THE AMERICAN QUAIL. 261 
mediate bird between the two, named by the naturalists 
Ortyx, which is the Greek term for true Quail, is peculiar 
to America, of which but one species, that before us, is 
found in the United States, except on the Pacific coast 
and in California, where there are many other beautiful 
varieties. Our bird is known everywhere East, and 
everywhere Northwest of Pennsylvania, and in Canada, 
as the Quail—everywhere South as the Partridge. In 
size, plumage, flight, habits, and ery, it more closely 
resembles the European Quail; in some structural points, 
especially the shape and solidity of the bill, the Euro- 
pean Partridge. On the whole, I deem it properly 
termed American Quau.; but whether of the two it shall 
‘be called, matters little, as no other bird on this conti- 
nent can clash with it, so long as we avoid the ridicule 
of calling one bird by two different terms, on the oppo- 
site sides of one river—the Delaware. The stupid blun- 
der of calling the Ruffled Grouse, Pheasant, and Part- 
ridge, in the South and East, is a totally different kind 
of misnomer; as that bird bears no resemblance, how- 
ever distant, to either of the two species, and has a very 
good English name of his own, videlicet, “ Ruffed or 
Tippeted Grouse,” by which alone he is known to men 
of brains or of sportsmanship. With regard to our 
Quail, it is different, as he has no distinctive English 
name of his own; but is, even by naturalists, indiscrim- 
inately known as Quail and Partridge. The former is 
certainly the truer appellation, as he approximates more 
