54 



BOBWHITE AND OTHER QUAILS OF UNITED STATES. 



ubundant in California, and the quail often eats from 1,000 to 1,600 

 of the little corkscrew seeds at a meal. It affords 13.38 per cent of 

 the year's food, .and 26.70 per cent of the June diet. (Fig. 5.) 



Seeds of miscellaneous weeds comprise 17.11 per cent .of the annual 

 food. Among the species, included are pigweed {Chenopodmm dl- 



Piu. 7. — Seed of chlckweed (Alslne media). (From Bull. 47, Nevada Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Station.) 



bum), rough pigweed {Amaranthus retrofleants) , and black mustard 

 (Brassica nigra) (fig. 6) — especially obnoxious in grain fields — and- 

 the closely related weed, wild radish {Baphanus satioiis). Seeds of 

 shepherd's purse {Bursa bursa-pastoris) and of other cruciferous 



Fig. 8.- 



-Seed of OeranUim disscctum. (l<'rom Bull. 47, Nevada Agricultural Experiment 



Station.) 



plants are included in common with silene and the chickweeds ( Geras- 

 tiitm sp. and Alsine media) (fig. 7). Geranium seeds (fig. 8) 

 are so much relished that often 300 or 400 are eaten at a time. Two 

 closely related plants, miner's lettuce {Montia perfoliata) and red 



Fig. 9. — Seed of .sorrel (Eumu 



acetosella). (From Bull. 47, Nevada Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Station.) 



maids {Calandrinia memiesii), bear minute shiny black seeds that 

 often are eaten by the thousand. The little seeds of red sorrel {Rw- 

 mex acetosella) (fig. 9) and curled dock {Bumex crispus) are occa- 

 sionally taken in almost as large numbers. Seeds of chess (Bromus 



