PART I 
Chapter I 
OPEN NESTS ON THE GROUND, IN OPEN 
FIELDS, MARSHES, AND GENERALLY 
OPEN COUNTRY 
289. Bob-white; Quail: Colinus virginianus (Linn.) 
Adult 6 —Plumage: Upper parts reddish brown, with more or 
less complete black bars; rump warm rich gray, slightly 
mottled and streaked with nearly black marks ; tail very 
gray ; head black in front of crown; black band across 
breast ; throat and superciliary line white, belly whitish. 
Length—10.00. 
Adult 9 —Duller, black band on breast indistinct. 
Breeding Range—Throughout the Eastern States, from Maine to 
the Gulf of Mexico. 
Nest on the ground in open fields, grain fields, scrubby 
places, and frequently along a roadside, near a stone wall or 
fence. Usually the nest is open, but it is sometimes roughly 
arched ; it is loosely made of grasses, leaves, weeds, and straw. 
The eggs are white, more or less stained with light brown, vary- 
ing in number from ro to 18, though sometimes as many as 25 
are laid (Davie). Size—1.20 x .95. 
The Quail, Bob-white, or Partridge is so well known that 
but little need here be said of it. Except during the breeding 
season, the birds are always to be found in bevies, or they might 
be called families, which, when scattered by the sportsman, re- 
unite and continue living in or about the same locality. The 
mating season begins very early in May, and eggs are to be found 
from the third week in May until late in the summer, and rarely 
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