21 



QUAIL, OR PARTRIDGE. 

 TETRAO VIRGINIANUS. 

 [Plate XLVII.— Fig. 2.] 



AvGt. Zool. 318, ^0, 185.— Catesb. Jl]^. p. l^.—'Virginian Cfiiailf Turt. Syst. p. ^60.— Maryland 

 Ibid.—Le Perdricc d^Ammnque, Bmss. J, 231.— Buff. 11, 447. 



THIS well known bird is a general inhabitant of North Ame- 

 rica, from the northern parts of Canada and Nova Scotia, in which 

 latter place it is said to be migratory, to the extremity of the pe* 

 ninsula of Florida; and was seen in the neighbourhood of the Great 

 Osage village, in the interior of Louisiana. They are numerous 

 in Kentucky and Ohio ; Mr. Pennant remarks that they have been 

 lately introduced into the island of Jamaica, where they appear to 

 thrive greatly, breeding in that warm climate twice in the year. 

 Captain Henderson mentions them as being plenty near the Balize 

 at the Bay of Honduras. They rarely frequent the forest, and are 

 most numerous in the vicinity of well cultivated plantations where 

 grain is in plenty. They, however, occasionally seek shelter in 

 the woods, perching on the branches, or secreting among the 

 brush wood; but are found most usually in open fields, or along 

 fences sheltered by thickets of briars. Where they are not too 

 much persecuted by the sportsmen, they become almost half do- 

 mesticated; approach the barn, particularly in winter, and some- 

 times in that severe season mix with the poultry to glean up a 

 subsistence. They remain with us the whole year, and often suf- 

 fer extremely by long hard winters and deep snows. At such 

 times the arts of man combine with the inclemency of the season 

 for their destruction. To the ravages of the gun are added others 

 of a more insidious kind. Traps are placed on almost every plan- 



VOL. VI. F 



