QUAILS, PARTRIDGES, GROUSE 



(289) Colinus virginianus vir= 

 ginianus {Linn.) 



BOB-WHITE ; QUAIL ; VIR- 

 GINIA PARTRIDGE. Feathers 

 of crown lengthened but not sufifi- 

 ciently so to form a true crest. Tail 

 short, i2-feathered. cf — Plumage 

 as shown by middle bird. Throat 

 and superciliary stripe pure white. 

 The 9 , shown by the lower right 

 hand bird, differs in having the throat 

 buffy, and black markings of head 

 replaced by brown. L., lo.oo; W., 

 4.50; Tar., 1.20; B., .50. Eggs — 

 Eight to si.xteen, white, 1.20X.95. 



Range — Resident from Me., Ont. 

 and Minn, southward. In Fla., re- 

 placed by FLORIDA BOB-WHITE 

 (floridanus), a dark type as shown 

 by the upper bird. In Tex. and N. 

 Mex. by the TEXAS BOB-WHITE 

 (te.xanus) . 



shore bird which always engages in combat for the sheer love 

 of lighting. We may suppose that the leaf-like shield at the 

 base of the bill offers some protection to the eyes against the 

 spurs of their adversaries. The toes and claws are of very 

 unusual length and slenderness, enabling Jacanas to run 

 easily over floating vegetation. Their nests are made of 

 weeds and decaying vegetation floating among rushes or 

 lily pads after the fashion of grebes. The eggs are as curious 

 as the birds — a bright tawny-olive, scrawled all over the 

 surface with blackish lines. 



Order GALLINtE. Gallinaceous Birds 



Family ODONTOPHORID^. Bob-Whites, Quails, etc. 



BOB-WHITES, so called because their usual note of two 

 clear whistles sounds most like those words, are almost al- 

 ways known in eastern United States as Quail. Quail are 

 birds of the open, birds of civilization. The farmer hears 

 their calls during the warmer months and rejoices in them; 



177 



