A. Ezra—Successful Breeding of the Mountain Quail 275



the old birds fed on regurgitated seeds, insects caught in the aviary,

fresh ant eggs, gentles, and a few mealworms. On the tenth day, one of

the young fell out of the nest and was picked up dead. The other bird

continued to do well and at a fortnight left the nest, but as it was too

young to fly very strongly, and insisted on disappearing into the thickest

undergrowth, it was thought best to place it in a small cage, which

was hung up on the site of the old nest. The young bird was fed

assiduously by both parents through the bars, and also both parents

used a small trap-door in the top of the cage, which was left open when

someone was in the aviary. From time to time the young bird was let

out of the cage for exercise, and would have been left out entirely but

for the wet weather. By this time it was almost as large as the parents,

sported a crest, and had the same ashen grey appearance of the hen.


Sad to relate I had to be away for a few days, and on coming back

found it looking far from well. It was let out of the cage and fed with

tremendous energy by the parents, but the next morning I found it

dead. I can only imagine that the parents could not feed it properly

through the bars, and the trap-door not being in use, it died from

starvation.


So far, 29th August, the old birds have not made any attempt to

nest again.



SUCCESSFUL BREEDING OF THE

MOUNTAIN QUAIL


Oreortyx picta

By Alfred Ezra


This very attractive Quail comes from the Greenhorn Mountains

of California. It is the handsomest of this group, both in its colour and

its decorative crest. Male and female are alike, except that the female

usually has a shorter crest and slightly duller colours. The eggs are

reddish-buff, without markings. I have had a pair of these birds for

some time, in one of my large aviaries in which there are a good many



