Quail shooting Carpod. purper [Carpodacus purpureus]
1875.
Dec. 10 [December 10, 1875] Cloudy and a chill, dreary day. Off after
breakfast with Stone driving up to Waverley
where we put up the horse at Stearns
By great good luck, we had had gone 
but a few rods from the stable door when 
a bevy of about 10 quail were literally in 
the yard in which the house stood, and 
among a grove of pines. Flirting up as
they did, they dropped down again within
a few yards. Making a circuit so as to drive
them in the right direction, I sent on
Shot and when he was within about 20
yds. [yards] of them he pulled up but had
hardly done so when the bevy rose and
went off unshot at. Following them
up onto the hill we chased them
all the forenoon through the big Waverley
woods. They were very wild, lay but
poorly and seemed to give out but
little if any scent, so that we did not
get a nigh [delete]shot[/delete] point on any of
them. I fired 8 shots and Stone
rather more he having decidedly better
chances than I. Left them at 1 P.M. 
having scattered them all over the 
woods, and being fairly disgusted with
the birds, the dog, and the shooting generally
Stone did not get a single bird, while
I managed to bring down two.
Saw a small flock of [delete]Pinicol[/delete] Carpodacus
purpureus, & a good many blue jays,
Colaptes auratus is with us in about
the usual numbers. Small birds of all
kinds are unusually scarce this winter
W.B. [William Brewster] bag quail 2