Jan. 14, 1898. 1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



2 7 



GAMBEL'S PARTRIDGE. 



From advance sheets of "Life Histories of North American Birds 

 with Especial Reference to their Breeding, Habits and Eggs." 



BY CAPT. CHAS. K. BBNPIRE. 



Callipepla gambeli " Nuttall." 



Lophortyx gambeli "Nuttall" Ganibel, Proceedings Acad- 

 emy Natural Sciences, Pbila., 1843, 260. 

 Callipepla gambeli Gould. Monograph Odontoohorinai, 

 1850, PI. xvn. (B 475, C 392, R 483, C 576, TJ 295.) 

 Geographical Range — Northern Mexico and contigu- 

 ous 'portions of United States from western Texas to 

 southern California, north to southern Nevada and south- 

 ern Utah. 



The home of this graceful and interesting species in- 

 cludes that portion of southern California commonly 

 known as the " Great American Desert." Here Gambel's 

 partridge reaches the most western point of its range, 

 near San Gorgonio Pass, in San Bernardino county, Cali- 

 fornia, where it overlaps that of the Valley partridge 

 and hybrids are found 1 : thence it ranges eastward through 

 -Arizona and the greater part of New Mexico into west- 

 ern Texas. To the north it is found in southwestern 

 Utah and the Death Valley region of southern Nevada, 

 as well as in parts of northern New Mexico, where Dr. 

 C. J. Newberry, Jr., met with it a few miles south of 

 Santa Fe. South it extends into western Mexico. It is 

 a resident, and breeds wherever found. 2 



In southern Arizona, along the valley of the Gila 

 River, it used to be exceedingly abundant before the day 

 of railroads, and i3 yet, I presume. In those days Gam- 

 bel's partridge was one of the most pleasing sights to 

 the weary traveler over Arizona's hot and dusty plains, 

 where springs and even stagnant water holes were few 

 and far between, and stretches of 50 miles without water 

 were not unusual. The presence of these handsome 

 little game birds always indicated that this much-needed 

 fluid, poor as it often might be, was not far off, and this 

 cheered you, for which reason alone, if for no other, 

 their appearance was doubly welcome. Numerous wells 

 along the principal highways and railroads have changed 

 all this now, and a journey through Arizona to day has 

 lost about all its terrors, and can be made in comparative 

 comfort and even luxury. 



For one of the most exquisite pieces of word painting 

 ivt Arizona, as it appeared thirty years ago, and at the 

 same time giving an exceedingly interesting and accur- 

 ate account of the life-history of Gambel's partridge, I 

 refer the reader to an article in the Ibis of January, 1866, 

 entitled " Field Notes on Lophortyx gambeli, by' Elliott 

 Coues, M.D.," which will not fail to prove attractive to 

 the most Critical observer. Concerning the relative abun- 

 dance of Gambel's partridge in Arizona at present, Mr. 

 Herbert Brown, of Tucson, writes me as follows: "There 

 lis no diminution in their numbers : if anything they 

 have multiplied in proportion to the extent of increased 

 cultivation. 1 have been told that some farmers on the 

 Salt and Gila rivers, about Florence and Phoenix, poisoned 

 them as a nuisance, and in a "game bill" introduced 

 in the Arizona Legislature in 1885, partridges had to be 

 stricken out from protection before the bill could pass." 



Wherever water is found Gambel's partridge is common 

 throughout southern Arizona up to an altitude of 5,000f t.. 

 and in New Mexico, Mr. W. H. Cobb, of Albuquerque, 

 informs me of meeting with young fledglings in the 

 oine forests at an altitude of 8*,000 to 9,000 ft. In 1872 

 I found this species very abundant near my camp on 

 Rillitto Creek, the present site of Fort Lowell, 7 miles 

 northeast of Tucson. During the winter and early spring 

 coveys of these birds might be seen almost daily, feeding 

 and dusting themselves in the immediate vicinity of my 

 camp and especially on the wagon roads leading to it. 

 They frequented these mostly in the mornings and occa- 

 sionally m the evenings, the birds scratching about in 

 the sand and dusting themselves like domestic fowls. 

 They appeared very sociable, and were constantly calling 

 to each other as the scattered covey moved from place to 

 place. This note resembled the grunting of a sucking 

 pig more than anything else, and it is rather difficult to 

 reproduce the exact sound in print. Any of the follow- 

 ing syllables come near it, " quoit," "oit," " woefc," utter- 

 ed rapidly but in a low tone. During the mating and 

 breeding season, the former commencing usually in the 

 latter part of February, the latter about the first week in 

 April and occasionally later, according to the season, the 

 male frequently utters a call like " yuk-kae-ja, yuk-kae- 

 ja." each syllable distinctly articulated and the'two last 

 somewhat drawn out. A trim, handsome, and proud- 

 looking cock, whose more sombre- colored mate had a 

 nest close by, used au old mesquite stump, about 4 feet 

 high, and not more than 20 feet from my tent, as his fav- 

 orite perch, and I had many excellent opportunities to 

 watch him closely. Standing perfectly erect, with his 

 beak straight up in the air, his tail slightly spread and 

 wings somewhat drooping, he uttered this call in a clear 

 strong voice every few minutes for half an hour or so, or 

 until disturbed by something, and this he repeated sev- 

 eral times a day. I consider it a call of challenge or 

 exultation, and it was taken up usually by any other 

 male in the vicinity at the time. During the mating 

 season the males fight each other persistently, and the 

 victor defends his chosen home against intrusion with 

 3 tuch valor. It is a pleasing and interesting sight to 

 watch the male courting his mate, uttering at the time 

 some low cooing notes, and strutting around the coy 

 female in the most stately manner possible, bowing his 

 ■ head and making his obeisance to her. While a hand- 

 some bird at all times, he certainly looks his best during 

 this love making period. The alarm note is a sharp dis- 

 cordant " craer, craer," several times rapidly repeated, 

 and iB usually uttered by the entire covey almost simul- 

 taneously, Although they nested abundantly in close 

 proximity to my camp, I saw but a single brood of birds 

 that were probably not more than a day or two old. 

 Small as these were, they neverless managed to run and 

 hide so quickly in the under-growth in which I found 



1 Auk, Vol. II., 1885. p. 247. 



3 Lieut. Robert C. Van Vliet, U. S. Army, tells me ttiat he tried 

 10 introduce this apeciea in the vicinity of Fort Union, New 

 Mexico, liberating iifty of these birds in February, 1884. They all 

 disappeared within a year. The birds met with by Dr. Newberry 

 near Santa Fe, may have been stragglers or descendants of this 

 lot. 



them that I failed to catch one for closer examination. 

 The hen tried to draw me away by the usual devices, and 

 showed considerable anxiety. Half-grown birds were 

 much more frequently met with by me, and not until 

 they are well able to fly do they make excursions in the 

 more open country, away from the tangled undergrowth 

 and vine-covered chaparral of the creek bottoms. Their 

 food, like that of the other species of this genus, consists 

 of insects of various kinds, especially grasshoppers and 

 ants, small seeds, grain when obtainable, the tender 

 leaves and buds of leguminous plants, and berries. In 

 the early fall and winter they pack, and from two to five 

 hundred may, at times, be met with on favorite feeding 

 grounds.- 



During the intense heat of the Arizona summers Cam- 

 bers (pail, like most other birds, prefers to remain in the 

 shady and cool spots in the creek bottoms, frequently 

 perching in the trees, and I believe the majority of 

 these birds spend the night in them as well. They take 

 to trees very readily at all times. The nesting season of 

 1872, compared with subsequent ones, was an unusually 

 late one, and though I searched carefully for the nests of 

 this species during" both April and May, I failed to find a 

 single one before May 99. This contained ten fresh eggs. 

 During June I found a number, however, also two in 

 July, and one as late as August 17. I believe two broods 

 are regularly raised in a season. Incubation, as near as 

 I was able to learn, lasts from twenty-one to twenty -four 

 days, and does not begin until all the eggs are laid, and 

 these are deposited daily. 



The nest of Gambel's partridge is simply a slight oval 

 hollow, scratched out in the sandy soil of the bottom 

 lands, usually alongside of a bunch of " sacaton," a 

 species of tall rye grass the dry stems and blades of last 



CALIFORNIA QCATI\. 



year's growth hanging down on all sides of the new 

 growth and hiding the nest well from view. Others are 

 placed under, or in a pile of, brush or drift brought down 

 from the mountains by freshets and lodged against some 

 old stump, the roots' of trees, or other obstructions on 

 some of the numerous islands in the now dry creek beds, 

 refreshing green spots amid a dreary waste of sand. (It 

 is perhaps as well to mention that many of the so-called 

 creeks in Arizona are dry for about ten months of the 

 year, the water sinking below the sand for a foot or two, 

 but running below this through the coarser gravel, dig- 

 ging being necessary to reach it.) These so-called islands 

 are always covered with a luxurious vegetation, and it is 

 in this that most of the partridges nest. According to 

 my observations only a comparatively small number 

 resort to the cactus and yucca covered foothills and mesas 

 some distance back, where the nests are usually placed 

 under the spreading leaves of one of the latter named 

 plants. If grain fields are near by they nest sometimes 

 amit the growing grain in these, and should the latter 

 be surrounded by brush fences, these also furnish favorite 

 nesting sites. 



Among the nests observed by me two were placed in 

 situations above ground. One of these was found June 2 

 on. top of a good sized rotten willow stump, about 24 feet 

 from the ground, in a slight decayed depression in its 

 center, which had, perhaps, been enlarged by the bird. 

 The eggs were laid on a few dry cottonwood leaves, and 

 were partly covered by these. Another pair appropriated 

 an old. road-runner's nest (Oeoeoecyx eaUfornkmns) in a 

 mesquite tree, about 5 feet from the ground, to which 

 apparently a little additional lining had been added by 

 the bird. The nest contained ten fresh eggs when found 

 on June 27, 1872. 



Mr. Herbert Brown found a pair of these birds occupy- 

 ing; a newly-made nest of Palmer's thrasher (Barporhyn- 

 cluis curvirostris pahneri) in which seven eggs had been 

 deposited. This nest was placed in and near the top of a 

 cholla cactus about 4 feet from the ground. He says : 

 " My first impression was that an Indian had probably 

 placed them there, but I was soon convinced to the con- 

 trary, as I found it impossible to get my hand near the 

 nest without first breaking down a part of the cholla with 

 the barrel of my gun. The eggs were fresh and finely 

 marked." 3 



Birds resorting to nesting sites in trees or cacti have 

 undoubtedly lost their eggs or small young on former 

 occasion's and learned from experience that such a situa- 

 tion is in many respects a safer one. 



During the nesting season of 1872, I found, upon a 

 second visit, that several incomplete sets of eggs belong- 

 ing to this species had been destroyed or removed. The 

 numerous large snakes of various kinds, especially the 

 rattlesnake, must be counted among the worst of their 

 enemies. 



On one occasion I found a Gambel's partridge's nest in 

 the side of a Band bank. A portion of this had been 

 washed away by a former freshet and a sod of grass, hav- 

 ing been undermined thereby, fell over it, being still 

 firmly heLl in place by its roots. The bird had scratched 

 out a hole in the sand bank behind this sod and deposited 

 her eggs therein, and it appeared to me to be an extremely 

 well-selected nesting site. It proved otherwise, how- 

 ever, for a few days later, when passing by the spot 

 again, I put my hand in the cavity, the contents of which 

 were not visible without raising £the sod, I came in con- 



3 Fokest xnuStream, Jtine-I, 1885. 



tact with something cold which I at first supposed to be 

 a snake ; and being curious to see what it really was and 

 not able to dislodge it, I raised the sod with a stick and 

 found a land terrapin taking its ease in the nest. Not 

 the sign of an egg remained , neither were any shells vis- 

 ible. Whether the reptile had eaten the eggs or not I 

 was unable to decide, as I found no remains of them in 

 the stomach. That reptiles of various kinds are not ad- 

 verse to an egg diet is shown by the following' instance 

 kindly furnished by Mr Herbert Brown. A Gila mon- 

 ster (Beloderma suxpectum) had been caught alive near 

 Tucson, Arizona, on April 14, 1890, and was placed in a 

 packing box for safe keeping over night. Next morning 

 five eggs were found in the box with the occupant. Two 

 of these were forwarded to me for identification by Mr. 

 Brown, who wished to know if they were the eggs of 

 this reptile or Gambel's partridge, he Biirmised the latter. 

 There was no difficulty in solving this problem, for the 

 shells of the eggs, although considerably in jured, plainly 

 showed the peculiar markings of the egg of Cambers 

 partridge, and even the shape, leaving no possible doubt 

 that they were the product of one of these birds and not 

 of the Gila monster, which bad probably swallowed them 

 whole on the day it was caught and thrown them up 

 during the night. 



The nests of Gambel's partridge are lined usually, but 

 very slightly, with bits of dry grasses or leaves, and 

 often contain no lining whatever, the eggs lying on the 

 dry, sandy soil. These usually ' number from ten to 

 twelve in a set, but occasionally double these numbers are 

 found, which are unquestionably the product of more 

 than one hen. I have several times found ordinary-sized 

 sets placed in two layers, one egg on top of the other, the 

 cavity being in such cases deep and narrow and not 

 rounded. 



A set found by me June 20, 1872, contained nineteen 

 fresh eggs, evidently laid by two different birds, as the 

 eggs showed two radically different and distinct types of 

 markings. These were likewise placed in two layers. In 

 the hot Gila River Valley in southern Arizona nidification 

 commences in some seasons by the middle of March. 



Mr. John Swinburne informs me of finding a full set of 

 eggs on March 19, near Phoenix, in Maricopa county. In 

 the vicinity of Tucson they lay somewhat later. The 

 earliest date at which eggs of this species have been 

 found there, according to the observations of Mr. Brown, 

 is April 4, usually about the latter part of this month 

 and the beginning of May, the nesting season continuing 

 into August and sometimes even to September. 



The eggs of Gambel's partridge are short ovate in form, 

 and the ground color varies from a dull white to a creamy 

 white and pale buff color. The eggs are spotted, clouded, 

 and blotched, sometimes very heavily, with irregular 

 markings or blotches, and again with well- defined and 

 rounded spots of dark seal-brown and ecru drab. Dif- 

 fused over these botches is found a peculiar purplish or 

 pinkish bloom, difficult to describe, resembling somewhat 

 the rich bloom found on blue grapes and various kinds of 

 plums when first picked. These markings, when touched 

 by water or moisture of any kind, change radically, be- 

 coming seal brown, or chestnut brown of different 

 shades, according to the variable amount of pigment on 

 the shell of the egg. Carefully blown specimens will 

 retain this peculiar bloom for years, and some eggs col- 

 lected by me and now deposited in the U. S. National 

 Museum, one of which is figured, show this as plainly to- 

 day as when they were first taken, fully eighteen years 

 ago. Eggs of Callipepla gambeli are, as a rule, more 

 heavily spotted than those of the two California par- 

 tridges, and the color of the markings in the majority of 

 specimens is decidedly different. The peculiar golden 

 russet shade so often present in the eggs of the latter is 

 almost entirely wanting here, and is replaced by darker 

 and more bluish brown tints. 



The average measurement of ninety-seven specimens 

 in the U. S. National Museum collection is 31.5 by 24 

 millimetres, the largest egg of the series measuring 34 

 by 26, the smallest 28 5 by 24 millimetres. The type 

 specimens. No. 16480 (PI. 1, Fig, 11), selected from a set 

 of ten eggs, taken June 14, 1872, and No, 21116, two eggs 

 selected from a set of nineteen (PI. 1, Figs. 13 and 14), 

 one showing the peculiar bloom before mentioned, and 

 the other a decided difference in the style of markings, 

 taken June 20, 1872, near Rillitto Creek, Arizona,(Bendire 

 collection), were found by the writer. No. 23938 (PI. 1, 

 Fig. 12), from a set of ten eggs, was taken by Mr. Her- 

 bert Brown at the Laguna, near Tucson, Arizona, May 

 19, 1889. 



[The illustration which accompanies this paper is a 

 portrait of the California quail {Lophortyx mMf arnica), 

 from "North American Birds, by Baird, Brewer and 

 Ridgway," Little, Brown & Co., Boston, through whose 

 courtesy we use it. The figure is, as stated, the California 

 quail. In form and markings the two species are almost 

 exactly alike, but their colors are not the same. Still in 

 a figure showing only black and white, a drawing of one 

 species represents both.] 



Ornithologists' Association. — At the December 

 monthly meeting of the Association the following per- 

 sons were elected correspond ing members of the Associ- 

 ation: Edmund Heller, Riverside, Cab, and W. S. 

 Strode, M.D., Bernadotte, 111. President Langille made 

 some remarks on the nomenclature and differentiation of 

 Ortyx virginiana. Lagopus albus and Bonasa ambeUus. 

 Mr. S. R. Ingersoll, of Ballston Spa, N. Y., gave a list of 

 the birds which he had observed in the county of Sara- 

 toga. The list includes 127 species and is scarcely an- 

 notated. 



Gabbier Pigeon Astray". — New Haven, Conn., Jan, 5. 

 —Editor Forest and Stream: Early in the evening of 

 Dec. 21 a pigeon alighted at the house of Wm. Splamau. 

 Mt. Carmel, Conn. It has a ring on one leg and is very 

 tame, and has refused to go away. They think it is a 

 carrier pigeon. I have made some inquiries in this city , 

 but do not find any one who knows anything about it. i 

 write to you thinking that perhaps that will be the short- 

 est and quickest way of finding the owner. — G. T. Hew- 

 lett. 



A Book about Indians.— The Forest and STiti^AJi wilj fltajl 

 free on application a descriptive circular of Mr. Grinnell's book, 

 "Pawnee Hero Stories and Folk-tales," giving a table of contents 

 and specimen Iflnstratioas from the volume.— Adv. 



