MOUNTAIN QUAIL 79 
the desert in winter. It is said that in spring many fol- 
low up the snows as they melt, spending the summer 
high up on the mountains, and then in the autumn re- 
turn down the slopes, below the point where snow lies. 
The birds have a call not very unlike that of the bob- 
white, a whistle of three syllables, and the attitude as- 
sumed by the male while calling is not unlike that of 
the common quail, the wings being drooped and the 
point of the bill raised. The food consists of insects, 
seeds, berries, and the buds and tops of tender plants. 
In the early spring they feed so much on the tops of 
the wild garlic—one of the first green things to appear 
—that the flesh sometimes tastes of the plant. 
This quail is a prolific breeder, the eggs usually vary- 
ing in number from 9 to 15, though sometimes they 
are much more numerous, a nest containing 19 eggs 
being reported, as also a brood of 20 young birds. The 
time of nesting varies from early April to late May. 
The eggs are white. 
In northern Lower California Mr. Anthony found 
that the San Pedro partridge does not differ greatly in 
habit from the other forms. The race is confined tc 
southern California and northern Lower California. 
The mountain quail is a bird only casually pursued 
by the gunner. Often they are flushed and shot, and 
in some localities they are regularly pursued with dogs 
and shot over points. In such places they are reported 
to lie close, and to offer good opportunity for sport. 
The situations in which they are often found, rough 
mountain slopes, overgrown with manzanita, chemisal 
