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  BOB 
  WHITE 
  AND 
  OTHER 
  QUAILS 
  OF 
  UNITED 
  STATES. 
  

  

  achs, 
  secured 
  in 
  Texas 
  and 
  New 
  Mexico 
  during 
  August 
  and 
  November. 
  

   Two 
  of 
  the 
  birds 
  were 
  killed 
  in 
  a 
  patch 
  of 
  cactus. 
  They 
  contained 
  

   seeds 
  and 
  spines 
  from 
  the 
  prickly 
  pear, 
  acacia, 
  and 
  other 
  seeds, 
  grass 
  

   blades, 
  and 
  a 
  trace 
  of 
  insects 
  — 
  weevils 
  and 
  other 
  beetles 
  — 
  besides 
  a 
  

   large 
  quantity 
  of 
  coarse 
  sand 
  and 
  iron 
  ore. 
  The 
  other 
  7 
  birds 
  were 
  

   shot 
  in 
  August. 
  Two 
  had 
  their 
  crops 
  filled 
  with 
  the 
  bulbs 
  of 
  a 
  lily. 
  

   The 
  others 
  also 
  had 
  eaten 
  lily 
  bulbs, 
  which 
  in 
  the 
  5 
  birds 
  made 
  three- 
  

   fourths 
  of 
  the 
  food. 
  The 
  other 
  food 
  was 
  prickly 
  pear 
  fruit, 
  seeds 
  of 
  

   legumes 
  and 
  spurges, 
  and 
  such 
  insects 
  as 
  weevils, 
  smooth 
  caterpillars, 
  

   hairy 
  caterpillars, 
  bugs, 
  crickets, 
  and 
  grasshoppers. 
  Cassin 
  states 
  

   that 
  the 
  contents 
  of 
  the 
  crop 
  of 
  a 
  specimen 
  sent 
  him 
  from 
  Texas 
  by 
  

   Captain 
  French 
  " 
  consisted 
  exclusively 
  of 
  fragments 
  of 
  insects, 
  pro- 
  

   nounced 
  by 
  Doctor 
  Leconte 
  to 
  be 
  principally 
  grasshoppers 
  and 
  a 
  

   specimen 
  of 
  Spectrum." 
  a 
  According 
  to 
  Baircl, 
  Brewer, 
  and 
  Ridgway, 
  

   the 
  Mearns 
  quail 
  appeared 
  quite 
  at 
  home 
  in 
  cultivated 
  fields 
  and 
  

   stubble 
  of 
  the 
  ranches. 
  5 
  Away 
  from 
  civilization 
  it 
  prefers 
  districts 
  

   covered 
  with 
  open 
  forest, 
  with 
  alternate 
  areas 
  of 
  grass 
  and 
  scattered 
  

   bushy 
  undergrowth, 
  or 
  hillsides 
  covered 
  with 
  grass 
  and 
  bushes. 
  Its 
  

   habits 
  vary 
  considerably 
  with 
  the 
  locality. 
  Bendire 
  records 
  that 
  the 
  

   species 
  lives 
  in 
  rocky 
  ravines 
  and 
  arroyos, 
  but 
  quickly 
  adapts 
  itself 
  

   to 
  ranch 
  conditions 
  and 
  may 
  be 
  seen 
  running 
  about 
  to 
  gather 
  kernels 
  

   of 
  scattered 
  grain. 
  He 
  says 
  also 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  fond 
  of 
  acorns, 
  mountain 
  

   laurel, 
  arbutus, 
  cedar, 
  and 
  other 
  berries, 
  and 
  notes 
  that 
  its 
  large, 
  

   strong 
  feet 
  are 
  well 
  suited 
  to 
  unearthing 
  the 
  bulbs 
  on 
  which 
  it 
  feeds. 
  

   He 
  found 
  holes 
  2 
  inches 
  deep 
  which 
  it 
  had 
  dug 
  for 
  this 
  purpose. 
  

   These 
  quail 
  often 
  come 
  out 
  into 
  mountain 
  roads 
  to 
  search 
  for 
  scattered 
  

   grain 
  and 
  to 
  dust 
  themselves. 
  As 
  they 
  are 
  readily 
  tamed, 
  they 
  could 
  

   doubtless 
  be 
  successfully 
  introduced 
  into 
  other 
  regions. 
  

  

  a 
  Illustration 
  of 
  Birds 
  of 
  California, 
  Texas, 
  etc., 
  p. 
  25, 
  185G. 
  

   6 
  Hist. 
  N. 
  Am. 
  Birds, 
  III, 
  p. 
  492, 
  1874. 
  

  

  