QUAIL, OR PARTRIDGE. 23 1 



four or five to thirty, afford considerable sport to the gunner. 

 At this time the notes of the male are most frequent, clear, 

 and loud. His common call consists of two notes, with some- 

 times an introductory one, and is similar to the sound produced 

 by pronouncing the words " Bob White." This call may be 

 easily imitated by whistling, so as to deceive the bird itself, 

 and bring it near. While uttering this, he is usually perched 

 on a rail of the fence, or on a low limb of an apple tree, where 

 he will sometimes sit, repeating, at short intervals, " Bob 

 White," for half an hour at a time. When a covey are 

 assembled in a thicket or corner of a field, and about to take 

 wing, they make a low twittering sound, not unlike that of 

 young chickens ; and when the covey is dispersed, they are 

 called together again by a loud and frequently repeated note, 

 peculiarly expressive of tenderness and anxiety. 



The food of the partridge consists of grain, seeds, insects, 

 and berries of various kinds. Buckwheat and Indian-corn are 

 particular favourites. In September and October the buck- 

 wheat fields afford them an abundant supply, as well as a 

 secure shelter. They usually roost at night in the middle of 

 a field on high ground ; and from the circumstance of their 

 dung being often found in such places in one round heap, it 

 is generally conjectured that they roost in a circle, with their 

 heads outwards, each individual in this position forming a 

 kind of guard to prevent surprise. They also continue to 

 lodge for several nights in the same spot. 



The partridge, like all the rest of the gallinaceous order, 

 flies with a loud whirring sound, occasioned by the shortness, 

 concavity, and rapid motion of its wings, and the comparative 

 weight of its body. The steadiness of its horizontal flight, 

 however, renders it no difficult mark to the sportsman, parti- 

 cularly when assisted by his sagacious pointer. The flesh of 

 this bird is peculiarly white, tender, and delicate, unequalled 

 in these qualities by that of any other of its genus in the 

 United States. 



The quail, as it is called in New England, or the partridge, 



