THE BOB-WHITE AND CALIFORNIA "QUAILS" 



243 



as human food an eminent New York physician, 

 Dr. Robert T. Morris, pronounces it unwhole- 

 some and dangerous. In flavor, cold-storage 

 Quail is far inferior to fresh chicken or turkey. 

 In a court of law, a cooked Quail can easily be 

 identified from squab, reed-bird, "rail-bird" 

 and many others by the fact that the meat on 

 its breast is white, while all the others wear dark 

 meat. 



The California Mountain "Quail," or 

 Mountain Partridge, 1 is a bird of most pleas- 

 ing appearance, which inhabits California, Ore- 

 gon and Washington. Wherever protected it is 

 spreading rapidly in the settled portions of the 

 Northwest. It loves moist regions, wherein the 

 rainfall is abundant. This is the bird with a 

 black throat, a white crescent running down 

 from the eye, two rows of white markings on 

 each side, and a long, drooping plume on its 

 head running back on the same curve as the 

 forehead. This bird goes in small flocks, of ten 

 to twenty, hides well, and is not easily flushed 

 without a dog. 



The Valley "Quail," or Valley Partridge, 2 is 

 the bird of the Pacific coast which has the very 

 jaunty, erect black plume, rising from the top 

 of its head and gracefully curving forward. Its 

 color markings are rich and beautiful, but not 

 gaudy, and in form as well as color, it is very 

 handsome. In fact, it is the most beautiful of 

 all our small upland game-birds. It inhabits 

 Oregon, Nevada, the whole of California and the 

 Lower California peninsula, and in some places 

 ascends the mountains to 9,000 feet. It has been 

 acclimatized in Utah, and there are many other 

 localities in which it might well be introduced. 



This partridge is the most widely distributed 

 and frequently seen game-bird in California, not- 

 only in the mountains, but also in the cultivated 

 valleys, everywhere, and even in Golden Gate 

 Park, San Francisco. It breeds readily in con- 

 finement in the New York Zoological Park, and 

 when safe from rats is not difficult to keep. 



The Mearns' Partridge, 3 of Mexico, western 

 Texas and southern New Mexico and Arizona, 

 must be mentioned because it is too odd and 



1 Or-e-or'tyx pic'tus. Average length, 11 inches. 



2 Lo-phor'tyx californicus. Average length, 9 

 inches. 



3 Cyr-to'nyx mon-te-zu'mae mearnsi. Average 

 length, 8.50 inches. 



striking in appearance to be ignored. It may 

 be known by the numerous large white spots on 

 the sides of its body just below the wings, and 

 its harlequin head of black and white bars and 

 collars. It is of great interest to Americans re- 

 siding in Mexico, and many attempts have been 

 made to acclimatize it in captivity in the Uniter 1 

 States. I once had in my possession two of these 

 birds whose white spots had been artificially 

 changed by some enterprising Mexican to a beau- 

 tiful golden-yellow color. Until the trick was 

 discovered, the birds were quite a puzzle, for the 



CALIFORNIA VALLEY PARTRIDGE. 



fact that they had been dyed was not proven 

 until they moulted. 



The Ruffed Grouse 4 is the dandy of Ameri- 

 can game-birds. In various places it is called 

 by various names, some of which are mischiev- 

 ously confusing. By many persons it is called a 

 "Pheasant," and by others a "Partridge"; 

 but both these names are entirely incorrect, and 

 when applied to this bird create confusion. Of- 

 ten it is impossible to converse understanding^ 

 about this bird without first defining boundaries, 

 and coming to an agreement regarding the names 

 "Pheasant" and "Partridge." Now that a 

 real pheasant (the ring-necked) has been intro- 

 duced from China into many portions of the 

 United States, it is all the more imperative that 



,] Bo-na'sa um-bel'lus. Average length, 16 inches. 



