144 



THE GAME BREEDER 



THE MASKED BOB-WHITE. 



This singularly colored quail, Elliot 

 says, is unlike any other species inhab- 

 iting America north of Mexico. It is 

 found in southern Arizona and Sonora, 

 Mexico, especially in the district lying 

 between the gulf coast of Sonora and 

 the Barboquivary range, and is abundant 

 between the last-named mountains and 

 the Plomoso. Mr. Hubert Brown, of 

 Tucson, Arizona, was the first to obtain 

 this bird within the limits of the United 

 States and he says that it is found on 

 the Sonoita Creek, about sixty miles 

 north of the Sonora line, and from the 

 Sonoita valley it ranges in a westerly 

 direction within Arizona territory for a 

 hundred miles through a strip of country 

 not thirty miles wide. In a wild state 

 this quail does not appear to be nearly 

 so abundant in the country it inhabits 

 (at least on our side of the line) as are 

 the other species of quail that are indig- 

 enous to our soil and inhabitants of the 

 same state. The masked quail found in 

 Arizona are apparently but an overflow 

 across our border from the main body of 

 birds in Sonora. They are met with in 

 the valley, on the table-lands and even 

 as high as 6,000 feet, two having been 

 killed at that elevation in the Huachucka 

 Mountains, in a canyon about fifteen 

 miles north of the border but nowhere 

 can they be considered abundant. 



The masked quail has a call note which 

 resembles exactly that of the Northern 

 species and the habits of the two species 

 are very similar. * * * It is a very 

 handsome bird and in the sun the breast 

 of the male appears red and makes him 

 a very conspicuous object. The body is 

 plump and of about the same size as 

 Gambels quail. The female resembles 

 closely the Texas quail. The dimensions 

 given by Elliot are: Total length, 4^ 

 inches; wing, 4}4 inches. Since the di- 

 mensions of the Northern bobwhite, as 

 given by the same author are: Tota 1 

 length about 9^ inches; wing, A T /z 

 inches, it would appear that our bobwhite 

 is the larger bird. 



Mr. Herbert Brown, writing about this 

 bird in Forest and Stream, says in actual 

 size the Gambel quail is the larger, al- 

 though the masked quail is so plump that 

 it appears to overmatch the other bird. 

 Mr. Brown predicted that the introduc- 

 tion of live-stock into southern Arizona 

 bade fair to exterminate the masked bob- 

 white by the distribution of its nests and 

 eggs by horses and cattle as well as by 

 the eating of the cover among which it 

 lives. In 1909 he wrote that his predic- 

 tion had come true but said the bird ap- 

 peared to be getting a good foothold in 

 Sonora about seventy miles south of the 

 line. 



Elliot says : "From having been taken 

 at as lofty an elevation as 6,000 feet it 

 would seem that this handsome species 

 was hardy and it might be a profitable 

 bird to introduce in the Northern States. 



I once heard of several of these birds 

 being shot on Long Island, N. Y. The 

 sportsman who shot them described the 

 birds accurately and I contemplated 

 going with him to see if I could secure 

 a specimen. He said he had found the 

 covey on several occasions and since we 

 both had excellent dogs it seemed likely 

 we could find the birds. I was busy at 

 the time making some illustrations for a 

 magazine and shortly after finishing the 

 work I left the neighborhood not having 

 found the time to go in pursuit of the 

 masked bobwhite. I have always believed 

 the birds were introduced by one of the 

 many clubs which purchased and liber- 

 ated quail on the island. 



The Game Conservation Society wishes 

 to secure a lot of these birds and several 

 members of the society will attempt to 

 make them abundant. The society will 

 pay a good price for the birds and it is 

 to be hoped some of the dealers will se- 

 cure them. They no doubt can be saved 

 from extinction and made plentiful if 

 some breeding stock is procured. 



Subscribe for The Game Breeder, only 

 $1 a year. 



! 



