40 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. XT 
The Mearns Quail is found along a considerable extent of the Mexican Bound- 
ary of the United States, being, however, very local and extremely irregular in its 
distribution. It is a bird of the Upper Sonoran and Tower Transition zones, fond 
of rough, brushy hillsides, and but seldom venturing out into the open valleys. 
/ n Arizona it has been recorded from almost all the higher mountains of the south- 
eastern portion of the Territory, but these are nearly all more or less completely 
isolated ranges, and there are large tracts of country intervening, not at all suited 
to the species, where other species of quail occur, Lophortyx gambeli and Calli- 
pcpla squamata. The species was found in the Mogollon Mountains by Dr. 
Mearns, reaching its northern and western limit near Fort Whipple, where Dr. 
Cones secured two specimens in 1865. Henshaw speaks of it as a common resi- 
dent in the White Mountains, where he secured adults and young in August and 
September. Scott found it on the San Pedro slope of the Catalina Mountains, 
ranging from 4000 to 5700 feet, and at the head of Mineral Creek in the Pinal 
Mountains. It has also been found in the Chiricahua, Santa Rita, Patagonia, Hua- 
chuca, and Rincon Mountains. Thus its distribution in Arizona may be traced 
with a fair degree of accuracy. 
MAP SHOWING UNITED STATES RANGE OF THE MEARNS QUAIE 
In New Mexico it has been reported from the head of the Gila River, the 
Sierra Hachita, and from the Guadalupe Mountains, and probably occurs in many 
intervening spots. In Western Texas there are records of its occurrence in the Chisos 
and Davis Mountains, in Crockett, Edwards, and Tom Green Counties, and from 
the vicinity of San Antonio, probably its eastern limit. Information regarding the 
distribution of the Mearns Quail in Texas and New Mexico is scanty and unsatis- 
factory, as is readily seen on trying to apply it to a map; and while the accompany- 
ing outline possibly indicates the extreme points of the range, it leaves much to be 
desired as regards details. I believe, however, that the distribution of the species 
in Arizona is fairly well indicated tho there are one or two mountain ranges in the 
same general region, from which there is no data available, and where I believe the 
bird is sure to be found. The point I wished to illustrate and emphasize is the 
peculiarly disconnected manner of distribution — the species is non-migratorv and 
in each range is as absolutely isolated as if on an island, the low, semi-desert val- 
leys between forming effective barriers. 
The species extends south far into Mexico, but just where the variety mearnsi 
