QUAILS. 203 
vales adjacent to cultivated ground; and, unlike its Hast- 
ern cousin, the Bob White, or Virginia quail, roosts in 
the thick cover of scrub oaks and other shrubbery, in- 
stead of squatting on the ground. This bird has a fine 
crest of from six to ten keeled, black feathers, about an 
inch in length, which curve forward at such an angle as 
to give it a jaunty appearance. The male has a small 
white line from the bill to the eye; the forehead is whit- 
ish, with black lines; the occiput is brownish; the gen- 
eral hue of the upper part is ashy, with a strong olive- 
brown gloss; the forebreast is slaty-blue; the under parts 
are tawny, deepening centrally into an orange-chestnut; 
and the vent, flanks, and crissum are tawny. This quail 
is rarely found in deep forests, in low swampy ground, 
or where water and vegetation are scarce. It congre- 
gates in large flocks in autumn, and, when flushed, takes 
to trees, and as it flies rapidly, a person must handle his 
gun promptly to kill it ere.it can reach cover. Being 
very prolific, it has, thus far, defied all the efforts of 
poisoners, pot-hunters, and trappers to exterminate it. 
Some persons say that it raises two broods in a season, 
the second appearing in August or September. This 
seems probable, as very young birds are frequently seen 
in the latter month. It is so abundant in Southern Cali- 
fornia that large numbers are poisoned annually with 
strychnine, which is scattered over the fields they fre- 
quent. The cause of this wholesale destruction is said 
to be on account of the injury they inflict on vineyards, 
and on such green crops as peas and beans, as they eat 
the sprouts with avidity as soon as they appear above 
ground. Some persons think that the grapes the birds 
eat are a mere nothing compared to the numbers of insects 
they devour, and which, but for them, would destroy the 
vines. 
Quail were so numerous in California a few years 
ago that it was no uncommon thing for a sportsman to 
