BIRDS OF FIELD AND GARDEN. 329 
a stump. If there are trees near by, it runs quickly and 
squats upon the ground behind’a tree or close to its trunk. 
Its resemblance to its surroundings is so close that it seems 
to disappear, effacing itself before one’s eyes like a witch in 
a fairy tale, as it flattens itself on the ground. Bob-white 
naturally “lies to a dog,” for it seems to have a supreme 
contempt for the blundering animal. This apparent con- 
fidence in its own invisibility is often fatal, however, where 
trained bird dogs are entered against it. 
There is some reason to believe that the Quail is migratory 
at times. Some people relate that Quail have been seen 
flying south in large flocks at the approach of winter; others 
aver that many have been drowned while crossing large 
bodies of water; still others tell us that the birds migrate 
long distances by running ; but every covey that I have been 
able to watch has passed the winter not far from the place 
where it was reared. These observations have often been 
interrupted by the destruction of the entire brood by farmers, 
gunners, or sportsmen. A great many broods “migrate” in 
this manner, never to return. Still, probably Grouse and 
Quail sometimes become restless in the fall, and move about 
the country ; but it is extremely doubtful if there are any 
general movements of either species that can be designated 
as autumnal or vernal migrations in the ordinary sense in 
which these terms are applied. 
The feeding habits of the Bob-white are such that it must 
be ranked by the farmer as one of the most useful birds of 
field and garden. It is very nearly harmless, as it takes 
little grain or fruit. Occasionally in the cornfield it pecks 
at a broken-down ear of corn, and it picks up a good deal of 
waste grain in the stubble of oats and wheat. It sometimes 
eats a few strawberries, but these are evidently not a favorite 
food, for birds in captivity have refused them when hungry. 
On the other hand, Bob-white, during spring and summer, 
feeds on many of the most destructive pests of garden and 
field, and in fall and winter eats great numbers of the seeds 
of many noxious weeds. Dr. Judd makes some interesting 
calculations regarding the quantity of insects and weed seeds 
consumed by the Bob-white in Virginia and North Carolina. 
