CALIFORNIA QUAIL; VALLEY QUAIL 87 
are not popular, because believed to eat the grapes. 
Others more justly believe that the number of noxious 
insects devoured by the valley quail far exceeds in 
importance the small amount of fruit which they eat. 
In many places the too long open season and unrea- 
sonable bag limit have sadly depleted their numbers, 
and unless complete protection or restocking is re- 
sorted to this beautiful bird will become locally rare. 
The habits of this species differ very much in differ- 
ent localities. They are tough, hardy birds, and some- 
times surprise the ornithologists by turning up in places 
where they would not at all be expected. On the other 
hand, they sometimes suffer severely from cold and 
snow. 
Mr. A. C. Lowell, writing from Ft. Bidwell, in 
northeastern California, reported to Captain Bendire: 
“These birds are unable to stand the severe cold of this 
region, especially when accompanied. by a heavy fall 
of snow. In the winter of 1887-88 about two feet of 
snow fell, followed by three very severe nights in 
which the thermometer reached 28° below zero. This 
killed most of the birds. In the following fall I heard 
of but three or four coveys of quail within a radius of 
sixty miles, where thousands had been the year before. 
They ranged from the northern end of Warner Valley 
south to Reno, Nevada, and were especially numerous 
in Buffalo Canyon and along the western shore of 
Pyramid Lake. They were very common up to the 
summits of the Warner Mountains, which attain here 
an altitude of about 6,000 feet. Though the canyons 
