﻿SCALED 
  QUAIL. 
  61 
  

  

  SCALED 
  QUAIL. 
  

  

  (Callipcpla 
  squamata.)^ 
  

  

  The 
  ' 
  cotton 
  top,' 
  or 
  scaled 
  quail, 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  commonly 
  known, 
  is 
  

   bluish 
  gray 
  on 
  the 
  back, 
  with 
  black-edged 
  feathers 
  on 
  the 
  under 
  parts, 
  

   which 
  appear 
  like 
  large 
  scales. 
  Its 
  conspicuous 
  white-tipped 
  crest 
  

   has 
  given 
  it 
  the 
  local 
  name 
  of 
  cotton 
  top. 
  It 
  is 
  found 
  in 
  southern 
  

   Colorado 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  Upper 
  and 
  Lower 
  Sonoran 
  zones 
  from 
  Arizona 
  

   to 
  western 
  and 
  southern 
  Texas 
  and 
  south 
  to 
  the 
  Valley 
  of 
  Mexico. 
  

   The 
  birds 
  of 
  the 
  lower 
  Rio 
  Grande 
  region 
  are 
  darker 
  than 
  those 
  far- 
  

   ther 
  west. 
  According 
  to 
  Bendire, 
  this 
  quail 
  lives 
  on 
  open 
  arid 
  plains 
  

   overgrown 
  with 
  yucca, 
  cactus, 
  and 
  sagebrush, 
  and 
  often 
  gathers 
  in 
  

   coveys 
  numbering 
  25 
  to 
  80. 
  It 
  lays 
  about 
  a 
  dozen 
  eggs, 
  and 
  he 
  be- 
  

   lieves 
  that 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  broods 
  are 
  reared 
  in 
  a 
  season. 
  The 
  cock 
  assists 
  

   in 
  the 
  care 
  of 
  the 
  young, 
  but 
  not 
  in 
  incubation. 
  h 
  

  

  FOOD 
  HABITS. 
  

  

  The 
  food 
  habits 
  of 
  this 
  game 
  bird 
  are 
  of 
  especial 
  interest. 
  Stom- 
  

   achs 
  and 
  crops 
  of 
  47 
  specimens 
  have 
  been 
  examined, 
  most 
  of 
  which 
  

   came 
  from 
  New 
  Mexico, 
  the 
  others 
  from 
  Arizona 
  and 
  Texas. 
  They 
  

   were 
  collected 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  January, 
  7 
  ; 
  May, 
  1 
  ; 
  June, 
  2 
  ; 
  July, 
  3 
  ; 
  

   September, 
  13; 
  October, 
  19, 
  and 
  November, 
  2. 
  As 
  with 
  all 
  other 
  

   gallinaceous 
  birds, 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  mineral 
  matter 
  is 
  swallowed, 
  usually 
  

   small 
  pieces 
  of 
  quartz. 
  The 
  food 
  consisted 
  of 
  animal 
  matter, 
  29.0 
  

   per 
  cent, 
  and 
  vegetable 
  matter, 
  70.4 
  per 
  cent. 
  

  

  The 
  food 
  of 
  the 
  cotton 
  top 
  differs 
  from 
  that 
  of 
  all 
  other 
  American 
  

   quails 
  in 
  that 
  it 
  contains 
  a 
  large 
  proportion 
  of 
  insects. 
  These 
  com- 
  

   prise 
  no 
  less 
  than 
  29.03 
  per 
  cent 
  of 
  its 
  food, 
  a 
  percentage 
  almost 
  twice 
  

   as 
  great 
  as 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  bobwhite, 
  although 
  if 
  more 
  stomachs 
  of 
  the 
  

   present 
  species 
  had 
  been 
  available 
  for 
  examination 
  the 
  ratio 
  might 
  

   have 
  been 
  different. 
  However, 
  the 
  important 
  fact 
  is 
  established 
  that 
  

   this 
  bird 
  is 
  a 
  large 
  consumer 
  of 
  insects, 
  instead 
  of 
  being, 
  like 
  most 
  

   other 
  western 
  quail, 
  practically 
  graminivorous. 
  Of 
  the 
  insect 
  food, 
  

   grasshoppers 
  comprise 
  15.86 
  per 
  cent; 
  beetles, 
  10.43 
  per 
  cent, 
  and 
  mis- 
  

   cellaneous 
  insects, 
  largely 
  ants, 
  3.27 
  per 
  cent. 
  A 
  few 
  spiders 
  also 
  are 
  

   taken, 
  but 
  they 
  constitute 
  only 
  0.03 
  per 
  cent 
  of 
  the 
  food 
  for 
  the 
  year. 
  

   The 
  beetles 
  are 
  in 
  the 
  larval 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  the 
  adult 
  forms. 
  The 
  family 
  

   of 
  ground 
  beetles 
  (Carabidce), 
  a 
  favorite 
  one 
  with 
  terrestrial 
  birds, 
  is 
  

   well 
  represented. 
  A 
  single 
  beetle 
  with 
  a 
  featherlike 
  antenna, 
  of 
  the 
  

   family 
  Pyrochroidre, 
  had 
  been 
  eaten. 
  Some 
  longicorn 
  beetles 
  and 
  

   plant-eating 
  scarabseid 
  beetles 
  also 
  were 
  eaten. 
  A 
  bird 
  collected 
  in 
  

  

  a 
  The 
  name 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  is 
  used 
  here 
  to 
  include 
  both 
  the 
  typical 
  scaled 
  quail 
  

   (Callipepla 
  squamata) 
  and 
  the 
  more 
  restricted 
  chestnut-bellied 
  quail 
  of 
  south- 
  

   ern 
  Texas 
  (C. 
  s. 
  castanogastris). 
  • 
  

  

  &Life 
  Hist 
  N. 
  A, 
  Birds 
  [I], 
  pp. 
  18-20, 
  1892. 
  

  

  