VALLEY QUAIL 527 



Some collectors' estimates as to the average numbers of eggs laid 

 by these birds may be of interest here. For the' California Quail, 

 C. A. Allen {in Bendire, 1892, p. 24) gives 14, and Bendire (1892, p. 

 25) says 12 to 16; for the Valley Quail, at Fresno, Tyler (MS) says 

 that first sets, laid from April 20 to May 15, average 18 ; sets found 

 in June, and which may be second layings, contain 14 to 15 eggs, 

 while sets found from July to September contain but 10 to 12 eggs 

 each. Grinnell (1898, p. 19) gives 15 to 17 as the average about Los 

 Angeles, and Peyton (MS), for Sespe, Ventura County, says 10 to 

 15, and that sets of 17 are to be considered large. Speaking from 

 experience with both races of quail. Law (MS) thinks that normal 

 sets are not less than 15 in number. It will thus be seen that our 

 averages from actual statistics (13 to 14) are below offhand estimates. 

 In any event the size of the set is considerably above that of any other 

 species of game bird occurring in California. As far as observation 

 goes there is good ground for believing that quails' eggs possess a 

 high percentage of fertility; practically all the eggs of a set hatch. 

 Mortality comes after the young are out of the nest. 



The eggs are white, or faintly tinged with cream-color, and abun- 

 dantly speckled and often blotched irregularly with golden brown of 

 but slightly varying tone. The markings are distributed over the 

 egg with fair uniformity, there being little or no tendency toward 

 massing the color about the larger end as in the case of the eggs of 

 many shore birds. In shape the eggs are short ovate, with the small 

 end notably pointed. They measure, in inches, 1.10 to 1.40 by 0.84 

 to 1.01, and average 1.24 by 0.95 (three sets, of 13, 14 and 18 eggs, 

 respectively, from Nevada County). 



The eggs of the Valley Quail number from 6 to 28 in a complete 

 set (Sharp, MS), with an average, as already demonstrated, of about 

 14. In some instances it is certain that more than one female lays in 

 one nest, and this circumstance might account for some of the larger 

 sets. Tyler (1913&, p. 34) recites an instance where a nest which 

 was observed in the late morning to contain four eggs, upon the after- 

 noon of the same day held six, although from that time on but one 

 egg was laid each day. The remarks accompanying Sharp 's set no. 17 

 (table 16) suggest double laying. It is generally believed that a quail 

 deposits one egg a day until the fuU complement is laid. One instance 

 out of several illustrating this point is provided by M. C. Badger 

 (MS), who discovered a nest with but four eggs, and thereafter 

 observed that one egg was added each day until there were fifteen; 

 in other words eleven eggs were laid upon eleven successive days. 

 Two or more types of eggs, distinct as to shape, size, or coloration, 

 are not infrequently observable among the eggs contained in one nest. 

 The following table from Sharp (MS) lists the sets which came under 



