﻿MOUNTAIN 
  QUAIL. 
  59 
  

  

  the 
  plumed 
  mountain 
  quail 
  (Oreortyx 
  p. 
  plumiferus) 
  known 
  to 
  him 
  

   was 
  April 
  15, 
  and 
  the 
  latest, 
  August 
  15. 
  He 
  states 
  also 
  that 
  the 
  

   cock 
  bird 
  takes 
  care 
  of 
  the 
  young. 
  Chester 
  Barlow, 
  in 
  writing 
  of 
  

   the 
  habits 
  of 
  the 
  mountain 
  quail, 
  says 
  that 
  at 
  Fyffe, 
  Cal., 
  it 
  begins 
  

   to 
  nest 
  the 
  last 
  of 
  May 
  or 
  early 
  in 
  June. 
  All 
  nests 
  that 
  he 
  found 
  

   were 
  built 
  in 
  a 
  growth 
  of 
  ' 
  mountain 
  misery 
  ' 
  (Ghamcebatia 
  sp.) 
  8 
  to 
  

   10 
  inches 
  high. 
  ?; 
  On 
  Mount 
  Tallac 
  and 
  the 
  higher 
  slopes 
  of 
  Pyra- 
  

   mid 
  Peak, 
  W. 
  W. 
  Price 
  found 
  newly 
  hatched 
  young 
  as 
  late 
  as 
  August 
  

   15. 
  He 
  noted 
  that 
  by 
  September 
  1 
  the 
  quail 
  became 
  restless 
  and 
  soon 
  

   began 
  their 
  peculiar 
  migration 
  from 
  the 
  east 
  slope 
  to 
  the 
  west 
  slope 
  

   of 
  the 
  Sierras. 
  From 
  4 
  to 
  6 
  adults 
  with 
  their 
  young 
  form 
  a 
  small 
  

   band 
  of 
  from 
  10 
  to 
  30 
  individuals, 
  and 
  pursue 
  their 
  way 
  almost 
  

   wholly 
  on 
  foot 
  to 
  a 
  more 
  congenial 
  winter 
  climate; 
  and 
  by 
  October 
  

   1 
  all 
  had 
  abandoned 
  elevations 
  above 
  5,000 
  feet. 
  In 
  spring 
  they 
  

   migrate 
  back 
  singly 
  or 
  in 
  pairs. 
  

  

  There 
  are 
  many 
  admirers 
  of 
  this 
  bird 
  because 
  of 
  its 
  exquisite 
  

   plumage, 
  but 
  most 
  sportsmen 
  prefer 
  a 
  game 
  bird 
  that 
  lies 
  better 
  to 
  

   the 
  dog. 
  Its 
  flesh 
  is 
  excellent, 
  and 
  the 
  bird 
  sells 
  well 
  in 
  the 
  market. 
  

   H. 
  W. 
  Henshaw 
  reports 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  late 
  fall 
  of 
  1880 
  he 
  found 
  the 
  

   markets 
  of 
  Portland, 
  Oreg., 
  well 
  supplied 
  with 
  live 
  mountain 
  quails 
  

   which 
  had 
  been 
  trapped 
  in 
  the 
  neighboring 
  mountains, 
  cooped, 
  and 
  

   sent 
  to 
  the 
  city 
  for 
  sale. 
  Nowhere 
  is 
  it 
  so 
  numerous 
  as 
  the 
  California 
  

   quail, 
  or 
  the 
  bobwhite 
  in 
  the 
  Southern 
  States, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  more 
  of 
  a 
  

   forest-loving 
  species 
  than 
  any 
  other 
  American 
  quail. 
  The 
  mountain 
  

   quail 
  sometimes 
  enters 
  cleared 
  fields, 
  but 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  the 
  records 
  of 
  the 
  

   Biological 
  Survey 
  show 
  it 
  does 
  no 
  appreciable 
  damage 
  to 
  cultivated 
  

   fruits 
  or 
  other 
  crops 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  a 
  useful 
  destroyer 
  of 
  weed 
  seeds. 
  

  

  FOOD 
  HABITS. 
  

  

  No 
  stomachs 
  of 
  the 
  mountain 
  quail 
  of 
  the 
  humid 
  regions 
  were 
  

   available 
  for 
  examination, 
  but 
  Sandys 
  writes 
  that 
  the 
  bird 
  feeds 
  on 
  

   insects 
  and 
  various 
  seeds, 
  including 
  grain/* 
  and 
  Elliot 
  says 
  it 
  some- 
  

   times 
  approaches 
  farm 
  buildings 
  in 
  search 
  of 
  scattered 
  kernels 
  of 
  

   grain. 
  e 
  

  

  The 
  food 
  of 
  the 
  mountain 
  quail 
  of 
  the 
  arid 
  regions 
  has 
  been 
  

   studied 
  in 
  the 
  laboratory 
  of 
  the 
  Biological 
  Survey. 
  The 
  stomachs 
  

   examined, 
  23 
  in 
  number, 
  were 
  collected 
  in 
  California. 
  Five 
  were 
  

   collected 
  in 
  January, 
  2 
  in 
  May, 
  6 
  in 
  June, 
  3 
  in 
  July, 
  3 
  in 
  August, 
  and 
  

  

  <* 
  Life 
  Hist. 
  N. 
  Am. 
  Birds 
  [I], 
  p. 
  16, 
  1892. 
  

  

  6 
  Condor, 
  3, 
  p. 
  158, 
  1901. 
  

  

  c 
  Condor, 
  3, 
  pp. 
  158, 
  1G0, 
  1901. 
  

  

  <* 
  Upland 
  Game 
  Birds, 
  p. 
  93, 
  1902. 
  

  

  e 
  Gallinaceous 
  Game 
  Birds 
  N. 
  A., 
  p. 
  42, 
  1897. 
  

  

  