ZOOLOGY. 
93 
deep forests, nor in the mountains at any considerable elevation, nor in the interior basin, where 
water and vegetation are scarce. Of the many specimens obtained, some were killed in different 
parts of the Sacramento valley, at Fort Jones, and in the Willamette valley, near the Columbia. 
There is no appreciable difference between these specimens. 
These birds make no elaborate nests, hut lay a large number of eggs on the ground, and 
generally hatch in June. They are susceptible of domestication, and would be a pretty orna¬ 
ment for parks and lawns in the Atlantic States, where they would probably thrive. 
CALLIPEPLA PICTA. 
The Mountain Quail. 
This elegant bird, so similar to and yet so unlike the partridge of Europe, is nowhere so 
common as to make it a valueless prize to the sportsman or naturalist. It occurs sparingly 
throughout the entire length of California and Oregon to, and perhaps across, the Columbia, 
having much the range, in a general way, of the “valley quail,” ( C . californica ,) though every¬ 
where a rarer bird, and always confined to the hills or mountains, while the species just men¬ 
tioned, as its name implies, inhabits the valleys or low hills. 
The habits of this bird are similar to those of the other species of the genus, but it is less 
gregarious and more shy. It is usually found in the chapparal, where it is put up with diffi¬ 
culty, choosing to gain safety by running on the ground rather than by flight. 
On the first of August, at the base of Lassen’s butte, I found a solitary hen, with a brood of 
very young chicks. The brood scattered like young partridges, uttered a piping note like that 
of young chickens, and, when all was still again, were recalled to the mother by a elude , much 
like the cluck of the common hen. Until we reached the plains of Pit river we frequently saw 
small covies and broods of these partridges, in which the young were about half grown. In the 
Klamath lake basin we did not observe them, most of that country being too flat and hare. We 
found them again in the hills bordering the Willamette valley, and they extend from the 
Columbia almost uninterruptedly, hut no where abundantly, through the Siskiyou, Calapooya, 
and Trinity mountains to California. They are favorite pets with the lonely miners, by whom 
they are kept in confinement, and are frequently so much admired for their trim figures, elegant 
plumage, and chivalrous bearing, as to command a high price. Their flesh is white and excel¬ 
lent, and quite equal to that of any of the family. 
TETRAO OBSCURUS. 
The Dusky Grouse. 
The dusky grouse among American species is only second in size to the “sage hen,” T. 
urophasianus . The cock is decidedly the handsomest of all American grouse, and the flesh is 
white, and equal to that of the ruffed grouse or the American partridge, (0. virginiana.) 
This bird inhabits the evergreen forests exclusively, and is found not uncommonly in the 
Sierra Nevada, in California, and in the wooded districts of the country lying between the 
Sacramento valley and the Columbia. 
In the Cascade mountains we found it associated with the ruffed grouse, which it resembles 
in habit more than any other species. When on the ground they lie very close, flying up from 
your very feet as you approach them, and, when flushed, always take to a tree ; while sitting 
in the tree you may fire as many times as is necessary to hit the bird before you can dislodge it. 
In the spring, the male, seated motionless on a branch of pine or fir where it issues from the 
