370 GAME BIRDS, WILD-FOWL AND SHORE BIRDS. 



insect pests and weeds ; a swift flying game bird, lying well to 

 a dog; and, last as well as least, good food, a savory morsel, 

 nutritious and digestible.^ 



There can be no doubt that Bob-white has decreased in 

 numbers in New England since the days when Morton wrote 

 that he saw "sixty Quails" in one tree; but doubtless the 

 species increased much in this region during the time of settle- 

 ment. It could not have been so numerous in the primeval 

 forests that covered most of New England as it became later, 

 when much of the forest had been cleared away. When 

 civilization and settlement extended, and grain raising became 

 almost universal among the farmers, the Bob-white must 

 have multiplied throughout southern New England. The 

 cultivation of the soil increased the size and productiveness of 

 many weeds, the seeds of which form a large part of the food 

 of this bird; the grain scattered among the stubble provided 

 a new and abundant food supply, and the area over which 

 this supply extended constantly increased as the forests were 

 cleared away and farming began. There was no lack of excel- 

 lent cover among the rank growths that sprang from a virgin 

 soil, and the smaller game birds were little hunted by the 

 settlers so long as deer, turkeys, pigeons, wild-fowl and grouse 

 were plentiful. 



Under these favorable conditions the Bob-white became 

 common, if not abundant, over most of Massachusetts, Rhode 

 Island, Connecticut, much of New York, southern New 

 Hampshire, Vermont and southwestern Maine. It was most 

 plentiful along the coast and up the river valleys, and rare or 

 absent on the higher elevations. In New Hampshire, Vermont 

 and Maine it is now (1911) practically gone, except where it 

 has been imported. In New York it is now a rare bird, except 

 on Long Island, in the lower Hudson valley and in the Delaware 

 valley. In Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut it 

 is found now only in the most favorable localities, or where it 

 has been introduced from other States. It was never common 

 in Berkshire County, Mass., except locally, and is now nearly 



1 Part of this history of the Bob-white was written originally for a leaflet published in Bird-Lore 

 by the National Association of Audubon societies. 



