﻿MASKED 
  BOBWHITE 
  CALIFORNIA 
  QUAIL. 
  47 
  

  

  Arizona 
  and 
  northern 
  -Sonora, 
  is 
  sufficient 
  guaranty 
  that 
  the 
  birds 
  

   would 
  thrive 
  in 
  cultivated 
  sections 
  anywhere 
  in 
  southern 
  California 
  

   and 
  the 
  arid 
  Southwest. 
  It 
  would 
  be 
  deplorable 
  if 
  so 
  handsome 
  and 
  

   useful 
  a 
  bird 
  should 
  be 
  allowed 
  to 
  become 
  extinct, 
  and 
  a 
  determined 
  

   effort 
  should 
  be 
  made 
  to 
  introduce 
  it 
  into 
  suitable 
  localities 
  before 
  it 
  is 
  

   too 
  late. 
  

  

  Beyond 
  what 
  Herbert 
  Brown 
  has 
  stated 
  we 
  have 
  practically 
  noth- 
  

   ing 
  on 
  this 
  bird's 
  habits. 
  He 
  has 
  told 
  us 
  that, 
  like 
  all 
  the 
  birds 
  of 
  the 
  

   genus 
  Colinus* 
  the 
  males 
  give 
  the 
  well-known 
  ' 
  bobwhite 
  ' 
  call, 
  and 
  he 
  

   translates 
  their 
  rallying 
  note 
  as 
  ' 
  hoo-we.' 
  He 
  examined 
  the 
  stom- 
  

   achs 
  of 
  three 
  birds. 
  The 
  first 
  contained 
  mustard 
  seed, 
  chaparral 
  ber- 
  

   ries, 
  six 
  or 
  eight 
  beetles, 
  and 
  other 
  insects; 
  the 
  second 
  only 
  a 
  single 
  

   grasshopper 
  an 
  inch 
  long, 
  and 
  the 
  third 
  contained 
  20 
  ants, 
  several 
  

   crescent-shaped 
  seeds, 
  and 
  a 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  small, 
  fleshy 
  green 
  

   leaves. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  stated 
  b}^ 
  Bendire 
  that 
  in 
  Sonora 
  Benson 
  found 
  these 
  birds 
  

   only 
  in 
  fields 
  where 
  wheat 
  and 
  barley 
  had 
  been 
  grown. 
  Probably 
  

   then 
  the 
  bird's 
  general 
  habits 
  may 
  be 
  safely 
  assumed 
  to 
  be 
  similar 
  to 
  

   those 
  of 
  its 
  relative, 
  bobwhite. 
  

  

  CALIFORNIA 
  QUAIL. 
  

  

  (Lophoriyx 
  calif 
  ornicus. 
  ) 
  a 
  

  

  The 
  California 
  quail 
  is 
  generally 
  dispersed 
  over 
  California 
  below 
  

   an 
  altitude 
  of 
  8,000 
  feet 
  and 
  extends 
  into 
  southern 
  Oregon 
  and 
  west- 
  

   ern 
  Nevada. 
  It 
  has 
  been 
  introduced 
  into 
  Washington 
  and 
  British 
  

   Columbia, 
  and 
  efforts 
  to 
  introduce 
  it 
  into 
  the 
  Hawaiian 
  Islands 
  also 
  

   have 
  proved 
  very 
  successful, 
  although 
  of 
  late 
  years 
  its 
  numbers 
  

   there 
  have 
  been 
  much 
  reduced 
  by 
  the 
  mongoose, 
  by 
  which 
  in 
  time 
  it 
  

   is 
  likely 
  to 
  be 
  exterminated. 
  Two 
  geographic 
  forms 
  of 
  the 
  bird 
  are 
  

   recognized, 
  a 
  dark 
  form 
  and 
  a 
  light 
  one, 
  but 
  as 
  they 
  do 
  not 
  differ 
  in 
  

   habits 
  they 
  are 
  not 
  distinguished 
  in 
  the 
  following 
  account. 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  

   beautiful 
  bird 
  with 
  a 
  most 
  pleasing 
  combination 
  of 
  colors 
  and 
  mark- 
  

   ings, 
  its 
  head 
  being 
  adorned 
  by 
  a 
  glossy 
  black 
  crest, 
  narrow 
  at 
  the 
  

   base 
  and 
  gradually 
  widening 
  into 
  gracefully 
  recurving 
  plumes, 
  and 
  

   the 
  markings 
  on 
  the 
  underparts 
  resembling 
  scales. 
  It 
  frequents 
  

   brush-covered 
  hillsides, 
  canyons, 
  thickets 
  along 
  water 
  courses 
  and 
  

   the 
  borders 
  of 
  roads, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  vineyards 
  and 
  other 
  cultivated 
  fields. 
  

   The 
  nesting 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  varies 
  considerably 
  according 
  to 
  

   locality 
  and 
  conditions. 
  According 
  to 
  E. 
  A. 
  Mearns 
  it 
  nests 
  in 
  March 
  

   and 
  April 
  in 
  Ventura 
  County, 
  Cal. 
  Nests 
  containing 
  eggs 
  were 
  found 
  

  

  « 
  This 
  name 
  is 
  used 
  here 
  to 
  cover 
  both 
  the 
  typical 
  California 
  quail 
  (Loplwrtyx 
  

   calif 
  ornicus) 
  find 
  the 
  paler, 
  more 
  southerly 
  form, 
  called 
  the 
  valley 
  quail 
  (L. 
  c. 
  

   vallicota). 
  

  

  