﻿GAMBEL 
  QUAIL. 
  57 
  

  

  fairly 
  well, 
  but 
  as 
  a 
  rule 
  it 
  takes 
  to 
  its 
  legs 
  with 
  all 
  haste 
  and 
  leaves 
  

   the 
  dog 
  on 
  point, 
  to 
  the 
  vexation 
  of 
  the 
  hunter. 
  It 
  is, 
  however, 
  a 
  

   useful 
  species, 
  which 
  brightens 
  the 
  desert 
  with 
  its 
  presence 
  and 
  con- 
  

   tributes 
  a 
  welcome 
  addition 
  to 
  the 
  fare 
  of 
  the 
  traveler. 
  While 
  less 
  

   valuable 
  than 
  the 
  bobwhite 
  as 
  a 
  destroyer 
  of 
  noxious 
  insects 
  and 
  as 
  

   an 
  object 
  of 
  sport, 
  this 
  bird 
  well 
  deserves 
  protection 
  for 
  its 
  food 
  

   value 
  and 
  its 
  beauty. 
  It 
  thrives 
  under 
  desert 
  conditions 
  and 
  might 
  

   be 
  successfully 
  introduced 
  in 
  the 
  arid 
  regions 
  of 
  Colorado, 
  Xew 
  

   Mexico, 
  and 
  Texas. 
  

  

  FOOD 
  HABITS. 
  

  

  Stomachs 
  of 
  28 
  birds 
  collected 
  mainly 
  in 
  Arizona 
  and 
  Utah, 
  from 
  

   January 
  to 
  June, 
  have 
  been 
  examined. 
  Only 
  0.48 
  per 
  cent 
  of 
  the 
  

   Iv^od 
  consisted 
  of 
  insects; 
  the 
  remaining 
  99.52 
  per 
  cent 
  was 
  vegetable 
  

   matter. 
  Like 
  the 
  valley 
  quail, 
  this 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  our 
  least 
  insectivorous 
  

   birds. 
  Its 
  insect 
  diet 
  includes 
  ants, 
  beetles, 
  grasshoppers, 
  leaf 
  hop- 
  

   pers 
  (Membracidce), 
  and 
  stink 
  bugs 
  (Pentatomidce) 
  . 
  Among 
  the 
  

   beetles 
  are 
  the 
  western 
  twelve-spotted 
  cucumber 
  beetle 
  (Diabrotica 
  

   soror) 
  and 
  D. 
  tenella. 
  The 
  young 
  chicks, 
  however, 
  will 
  doubtless 
  

   be 
  found 
  highly 
  insectivorous 
  and 
  therefore 
  useful. 
  

  

  The 
  vegetable 
  food 
  of 
  Gambel 
  quail 
  was 
  made 
  up 
  as 
  follows: 
  

   Gr 
  : 
  q, 
  3.89 
  per 
  cent, 
  miscellaneous 
  seeds, 
  31.89 
  per 
  cent, 
  and 
  leaves 
  

   and 
  plant 
  shoots, 
  63.71 
  per 
  cent. 
  From 
  the 
  present 
  investigation 
  

   the 
  bird 
  appears 
  less 
  frugivorous 
  than 
  any 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  American 
  

   quails, 
  for 
  not 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  28 
  stomachs 
  contained 
  fruit. 
  Observers, 
  

   however, 
  say 
  that 
  the 
  bird 
  is 
  somewhat 
  frugivorous. 
  and 
  no 
  doubt 
  in 
  

   a 
  country 
  well 
  stocked 
  with 
  berries 
  and 
  fruit 
  it 
  would 
  rapidly 
  

   develop 
  a 
  frugivorous 
  taste. 
  Baird, 
  Brewer, 
  and 
  Ridgway, 
  for 
  

   instance, 
  state 
  that 
  during 
  summer 
  it 
  makes 
  its 
  home 
  in 
  patches 
  of 
  

   Solanum 
  and 
  feeds 
  on 
  the 
  tolerably 
  palatable 
  fruit, 
  and 
  also 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  

   known 
  to 
  eat 
  gooseberries. 
  Cones 
  says 
  : 
  " 
  In 
  the 
  fall 
  it 
  gathers 
  

   cherries 
  and 
  grapes. 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  It 
  visits 
  patches 
  of 
  prickly 
  pear 
  

   (Opuntia) 
  to 
  feed 
  upon 
  the 
  soft 
  juicy 
  ''Tunas' 
  that 
  are 
  eaten 
  by 
  

   everything 
  in 
  Arizona, 
  from 
  men 
  and 
  bears 
  to 
  beetles." 
  l 
  

  

  The 
  grain 
  eaten 
  by 
  the 
  Gambel 
  quail 
  was 
  corn, 
  wheat, 
  and 
  oats. 
  

   In 
  flocks 
  numbering 
  from 
  50 
  to 
  100, 
  it 
  feeds 
  about 
  grain 
  stacks 
  with 
  

   domestic 
  poultry. 
  It 
  is 
  even 
  more 
  industrious 
  as 
  a 
  browser 
  on 
  foliage 
  

   than 
  the 
  valley 
  quail. 
  Succulent 
  foliage 
  and 
  shoots 
  form 
  63.74 
  per 
  

   cent 
  of 
  its 
  food. 
  Much 
  of 
  this 
  comes 
  from 
  alfalfa, 
  bur 
  clover, 
  and 
  

   the 
  foliage 
  of 
  other 
  legumes. 
  Vernon 
  Bailey, 
  of 
  the 
  Biological 
  Sur- 
  

   vey, 
  says 
  that 
  at 
  St. 
  Thomas, 
  Ariz., 
  in 
  January, 
  1889, 
  this 
  quail 
  fairly 
  

   swarmed 
  on 
  alfalfa 
  fields, 
  feeding 
  on 
  the 
  green 
  leaves 
  and 
  pods. 
  

   He 
  found 
  flocks 
  of 
  from 
  25 
  to 
  50 
  in 
  such 
  situations, 
  and 
  during 
  a 
  

  

  a 
  Birds 
  of 
  Northwest, 
  p. 
  434, 
  1874. 
  & 
  Hist. 
  N. 
  Am. 
  Birds, 
  III, 
  p. 
  4S3, 
  1874. 
  

  

  