A History of North American Birds; Land Birds; Vol. 3 of 3

An adult male collected in Southern Utah by Mr. Henshaw of Lieutenant Wheeler’s Expedition differs from all others which we have seen, including a large series from the same locality, in having the abdomen chiefly plumbeous, with a few cloudings of black, in the place of a uniformly black patch. Except in this respect, however, it does not differ at all from other adult male specimens.

Habits. Gambel’s Partridge was obtained by Dr. Kennerly, near San Elizario, Texas, and on Colorado River, California, by Mr. A. Schott, and also by Dr. Kennerly. It was not observed by Dr. Kennerly until he reached the valley of the Rio Grande, nor did he meet with any farther west, in any part of Mexico, than San Bernardino, in Sonora. Though closely resembling in its habits the Scaly Partridge (Callipepla squamata), and in some instances occupying the same districts, he never found the two species together.

According to Mr. J. H. Clark, this species was not met with east of the Rio Grande, nor farther south than Presidio del Norte. Unlike the squamata, it is very common for this species to sit on the branches of trees and bushes, particularly the male, where the latter is said to utter the most sad and wailing notes. They are so very tame as to come about the Mexican towns, the inhabitants of which, however, never make any effort to capture them. They only inhabit wooded and well-watered regions, and are said to feed indifferently on insects or on berries; in summer they make the patches of Solanum their home, feeding on its quite palatable fruit. When flushed, this Quail always seeks the trees, and hides successfully among the branches.

Dr. Kennerly found this beautiful species in great numbers during the march of his party up the Rio Grande. Large flocks were continually crossing the road before them, or were seen huddled together under a bush. After passing the river he met with them again so abundantly along Partridge Creek as to give rise to the name of that stream. Thence to the Great Colorado he occasionally saw them, but after leaving that river they were not again seen. They are said to become quite tame and half domesticated where they are not molested. When pursued, they can seldom be made to fly, depending more upon their feet as a mode of escape than upon their wings. They run very rapidly, but seldom, if ever, hide, and remain close in the grass or bushes in the manner of the eastern Quail.

From Fort Yuma, on the Colorado River, to Eagle Springs, between El Paso and San Antonio, where he last saw a flock of these birds, Dr. Heermann states he found them more or less abundant whenever the party followed the course of the Gila, or met with water-holes or streams of any kind. Although they frequent the most arid portions of the country, where they find a scanty subsistence of grass-seed, mesquite leaves, and insects, they yet manifest a marked preference for the habitations of man, and were much more numerous in the cultivated fields of Tucson, Mesilla Valley, and El Paso. Towards evening, in the vicinity of the Mexican villages, the loud call-notes of the male birds may be heard, gathering the scattered members of the flocks, previous to issuing from the cover where they have been concealed during the day. Resorting to the trails and the roads in search of subsistence, while thus engaged they utter a low soft note which keeps the flock together. They are not of a wild nature, often permit a near approach, seldom fly unless suddenly flushed, and seem to prefer to escape from danger by retreating to dense thickets. In another report Dr. Heermann mentions finding this species in California on the Mohave desert, at the point where the river empties into a large salt lake forming its terminus. The flock was wild, and could not be approached. Afterwards he observed them on the Big Lagoon of New River. At Fort Yuma they were quite abundant, congregating in large coveys, frequenting the thick underwood in the vicinity of the mesquite-trees. Their stomachs were found to be filled with the seeds of the mesquite, a few grass-seeds, and the berries of a parasitic plant. On being suddenly flushed these birds separate very widely, but immediately upon alighting commence their call-note, resembling the soft chirp of a young chicken, which is kept up for some time. The alarm over, and the flock once more reunited, they relapse into silence, only broken by an occasional cluck of the male bird. Once scattered they cannot be readily started again, as they lie close in their thick, bushy, and impenetrable coverts. Near Fort Yuma the Indians catch them in snares, and bring them in great numbers for sale.

Dr. Samuel W. Woodhouse first met with this species on the Rio Grande, about fifty miles below El Paso, up to which place it was extremely abundant. It was by no means a shy bird, frequently coming about the houses; and he very often observed the males perched on the top of a high bush, uttering their peculiarly mournful calls. He found it in quite large flocks, feeding principally on seeds and berries. It became scarce as he approached Doña Ana, above which place he did not meet with it again. He again encountered it, however, near the head of Bill Williams River, and afterwards on the Tampia Creek, and it was exceedingly abundant all along the Great Colorado. He was informed that they are never found west of the Coast Range, in California. About Camp Yuma, below the mouth of the Gila River, they were very abundant and very tame, coming quite near the men, and picking up the grain wasted by the mules. They are trapped in great numbers by the Indians.

This Quail is given by Mr. Dresser as occurring in Texas, but not as a common bird, and only found in certain localities. At Muddy Creek, near Fort Clark, they were not uncommon, and were also found near the Nueces River.

Dr. Coues (Ibis, 1866), in a monograph upon this species, describes its carriage upon the ground as being firm and erect, and at the same time light and easy, and with colors no less pleasing than its form. He found them to be exceedingly abundant in Arizona, and soon after his arrival in the Territory he came upon a brood that was just out of the egg. They were, however, so active, and hid themselves so dexterously, that he could not catch one. This was late in July, and throughout the following month he met broods only a few days old. The following spring he found the old birds mated by April 25, and met with the first chick on the first of June. He infers that this species is in incubation during the whole of May, June, July, and a part of August, and that they raise two, and even three, broods in a season.

A single brood sometimes embraces from fifteen to twenty young, which by October are nearly as large as their parents. While under the care of the latter they keep very close together, and when alarmed either run away rapidly or squat so closely as to be difficult to flush, and, when forced up, they soon alight again. They often take to low limbs of trees, huddle closely together, and permit a close approach. The first intimation that a bevy is near is a single note repeated two or three times, followed by the rustling of leaves as the flock start to run.

These birds are said to be found in almost every locality except thick pine-woods without undergrowth, and are particularly fond of thick willow copses, heavy chaparral, and briery undergrowth. They prefer seeds and fruit, but insects also form a large part of their food. In the early spring they feed extensively on the tender fresh buds of young willows, which give to their flesh a bitter taste.

This Quail is said to have three distinct notes,—the common cry uttered on all occasions of alarm or to call the bevy together, which is a single mellow clear “chink,” with a metallic resonance, repeated an indefinite number of times; then a clear, loud, energetic whistle, resembling the syllables killink-killink, chiefly heard during the pairing-season, and is analogous to the bob-white of the common Quail; the third is its love-song, than which, Dr. Coues adds, nothing more unmusical can well be imagined. It is uttered by the male, and only when the female is incubating. This song is poured forth both at sunrise and at sunset, from some topmost twig near the spot where his mate is sitting on her treasures; and with outstretched neck, drooping wings, and plume negligently dangling, he gives utterance to his odd, guttural, energetic notes.

The flight of these birds is exceedingly rapid and vigorous, and is always even and direct, and in shooting only requires a quick hand and eye.

In his journey from Arizona to the Pacific, Dr. Coues found these birds singularly abundant along the valley of the Colorado; and he was again struck with its indifference as to its place of residence, being equally at home in scorched mesquite thickets, dusting itself in sand that would blister the naked feet, the thermometer at 117° Fah. in the shade, and in the mountains of Northern Arizona, when the pine boughs were bending under the weight of the snow. He also states that Dr. Cooper, while at Fort Mohave, brought up some young Gambel’s Quails by placing the eggs under a common Hen, and found no difficulty in domesticating them, so that they associated freely with the barnyard fowls. The eggs, he adds, are white, or yellowish-white, with brown spots, and were hatched out in twenty-four days. The nest is said to be a rather rude structure, about eight inches wide, and is usually hidden in the grass. The eggs number from twelve to seventeen.

Captain S. G. French, quoted by Mr. Cassin, writes that he met with this species on the Rio Grande, seventy miles below El Paso, and from that point to the place named their numbers constantly increased. They appeared to be partial to the abodes of man, and were very numerous about the old and decayed buildings, gardens, fields, and vineyards around Presidio, Isoleta, and El Paso. During his stay there in the summer of 1851, every morning and evening their welcome call was heard all around; and at early and late hours they were constantly to be found in the sandy roads and paths near the villages and farms. In the middle of the hot summer days, however, they rested in the sand, under the shade and protection of the thick chaparral. When disturbed, they glided through the bushes very swiftly, seldom resorting to flight, uttering a peculiar chirping note. The parents would utter the same chirping cry whenever an attempt was made to capture their young. The male and female bird were always found with the young, showing much affection for them, and even endeavoring to attract attention away from them by their actions and cries.

Colonel McCall (Proc. Phil. Ac., June, 1851) also gives an account of this bird, as met with by him in Western Texas, between San Antonio and the Rio Grande River, as well as in New Mexico. He did not fall in with it until he had reached the Limpia River, a hundred miles west of the Pecos, in Texas, where the Acacia glandulosa was more or less common, and the mesquite grasses and other plants bearing nutritious seeds were abundant. There they were very numerous and very fat, and much disposed to seek the farms and cultivate the acquaintance of man. About the rancho of Mr. White, near El Paso, he found them very numerous, and, in flocks of fifty or a hundred, resorting morning and evening to the barnyard, feeding around the grain-stacks in company with the poultry, and receiving their portion from the hand of the owner. He found them distributed through the country from the Limpia to the Rio Grande, and along the latter river from Eagle Spring Pass to Doña Ana.

The same careful observer, in a communication to Mr. Cassin, gives the western limit of this species. He thinks it is confined to a narrow belt of country between the 31st and 34th parallels of latitude, from the Pecos River, in Texas, to the Sierra Nevada and the contiguous desert in California. It has not been found on the western side of these mountains. Colonel McCall met with it at Alamo Mucho, forty-four miles west of the Colorado River. West of this stretches a desolate waste of sand,—a barrier which effectually separates this species from its ally, the California Quail.

This species is known to be abundant in the country around the sources of the Gila River, and has also been found along that river from the Pimo villages to its mouth, and there is no doubt that it inhabits the entire valley of the Gila. It was also common along the Colorado River, as far as the mouth of the Gila, and has been met with in that valley as high up as Tampia Creek, latitude 34°.

Colonel McCall regards this species as less wild and vigilant than the California species. It is later in breeding, as coveys of young California Quails were seen, one fourth grown, June 4, while all the birds of Gambel’s were without their young as late as June 16. The voice of the male at this season is described as strikingly rich and full. The cry may be imitated by slowly pronouncing in a low tone the syllables kaa-wale, kaa-wale. When the day is calm and still, these notes may be heard to a surprising distance. This song is continued, at short intervals, in the evening, for about an hour. Later in the season when a covey is dispersed, the cry for reassembling is said to resemble qua-el qua-el. The voice of this bird at all seasons bears a great resemblance to that of the California Quail, but has no resemblance to that of the eastern Ortyx virginiana. In their crops were found the leaves of the mesquite, coleopterous insects, wild gooseberries, etc.

An egg of this species, taken by Dr. Palmer at Camp Grant, measures 1.25 inches in length by 1.00 in breadth. The ground-color is a cream white, beautifully marked with ragged spots of a deep chestnut. In shape it closely corresponds with the egg of the California Partridge.

Genus CALLIPEPLA, Wagler.

Callipepla, Wagler, Isis, 1832. (Type, Ortyx squamata, Vig.)

The single United States species is of a bluish tint, without any marked contrast of color. The feathers of the neck, breast, and belly have a narrow edging of black.

Callipepla squamata, Gray.
SCALED OR BLUE PARTRIDGE.

Ortyx squamatus, Vigors, Zoöl. Journ. V, 1830, 275.—Abert, Pr. A. N. Sc. III, 1847, 221. Callipepla squamata, Gray, Gen. III, 1846, 514.—M’Call, Pr. A. N. Sc. V, 1851, 222.—Cassin, Ill. I, v, 1854, 129; pl. xix.—Gould, Mon. Odont. pl. xix.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 646.—Ib. Mex. B. II, Birds, 23.—Gray, Cat. Brit. Mus. V, 1867, 78.—Heerm. X, C, 19.—Coop. Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 556. Callipepla strenua, Wagler, Isis, XXV, 1832, 278. Tetrao cristata, De la Llave, Registro trimestre, I, 1832, 144.

Habits. This bird was first described as a Mexican species in 1830 by Mr. Vigors. For a long while it has been an extremely rare species in collections, and its history, habits, and distribution remained unknown until the explorations of the naturalists made in the surveys under the direction of the national government. It was first noticed within the territory of the United States by Lieutenant Abert, Topographical Engineer, who, in his Report of the examination of New Mexico, furnishes several notes in relation to this species. In November, 1846, he mentions that, after having passed through Las Casas, while descending through a crooked ravine strewed with fragments of rocks, he saw several flocks of this species. They were running along with great velocity among the clumps of the kreosote plant. At the report of the gun only three or four rose up, the rest seeming to depend chiefly on their fleetness of foot. Their stomachs were found to be filled with grass-seeds and hemipterous insects.

Captain S. G. French, in notes quoted by Mr. Cassin, mentions meeting with these birds, in the same year, near Camargo, on the Rio Grande. At Monterey none were seen; but on the plains of Agua Nueva, a few miles south of Saltillo, they were observed in considerable numbers. He afterwards met with them on the Upper Rio Grande, in the vicinity of El Paso. Though found in the same section of country with Gambel’s Quail, they were not observed to associate together in the same flock. Their favorite resorts were sandy chaparral and mesquite bushes. Through these they ran with great swiftness, resorting only, when greatly alarmed by a sudden approach, to their wings. They were very shy, and were seldom found near habitations, though once a large covey ran through his camp in the suburbs of El Paso.

Colonel McCall (Proc. Phil. Ac. V, p. 222) mentions meeting with this species throughout an extended region, from Camargo, on the Lower Rio Grande, to Santa Fé. They were most numerous between the latter place and Doña Ana, preferring the vicinity of watercourses to interior tracts. They were wild, exceedingly watchful, and swift of foot, eluding pursuit with surprising skill, scarcely ever resorting to flight even on the open sandy ground. For the table they are said to possess, in a high degree, the requisites of plump muscle and delicate flavor.

In a subsequent sketch of this species, quoted by Mr. Cassin, the same writer gives as the habitat the entire valley of the Rio Grande,—a territory of great extent from north to south, and embracing in its stretch between the Rocky Mountains and the Gulf of Mexico every variety of climate. This entire region, not excepting even the mountain valleys covered in winter with deep snow, is inhabited by it. It was found by him from the 25th to the 38th degree of north latitude, or from below Monterey, in Mexico, along the borders of the San Juan River, as high up as the Taos and other northern branches of the Rio Grande. He also found it near the head of the Riado Creek, which rises in the Rocky Mountains and runs eastwardly to the Canadian.

Wherever found, they are always resident, proving their ability to endure great extremes of heat and cold. In swiftness of foot, no species of this family can compete with them. When running, they hold their heads high and keep the body erect, and seem to skim over the surface of the ground, their white plume erected and spread out like a fan.

On the Mexican side of the Rio Grande this species is found farther south than on the western bank, owing to the rugged character of the country. In Texas its extreme southern point is a little above Reinosa, on the first highlands on the bank.

Don Pablo de la Llave, a Mexican naturalist, states, in an account of this species (Registro Trimestre, I, p. 144, Mexico, 1832), that he attempted its domestication in vain. In confinement it was very timid, all its movements were rapid, and, although he fed his specimens for a long time each day, they seemed to become more wild and intractable. It was found by him in all the mesquite regions of Northern Mexico.

Specimens of this Partridge were taken near San Pedro, Texas, by Mr. J. H. Clark, and in New Leon, Mexico, by Lieutenant Couch. According to Mr. Clark, they are not found on the grassy prairies near the coast. He met with them on Devil’s River, in Texas, where his attention was at first directed to them by their very peculiar note, which, when first heard, suggested to him the cry of some species of squirrel. In the valley of the Lower Rio Grande he also met with these birds in companies of a dozen or more. Their food, on the prairies, appeared to be entirely insectivorous; while on the Lower Rio Grande all the specimens that were procured had their bills stained with the berries of the opuntia. They were not shy, and would rather get out of the way by running than by flying. At no time, and under no circumstances, were they known to alight in bushes or in trees. They were only known to make mere scratches in the ground for nests, and their situations were very carelessly selected. Young birds were found in June and in July.

Lieutenant Couch first met with this species about sixty leagues west of Matamoras, and not until free from the prairies and bottom-land. It was occasionally noticed, apparently associating with the Ortyx texana, to which it is very similar in habit.

Dr. Kennerly found them everywhere where there was a permanent supply of fresh water, from Limpia Creek, in Texas, to San Bernardino, in Sonora. They were met with on the mountain-sides, or on the hills among the low mesquite-bushes and barrea. They apparently rely more upon their legs than upon their wings, ascending the most precipitous cliffs or disappearing among the bushes with great rapidity.

The most western point at which Dr. Heermann observed this species was the San Pedro River, a branch of the Gila, east of Tucson. There a flock of these birds ran before him at a quick pace, with outstretched necks, heads elevated, crests erect and expanded, and soon disappeared among the thick bushes that surrounded them on all sides. After that they were seen occasionally until they arrived at Lympia Springs. Lieutenant Barton informed Dr. Heermann that he had procured this species near Fort Clark, one hundred and twenty miles west of San Antonio, where, however, it was quite rare. It was found abundantly on the open plains, often starting up before the party when passing over the most arid portions of the route. They also seemed partial to the prairie-dog villages. These, covering large tracts of ground destitute of vegetation, probably offered the attraction of some favorite insect.

Dr. Woodhouse met with this species on only one occasion, as the party was passing up the Rio Grande, at the upper end of Valleverde, on the west side of the river, on the edge of the sand-hills, feeding among the low bushes. They were exceedingly shy and quick-footed. He tried in vain to make them fly, and they evidently preferred their feet to their wings as a means of escape. He was told that they were found above Santa Fé.

Mr. Dresser found this species on the Rio Grande above Roma, and between the Rio Grande and the Nueces they were quite abundant; wherever found, they seemed to have the country to themselves to the exclusion of other species. He reports them as very difficult to shoot, for the reason that, whenever a bevy is disturbed, the birds scatter, and, running with outstretched necks and erected crests, dodge through the bushes like rabbits, so as soon to be out of reach. He has thus seen a flock of ten or fifteen disappear so entirely as to render it impossible to obtain a single one. If left undisturbed, they commence their call-note, which is not unlike the chirp of a chicken, and soon reunite. It was utterly out of the question to get them to rise, and the only way to procure specimens was to shoot them on the ground. Near the small villages in Mexico he found them very tame; and at Presidio, on the Rio Grande, he noticed them in a corral, feeding with some poultry. He did not meet with their eggs, but they were described to him, by the Mexicans, as dull white, with minute reddish spots.

The egg of the Callipepla squamata is regularly oval, being much more elongated than with any other species of this family. It measures 1.35 inches in length by .95 in breadth. Its ground-color is a creamy white, and its surface is minutely freckled with specks of a pale drab.

Genus CYRTONYX, Gould.

Cyrtonyx, Gould, Mon. Odontoph.? 1845. (Type, Ortyx massena, Lesson.)

This genus differs very much from its North American allies in the great development of the feathers composing the wing-coverts, the very short and soft tail, and the very short toes and long claws. It is almost worthy of forming the type of a distinct subfamily, so many and great are its peculiarities. The single North American representative is the only one of our species with round white spots on the lower surface and black ones above. A second species, C. ocellatus, is found in Southern Mexico. They may be distinguished as follows:—

Species.

Cyrtonyx massena, Gould.
MASSENA PARTRIDGE.

Ortyx massena, Lesson, Cent. Zoöl. 1830, 189.—Finsch, Abh. Nat. 1870, 357 (Guadelajara). Cyrtonyx massena, Gould, Mon. Odont. 1850, 14; tab. vii.—M’Call, Pr. A. N. Sc. V, 1851, 221.—Cassin, Illust. I, I, 1853, 21, pl. xxi.—Reichenb. Syst. Av. 1850, pl. xxvii.—Baird, Birds N. A. 1858, 647.—Ib. Mex. B. II, Birds, 23.—Dresser, Ibis, 1866, 29 (Bandera Co., Texas; breeds).—Coues, P. A. N. S. 1866, 95 (Fort Whipple, Arizona).—Gray, Cat. Brit. Mus. V, 1867, 74.—Coop. Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 558. Ortyx montezumæ, Vigors, Zoöl. Jour. V, 1830, 275. Odontophorus meleagris, Wagler, Isis, XXV, 1832, 279. Tetrao guttata, De la Llave, Registro Trimestre, I, 1832, 145 (Cassin).

Habits. This Quail was first met with by Lieutenant Couch in the cañon Guyapuco, about twelve leagues south of Monterey. Though rather shy, they seemed quite at home in the cultivated fields and stubbles of the ranches. Mr. Clark first noticed the species among a flock of the Ortyx texana. Once, on flushing a covey of the latter, a bird was seen to remain behind, and showed no inclination to follow the rest. It attempted to hide in the grass, but did not fly, and, when shot, proved to be a Massena Quail. He says they occur either in pairs or in flocks, and when once flushed fly farther than the Virginia Quail, but do not lie so close. They may be approached within a few feet, and followed up, particularly when in pairs, running along before one like so many domestic fowl. They are of quiet as well as of retired habits, and a subdued though sharp note is the only noise that Mr. Clark ever heard them make, and that only when frightened. He has known them to be pursued, and all the barrels of a six-shooter fired one after another without alarming them; and they were forced to fly at last only by an attack of stones and clubs. He first met with them in the neighborhood of San Antonio, and found them thence sparsely distributed as an inhabitant both of prairies and mountains as far westward as Sonora. They are wilder than the Scaled Partridge, are less conspicuous and noisy, and are never seen in flocks, or, like the latter, living about old camps. Their haunts are generally far removed from the habitations of man, and the indifference they sometimes manifest to his presence seems to be due to ignorance of the danger from the power of that enemy. Though distributed over the same country as the C. squamata, they are never found in such barren regions, always seeming to prefer the districts most luxuriantly covered with vegetation.

Dr. C. B. R. Kennerly states that this bird was never seen farther south in Texas than Turkey Creek. In that vicinity it was very common, and it also occurred at various points thence to the Rio Grande. In the valley of this river it was very rarely seen, giving way apparently to the Scaly and to Gambel’s Partridge. West of the river it was very common, as far as the party travelled, wherever there was a permanent supply of fresh water. In the valley of the Santa Cruz River and among the adjacent hills it was extremely abundant. In the months of June and July it was observed there always in pairs, while in Texas, in the months of October and November, it was found in very large flocks, sometimes of various ages, from the very small and partly fledged to the full-grown bird. When hunted, they hide very closely in the grass, and Dr. Kennerly has often known the Mexican soldiers in Sonora kill them with their lances by striking them either while on the ground or just as they rise. Some of these men were very expert in the business, and obtained a good many in the course of a day’s travel.

Dr. Woodhouse met with this species a few miles above the head of the Rio San Pedro, where he secured a single specimen. He was informed by Captain S. G. French that when he first passed over exactly the same route in 1849, he met with a number of them in different localities,—at the head of San Pedro, Howard Springs, and also at Eagle Springs,—showing evidently that they have a range over the country lying between the Rio Grande and the San Pedro Rivers. He also stated that he had never met with any near the settlements, but always among the wild, rocky, and almost barren hills of that country. They are more sociable and not so shy as the other species of this family. Their food appears to be principally insects.

Mr. Dresser states that this bird is locally known as the Black Partridge. For some time he sought for it near San Antonio without success, but ultimately found it, in November, among the Bandera Hills. In its habits he states it is more like the Texan Quail than any other; but on the wing it is easily distinguished, it flies so heavily, though very swiftly. When disturbed, they squat very close, and will not move until approached very closely, when they generally rise up from under one’s feet. He did not meet with this Quail in any other part of Texas than Bandera County, but was told that it is abundant in the hilly country at the head of the Leona, and that it is also found near Laredo.

In some remarks on the birds of Western Texas, published in the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy in 1851, Colonel McCall gives the first information to the public touching the habits of this interesting species. We learn from his narrative that it was not met with by him before crossing the San Pedro River, but that it was soon after seen in the rocky regions into which he then entered; and thence as far as the Rio Pecos, a distance of one hundred and forty miles westwardly, it was frequently seen, though it was not anywhere very common. This entire region is a desert of great extent, north and south; the general face of the country is level, and produces nothing but a sparse growth of sand-plants. Water was found only at long intervals, and except at such points there was apparently neither food nor cover. There, among projecting rocks or the borders of dry gullies, or in loose scrub, this bird was met with by Colonel McCall.

The habits of this species appeared to him to be different from those of any other kind of Partridge he had ever met with. They were in coveys of from eight to twelve individuals, and appeared to be simple and affectionate in disposition. In feeding they separated but little, keeping up all the while a social cluck. They were so gentle as to evince little or no alarm on the approach of man, hardly moving out of the way as they passed, and only running off or flying a few yards, even when half their number had been shot. Colonel McCall was of the opinion that they might, with very little difficulty, be domesticated, though naturally inhabiting a barren waste nowhere near the habitation of man. The call-note is spoken of as very peculiar. The bird was not seen by his party after crossing the Pecos River. Mr. Gould, without any information in regard to the habits or economy of this species, in his Monograph of American Partridges, judging from the comparative shortness of the toes and the great development of the claws, ventured the opinion that the habits would be found very different from those of other members of the family, which opinion is thus confirmed. Mr. Cassin thought he could trace in the circular spots, numerous in the lower part of the body, an analogy in character to the Guinea-fowls, which is further shown by their habit of continually uttering their notes as they feed, and by other similarity in their manners.

Captain S. G. French, cited by Mr. Cassin, mentions meeting with this Partridge in the summer of 1846, when crossing the table-lands that extend westwardly from San Antonio, in Texas, to New Mexico. On the sides of a high rocky mountain near the summit, he observed several of them only a few feet in advance of him. They were running along over the fragments of rocks and through the dwarf bushes which grew wherever there was sufficient soil. He was attracted by their handsome plumage and their extreme gentleness. A few days after, when encamped on the headwaters of the river, he again met with a covey, and from that point occasionally encountered them on the route to the Pecos River, a distance of over a hundred miles. He did not meet with them again until he came to Eagle Springs, in a mountainous region about twenty-five miles from the Rio Grande. In the spring of 1851, on the same route, he saw only two of these birds, and was led to the belief that they are not at all numerous. They appeared to inhabit the rocky sides of the mountains and hills, in the desolate region of elevated plains west of the fertile portions of Texas. In no instance did he meet with any of these birds near the settlements. Wild and rocky hillsides seemed to be their favorite resort, where trees were almost unknown and all vegetation was very scant. The coveys showed but little alarm on being approached, and ran along over the rocks, occasionally attempting to secrete themselves beneath them. In this case they could be approached to within a few feet. When startled by the firing of a gun, they fly but a few yards before again alighting, and exhibit but little of that wildness peculiar to all the other species of Partridge. The contents of the crop in Captain French’s specimens consisted exclusively of fragments of insects, principally grasshoppers. No trace whatever of food of a vegetable character was found.

Don Pablo de la Llave, quoted by Mr. Cassin, furnishes the following account of the habits of this Partridge, observed by him in specimens taken near the city of Mexico.

“It is only a few days since the third species has been brought to me. It is rather smaller than the former (C. squamata), and its deportment is entirely different. It carries its head habitually resting on its shoulders, the neck being excessively small and deflexed, and in everything it shows an amiability, and, so to speak, kindness of character (una bondad de caracter), which is not found in any other species of this genus, and it is naturally so tame and domestic as to permit itself to be caught with the hand. These birds are always united, forming a covey, and whenever one is separated the others follow it. They do not, like others, wish to sleep on elevated places, but sit on the ground, drawing very near together. Their notes, which are not varied, are very low and soft, and I have never heard loud cries from the male. When they are frightened they show much activity and swiftness; at other times their gait and movement are habitually slow and deliberate, carrying the crest puffed up (espayada).”

APPENDIX.

I.
ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS.

During the considerable interval of time since the printing of this work was commenced, many additional facts have come to light in regard to the habits and geographical distribution of the land birds of North America; and while several so-called species have proved to be mere races, or even of less rank, some others have been added to the list. The more important of these are herewith subjoined.

Most of the new facts here announced are the results of the more recent labors of Captain Charles Bendire, First Cavalry, U. S. A., and of Messrs. J. A. Allen, C. E. Aiken, Dr. E. Coues, H. W. Henshaw, Mr. C. J. Maynard, and others, whose names are mentioned in their appropriate places.

Turdus pallasi, var. nanus (I, 20). Dr. Cooper has sent to the Smithsonian Institution skins of his T. nanus, and they prove to be T. ustulatus. The surmise expressed on page 21, that the nest and eggs described by Dr. Cooper as those of the former in reality belonged to the latter species, is thus undoubtedly correct.

Turdus pallasi, var. auduboni (I, 21). A nest with the eggs (S. I. 16,320) of this species was taken near Fort Ellis, Montana, July 16, 1872, by C. H. Merriam, attached to Dr. Hayden’s party. The nest is large and bulky for the size of the bird, is deeply saucer-shaped in form, measuring 6 inches in external diameter by 3 in depth. The cavity of the nest is 3 inches in diameter by about 1.75 deep. It is composed entirely of green mosses and lined with fine grass leaves.

The eggs were three in number, in shape broadly ovate and obtusely rounded at either end. They measure .85 of an inch in length by .72 in breadth; their color is a rather deep greenish-blue, almost exactly like those of Turdus migratorius.

The nest was built in a small pine-tree, about eight feet from the ground, in the pine regions of the mountains. In its position it differs from any now known of the Turdus pallasi, which, so far as known, builds invariably on the ground.

Harporhynchus ocellatus (I, 36). This is probably a Mexican form of H. cinereus.

Harporhynchus rufus (I, 37). According to Mr. Allen (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., Vol. III, No. 6, p. 134) this species is found on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. It is not included in the “Birds of California,” but Dr. Cooper states that in September, 1870, he found a straggler at Clear Lake, close to the lower town. It was in a thicket with its western cousins, but possessed unmistakably all the characteristics of the eastern bird. Unfortunately, it was not secured. As this species is short-winged and nearly resident in many localities, its occurrence so far from its usual resort is somewhat remarkable. It had none of the appearance of a cage-bird.

Harporhynchus curvirostris, var. palmeri (I, 43). Four specimens from Tucson, Arizona, were recently forwarded for examination by Dr. Coues, collected by the indefatigable Captain Bendire, U. S. A., when stationed at that post. The specimens are all true palmeri in the characters which definitely separate it from curvirostris, its nearest ally, and show the seasonal discrepancies in the shades of color. A male and female, collected in November, differ from the types, which are summer birds, in being of a brownish-plumbeous above, even more ashy than in any specimens of curvirostris which we have seen. In all other respects, however, they are typical examples of var. palmeri, and substantiate the validity of this well-marked form. The measurements of these two specimens are as follows:—

• ♂. Wing, 4.50; tail, 4.90; culmen, 1.45; tarsus, 1.25; middle toe, 1.00.
• ♀. Wing, 4.20; tail, 4.80; culmen, 1.40; tarsus, 1.20; middle toe, .90.

The description of this form was first published by Dr. Coues in “Key to North American Birds” (October, 1872), p. 351, the type being specimen No. 61,589, Mus. S. I.

Harporhynchus bendirei, Coues (Am. Nat. Vol. VII, June, 1873, p. 330, fig. 69).

This new form Dr. Coues considers to be most nearly related to the H. cinereus of Cape St. Lucas; and judging from its eggs, lately sent to the Smithsonian Institution by Captain Bendire, such appear to be really its affinities.

The eggs sent by Captain Bendire (No. 16,486, Mus. S. I.) measure 1.00 in length by .80 in breadth, and are three in number. Their ground-color is a dull bluish-white, spotted with a very faint shade of reddish-brown, the spots thickest round the larger end.

Harporhynchus crissalis (I, 47). Captain Bendire found this species breeding abundantly near Tucson, Arizona (See Coues, Am. Nat. VI, June, 1872, 370). The eggs in all instances were similar to those described as found by Dr. Palmer, unspotted, and in size, shape, and color, hardly distinguishable from the eggs of the common Robin (T. migratorius). They are of an oblong-oval shape, rounded and nearly equal at either end, and measure 1.10 inches in length by .75 in breadth.