230 
QUAIL, OR PARTRIDGE. 
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 efi 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, C£ 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, 
as in Pennsylvania, is nine inches long, and fourteen inches 
in extent ; the bill is black ; line over the eye, down the neck, 
