26 BOBWHITE AND OTHEE QUAILS OF UNITED STATES. 



Polygon mil. are fond of moist land, and furnish palatable seeds for 

 the bobwhite; for instance, black bindweed {Polygonum convolvu- 

 Ins), Penrisylriiiila perxiiuria {Per.tiraria peuii.sylraiuriim) , and 

 black heart {Pc/'sirarin Japiith? folia). All wild leguminous plants 

 should be left undisturbed, for the birds feed on seeds of most of our 

 legumes. Small clumps of locusts may well be left in open fields to 

 give both food and cover. Tick trefoil, bush clover, Japan clover, 

 the milkpea, and the wild bean — all wild plants — are suitable for 

 food. Of the summer fruits the dewberry is the most important, and 

 m the absence of water furnishes a substitute; therefore these vines, 

 nearly everywhere plentiful, should be left in places remote from 

 water. A water supply is of course important. Streams with bush- 

 grown banks through open fields are most valuable. Beside them 

 will be found spreading panicum {Pmiirnm proliferum) .^ which shells 

 out its grain a kernel or two at a time until well into spring. Birds 

 find food, shade, water, and shelter in the vegetation along small 

 streams. Marshes also afford coyer and food. If connected with 

 estuaries they often support a rank growth of wild rice, an ideal 

 provision for birds. Sufficient shelter to protect the birds from 

 hawks is almost indispensable. Oak and beech Avoods supply mast as 

 well as shelter, but pines afford the best cover, and some of them, 

 notably the longleaf pine, furnish food. A comfortable retreat for 

 the coldest weather is invaluable. In Maryland and Virginia fields 

 of heavy broomsedge answer this purpose well, but best of all is a 

 steep bank with southern exposure, where the sun quickly melts the 

 snow, and gives the birds a chance to forage on bare spots for food 

 and gravel. If such a bank is not far from cover, and has a growth 

 of briers on it to give the birds a feeling of security, it will become a 

 favorite winter haunt and during severe weather is the best place to 

 scatter grain. With a little help from man the bobwhite will be 

 found to winter Avell even in the northern part of its range. 



Bobwhite is prolific. A pair of birds under favorable conditions 

 will raise a dozen young in a season. Then, too, it is long lived, for 

 a bird kept in captivity is known to have reached the age of 9 years." 

 The outlook for the future of the species is most satisfactory, pro- 

 vided it is given even a small amount of care, with proper legal pro- 

 tection. The Audubon societies, with a membership of 65,000 to 

 70,000, which cherish the bobwhite for esthetic and humanitarian rea- 

 sons, the sportsman who loves the whirr of its brown wings, and the 

 farmer, whose enemies it destroys and whose resources it increases, 

 can do much to favor the bird in its natural environment and to pro- 

 tect it by adequate and effectively enforced laws. 



"Forest and Stream, \'II, p. 407, 1S76. 



