540 GAME BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA 



fornia. In California it is an abundant resident locally, always in 

 the near vicinity, of streams, on the Mohave and Colorado deserts. It 

 has been taken as far north as the Amargosa Desert and Death 

 Valley, in southern Inyo County, and to the westward it extends to 

 Banning and the north slope of the Santa Rosa Mountains in River- 

 side County. Along the western border of its range it is often found 

 associated with the Valley Quail. This is especially the case in some 

 of the low passes, as, for instance, San Gorgonio Pass. Here hybrids 

 between the two species have been taken. Stragglers, possibly escaped 

 from captivity, have been recorded from Los Angeles (Grinnell, 1898, 

 p. 19) and San Bernardino (Wall, 1893, p. 204). 



Efforts made to introduce the Desert Quail into northern Cali- 

 fornia have met with failure. Belding (1890', p. 8) records the fact 

 that although a number were once liberated near Folsom, Sacramento 

 County, they all soon disappeared. A covey, numbering originally 

 more than a hundred, kept on the State Game Farm at Hayward, 

 slowly died off until not one was left. The bird seems unable to stand 

 any departure from the warmth and dryness of its native desert 

 territory. 



Throughout its range the Desert Quail is a close associate of the 

 mesquite and "quail brush," the latter being a species of Atriplex. 

 Although individuals often forage up dry washes for a few miles, 

 they keep within reach either of a spring or a stream, since they 

 must go back to water at least twice a day, morning and evening. 



In size and general appearance the Desert Quail is much like the 

 Valley Quail. The top of the head, however, is rich reddish brown, 

 there are no scale-like tippings to the feathers of the under surface, 

 and the flanks are chiefly chestnut in color. A conspicuous black patch 

 occupies the center of the lower surface of the body of the male. Being 

 a desert form, the general tone of color follows the rule among desert 

 animals and is pale, considerably lighter than it is in the Valley Quail. 



Desert Quail usually remain in flocks until about the middle of 

 March when they begin to pair off. Although the height of the nest- 

 ing season occurs in April, young about two days old have been seen 

 as late as September 24 (Leo "Wiley, MS). The earliest date for eggs 

 is March 19, near Phoenix, Arizona; and near Tucson, April 4 (Ben- 

 dire, 1892, p. 34). In California, near Salton Sea, Koch (1893, p. 

 91) found fresh eggs on April 5. The nest is a simple structure, 

 often a mere lining, of grasses and weed stems, occupying a depres- 

 sion in the ground surface, and hidden in grass or clumps of weeds. 

 Some instances may here be cited in illustration of nesting habits, 

 exceptional or ordinary. 



Near Tucson, Arizona, on May 25, 1911, Willard (1912, p. 60) 

 found a nest without any protecting cover in a slight depression at 



