THE GAME BREEDER 



116 



Valley Quail Successfully Reared. 



By N. C. Bryant. 

 In the hope that the following facts 

 regarding the breeding of valley quail 

 may be of service to other breeders, we 

 here detail our experiences. Three years 

 ago there came into our possession a pair 

 of valley quail. The female was a very 

 young bird and was raised by hand. 

 These birds were kept in an aviary along 

 with many other small finches. The first 

 year the female deposited 2 eggs, but 

 would not incubate them ; later the same 

 year the female deposited 22 eggs, but 

 also deserted. The second year the first 

 clutch contained about 18 eggs, but these 

 were deserted. The second set was care- 

 fully incubated by the male bird, the fe- 

 male showing no inclination to sit on the 

 eggs. Not a single tgg hatched, however. 

 This year, 1918, 18 eggs were deposited 

 and the female began incubating the first 

 part of May. Twenty-three days later 

 she came off the nest with 16 young. 

 One of the chicks was found dead the 

 first morning, and several others died 

 soon after, probably owing to the fact 

 that the male would not hover the young 

 at night and the female could not cover 

 so many growing birds. Nine were 

 brought to maturity. Of this number 

 eight were males. Another time we be- 

 lieve that greater success can be attained. 

 The young quail were fed on dry weevils, 

 and later on weed seeds, obtained as 

 screenings from threshing machines. — 

 California Fish & Game. 



Aviary Pheasants. 



Pheasants are classified by English 

 sporting writers as pheasants suitable for 

 the aviary and pheasants suitable for 

 sport. The Chinese ring-necked pheas- 

 ant (P. Torquatus) and the common 

 English pheasant (P. Colchicus) and the 

 many half-breeds of these two species 

 are the birds chiefly used for sporting 

 purposes and for food in America as well 

 as in England. The Mongolian pheas- 

 ant (P. Mongolicus) and the Reeves 

 pheasant are included in the class suit- 

 able for sport and some of these large 

 birds have been preserved and shot on 

 English preserves. The first named is a 



big ring-necked pheasant and it has in- 

 terbred with the common pheasant both 

 in England and America. The Hon. 

 Walter Rothschild contributed to the 

 Encyclopedia of Sport a list of foreign 

 pheasants probably suitable for introduc- 

 tion. Some of these have been imported 

 to America but their high price is suffi- 

 cient to remove them from the sporting 

 class and they well may be considered 

 as aviary species since they only are so 

 used. 



The aviary pheasants commonly seen 

 in zoological gardens and private aviaries 

 are the Golden, Silver and Lady Am- 

 herst pheasants. Numerous other aviary 

 species, all beautiful and costly, are dis- 

 tinguished from the pheasants used for 

 sport as easily as peacocks or parrots are 

 and on this account the laws intended to 

 protect our game birds should not and 

 probably they do not apply to aviary 

 species. The sooner the courts so hold 

 the better it will be for the freedom of 

 the citizens who may wish to have and to 

 breed the beautiful aviary species of 

 pheasants in their aviaries. 



It is absurd enough to arrest anyone 

 for having game birds in his possession 

 for breeding purposes but it is nothing 

 short of a legal outrage to arrest any one 

 for having aviary species of pheasants 

 for breeding purposes or for selling and 

 shipping these ornamental fowls which 

 are not shot or eaten. The arrest and 

 fining of one of our Oregon breeders 

 recently for killing one of his golden 

 pheasants in older to have it mounted 

 by a taxidermist was a disgraceful out- 

 rage in the name of the law and the 

 laws should be amended everywhere so 

 as to make it impossible for ignorant 

 game wardens and justices of the peace 

 to make arrests and to collect fines in 

 such a scandalous manner. Before long 

 if unchecked these people may be found 

 arresting citizens who have canaries or 

 peacocks in their possession, and con- 

 fiscating the birds in addition to fining 

 their owners. I doubt not they may ex- 

 tend their activities to robbing hen roosts 

 since there would be equal propriety in 

 their so doing because our domestic poul- 

 try is descended from the pheasant. 

 State game officers who can not control 



