BREEDING HABITS. 11 



its kittens, now the scolding of a caged gray squirrel, now the alarm 

 notes of a mother grouse blended with the strident cry of the guinea 

 hen. As a finale sometimes came a loud rasping noise, not unlike 

 the effort of a broken-voiced whip-poor-will. The favorite calling 

 stations were rail fences at a height from 5 to 10 feet, and the 

 limbs of trees along fence rows. One bird whistled in a tulip tree 

 at least 35 feet from the ground. H. H. Miller reports that April 25, 

 1903, was the earliest date of nuptial notes at Sandy Spring, Md. 

 After the breeding season the bird discontinues this characteristic 

 call. During August 19-21, 1902, it was heard only on one occasion 

 at ^Marshall Hall, where the birds are numerous, and ceased after 

 a dozen repetitions. Edward A. Preble, of the Biological Survey, 

 has recorded the ' bob-white ' call at Wilmington, Mass., as late as 

 October 20. 



The notes of the bobwhite in fall and winter have been described 

 by many writers. The following quotation from Mr. Sandys gives 

 an admirable description of the call notes of a covey that has been 

 scattered by the sportsman and is trying to reassemble for the night, 

 a notation so accurate as instantly to recall the notes to one who has 

 heard them: "Over the brow of a hill comes the low, tender call 

 of the hen to her youngsters, ' ha-lol-hee^ ka-loi-kee; ' and, perhaps, 

 from the broomsedge beside the observer comes the loud vibrant 

 answer, ' whoil-leee.'' " This call is usually sounded in the late after- 

 noon, but December 31, 1901, at Woodbridge, Va., a scattered flock 

 was heard calling persistently in the morning. 



On one occasion the writer watched a bobwhite whistling from a 

 fence rail 10 feet away. At such close range the whistle lost all its 

 melody and became a nasal shriek which was almost painful to the 

 ear. It was repeated on an average f^^'e or six times a minute and 

 consisted of either two or three notes, of which the "first was so low as 

 to be inaudible a hundred yards away, and the last was strikingly 

 louder. The mode of delivery was peculiar; sitting in a normal, 

 erect position the bird emitted the first note, then depressing the tip 

 of the bill almost to touch its breast, with a motion as though hic- 

 coughing, it gave the second, then throwing back its head and point- 

 ing its bill skyward it uttered the explosive, far-reaching third note. 



BREEDING HABITS. 



The nesting time of bobwhite in each section of the bird's range 

 is usually limited to a fairly well-defined period, but varies consider- 

 ably in the time of beginning, the difference being partly seasonal 

 and partly regional. About Washington, D. C., the coveys usually 

 break up the first part of May, one covey being seen in 1899 as late as 

 May 9. In 1902 the first nest with eggs was found at Marshall Hall 



