212 
BIRDS OF NEW MEXICO 
formances have been described by Mr. Frank Bond, who witnessed them 
in Wyoming. He writes: “During the months of April and May the 
sage cocks are usually found in small flocks of a half dozen or more, 
stalking about with tails erect and spread after the manner of the 
strutting turkey cock. . . . Instead of dragging' its wings upon the 
ground the Sage Cock will enormously inflate the air-sacs of the neck 
until the whole neck and breast is balloon-like in appearance, then 
stooping forward almost the entire weight of the body is thrown upon 
the distended portion and the bird slides along on the bare ground or 
short grass for some distance, the performance being concluded by the 
expulsion of the air from the sacs, with a variety of chuckling, cackling, 
or rumbling sounds. This performance is continued probably daily 
during the pairing and nesting season, and of course the feathers are 
worn away by the constant friction” (1900, pp. 325-326). 
While so large, the Sage Hen is so nicely colored that Mr. G. A. 
Abbott has found it in the sagebrush “squatting under a bush in typical 
Woodcock fashion, trusting to its protective coloration to escape 
detection” (1906, p. 152). 
The extermination of the Sage Grouse in New Mexico is most un¬ 
fortunate and it should be reinstated and given absolute protection 
until it becomes well reestablished. In States to the north and north¬ 
west of New Mexico where the Grouse was formerly abundant over 
immense sagebrush tracts, Mr. Ligon says, “its numbers were so reduced 
by unrestrained shooting that strict law enforcement and refuges were 
necessary to prevent total extermination.” In New Mexico there is 
abundant opportunity for the restoration of this preeminent bird, for, 
as Mr. Ligon points out, “there are hundreds of thousands of acres of 
sage lands extending over San Juan, Rio Arriba, and western Taos 
Counties suited to no game bird so much as Sage Grouse” (1927, p. 119). 
Additional Literature.—Burnett, L. E., Auk, VII, 102-105, 1905.— 
Grinnell, G. B., American Game Bird Shooting, 272-281.— Horsfall, R. B., 
Zool. Soc. Bull., N. Y. Zool. Soc., XXIII, No. 1, 3-6, January, 1920.— Thayer, 
G. H., Concealing-Coloration in the Animal Kingdom, Fig. 43, 1909. 
QUAILS, etc.: Family Perdicidae 
BOB-WHITES AND QUAILS: Subfamily Odontophorinae 
In the Quails the head is completely feathered and usually crested, 
the crest frequently assuming a remarkable shape; the toes are naked, 
with little or no fringe. Though terrestrial, the Quails take to trees at 
times, but nest on the ground; are chiefly granivorous, although they also 
feed on buds, fruits, and insects; and are non-migratory and monog¬ 
amous, “the male and female remaining together during the season of 
incubation and hatching” (Grinnell). 
