50; tarsus 1.35; mid- 

 dle toe and claw 1.04. 



FEMALE; little different; head markings the same; the orange-brown of the 

 belly reduced or wanting; size rather less, (f) 



NESTS AND EGGS 



The mating season begins as early as March; nesting commenc- 

 ing early in April and until late in September. The nest is plac- 

 ed upon the ground under the shelter of a yucca or a small bush, 

 and is a slight depression in the ground, scratched out and but 

 scantly lined with coarse grasses. Occasionally a wheat or grain 

 field, alfalfa meadow or potato patch is selected as a nesting site. 



Two and even three broods are raised in a season, numbering 

 from nine to sixteen each. The eggs are white or creamy white 

 irregularly dotted with specks of various shades, buff, Vandyke 

 brown and lilac; size, 1.24 x .94. 



HABITS 



This handsome bird is usually known as the Blue Quail, also 

 "White Top-knot Quail." It is a constant resident of Southwest- 

 ern Texas along the valley of the Rio Grande. Very common in 

 some portions of Southern Arizona in the open valleys, plains and 

 along the foot-hills, shunning the timbered country. Is very shy 

 and wary, difficult to approach; prefering to trust to its legs 

 almost entirely as a means of escape, being an expert and swift 

 runner, dodging in and out among the bushes with great ease and 

 dexterity. The covey generally follow a leader in indian-file 

 fashion, ranging from twenty-five to sixty or eighty in a covey. 



Its habits seem to differ in different localities. In some regions 

 they are found only near water, while in others they are not 

 found near water, but always from two to five miles away from 

 water, in which instance they have been observed to make reg- 

 ular visits to the watering places late in the afternoon- Good 

 clear water is a necessity to them. 



"The latter part of summer and early fall," says E. W. Nelson, 

 "they gather into coveys, often containing several broods, as I 

 observed in 1882 in the valley of the Gila river near Clifton, Ariz.. 

 At this season they frequent the barren hillsides or the now dry 

 water courses and fields adjoining, associating with the Gambels 

 t Coues Key to North American Birds. 



