222 
BIRDS OF NEW MEXICO 
Their greatest enemies are “ snakes, rats, rock squirrels, skunks, and 
other vermin” (Ligon, 1927) which destroy their nests; for in the brush 
which they frequent they can hide from the hawks. 
Where not molested the Quail become so abundant that they may at 
times be injurious to garden crops. Near Palomas the Mexican farmers 
complained that they pulled up the young beans as soon as they began 
to appear, and later picked off the flowers, finally eating the ripened 
beans. These complaints were so insistent that the State Game Warden 
reduced the numbers of the birds by trapping them and shipping them 
to other parts of the State where they would be of benefit. When not 
too numerous the Quails are decidedly beneficial, as their list of food 
attests. 
Aside from the economic importance of the handsome Gambel, it 
adds greatly to the interest of the country, and to the camper and the 
leisurely traveler it is among the most memorable birds met with. As 
it thrives under desert conditions if it can get to water, it has been 
suggested that it might perhaps be successfully introduced in certain 
parts of the arid regions of Colorado and Texas, as well as in new terri¬ 
tory in New Mexico. 
This raises an important question, discussed by Doctor Grinnell 
in his suggestive paper, “A Critical Factor in the Existence of South¬ 
western Game Birds,” that factor being water. Here he offers a vital 
consideration for those contemplating introductions. “Briefly,” he 
says, “a brood of newly hatched quail must find itself within walking 
distance (walking distance, be it emphasized, for the little quail) of 
water to drink by them within a few hours of hatching. . . For without 
water the young are doomed to perish, if time of hatching happens to 
fad within a rainless or dewless period of weather” (1927, p. 528). 
In the thickets along the valley bottom at Gila, Major Goldman 
found the birds “in large, loose flocks, rather tame, but preferring to keep 
out of sight” in thick brush, or by the river in low, thick-topped trees. 
As he says, “when they think they are hidden they often allow one to 
approach to within a few feet, and then begin flying a few at a time call¬ 
ing to each other in alarm . . . often fluttering rather clumsily through 
the brush as they gradually scatter . . . when all is quiet they begin 
calling and answering one another in more confident tones, until the flock 
is gathered again” (MS). 
When a flock is feeding on the ground, a handsome cock will often 
act as sentinel, perching in the top of a bush overlooking the landscape, 
and on the approach of an enemy give an alarm note that is instantly 
obeyed. 
About ten miles north of Silver City, a covey roosted near our camp. 
One morning at daybreak, as the clouds were reddening before the sun 
rose, they ran down among the oak bushes with plumes curved forward 
