The Desert Quail 



But we spoke of fecundity, and the proof of this lies not so much 

 in the size of the bag brought in as in the infallible undertone of Gam- 

 beline conversation which accompanies the traveler in his movements 

 along the base of the foothills which overlook the Colorado Desert, 

 or in the progress up the Gila River in Arizona. There seems to be no 

 uniformity of opinion yet as to the notes made by these birds; but a close 

 study would probably discover an exact parallelism between them and 

 the notes of L. californica. At Potholes I have heard the questing call 

 knh kwaa kuk, in form almost precisely like that of the Valley Quail, 

 but with an accent more drawling, less emphatic, and more southern. 

 The call-note of the male bird, as when the female is nest-hunting, is 

 whay o'eh, or, more sharply, quayl. In approaching a lurking covey of 

 young birds, one is likely to hear soothing daay daay notes. "Keep 

 still" is their message, and a profound silence follows a closer approach. 

 When the danger is over and the youngsters dare breathe again, the 

 mother bird calls wreck'up, wreck'up in sharp, anxious tones. 



The need of fecundity is emphasized by a consideration of all the 

 dangers which beset the infant steps of the Desert Quail. Snakes abound 

 in their country and they are always keen for quail meat, with or without 

 toast. Owls take toll; and coyotes secure many victims at night, especi- 

 ally during the breeding season. Being more exposed at all seasons than 

 are her California sisters of the chaparral, the Desert Quail nests twice 

 in the season to make up for losses. Although she nests typically upon 

 the ground, as do all other members of this family, the Desert Quail 

 exhibits a decided tendency to seek more elevated quarters. Goaded 

 to desperation by the coyotes, the Quails will make nests on the tops of 

 protected stumps, in hollows of mesquite trees, or in Thrashers' nests 

 new or old, — anything that offers escape from ground-prowling enemies. 

 In the mesquite forest below Tucson one of our party took a set of nine 

 eggs from the nest of a Crissal Thrasher, placed three feet up in the center 

 of an almost impregnable thorn bush. Another nest, which I found in 

 the Gunsight Mountains, occupied a chamber excavated in the side of 

 an old rat's nest. But the bird in this case probably sought shelter from 

 the heat rather than escape from vermin. 



That the Quail should trust the rat is rather surprising, but I recall 

 having startled a covey of very young quails which took instant refuge 

 in a rat's nest. We gave diligent search, in spite of an armament of 

 over-shadowing chollas, and we found the chicks, at last, huddled in an 

 underground passage with the rat herself no more than a foot away. 



There can be little question that Lophortyx californica and L. gam- 

 beli have developed from a common stock. A moment's consideration 

 of the head-pattern in the males of the two species shows this. The pat- 



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