^HE GAME BREEDER 



7^ 



Mary Rahlman. 



THE CALIFORNIA VALLEY QUAIL. 



By Mary Rahlman. 



The California valley quail, a shy and 

 dainty game bird, thrives in Southern 

 California. It roams among our orange 

 and lemon groves, hung with jewels 

 green and gold; its cheerful notes are 

 heard calling from the cactus and the 

 tufted fields of wild sage which extend 

 to the azure foot-hills not far away. 



This beautiful little crested partridge 

 is admired by hundreds of tourists who 

 annually visit the land of sunshine and 

 roses. Exquisite are the white pencil- 

 lings on the slate-blue feathers; it has a 

 jaunty black plume on the head which 

 curves gracefully forward. There is a 

 decided resemblance between the moun- 

 tain and the valley quails of California, 

 the chief difference being in size ; the 

 mountain bird is considerably larger than 

 the valley quail. The mountain quail, as 

 its name indicates, inhabits the higher 

 altitude, but, these birds thrive in the 

 low country when held in captivity. 



Most dehghtful of all occupations is 

 the rearing of game birds in this beauti- 

 ful semi-tropical climate where the skies 

 are always blue. Matchless are the days 

 of sunshine of beautiful Southern Cali- 

 fornia, tempered by the gentle sea- 

 breezes of the grand Pacific Ocean, the 

 deep blue waters of which are not quite 

 ten miles away. 



Our pheasant farm is located near 

 Santa Ana (forty miles south of Los 

 Angeles). Here we raise hundreds of 

 pheasants annually and also we are rear- 

 ing some fine f ocks of valley quail. The 

 eggs of the California valley quail are a 

 trifle smaller than the bob-white eggs; 

 they are white and covered with tiny 

 brown flecks. 



In this dry climate I prepare the nest 

 for setting quail eggs 

 for the j)heaeant eggs, 

 scoop out the earth making a small basin 

 some four inches deep, and I fill this with 



exactly as I do 

 With a shovel I 



