Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 November 1891 — HABITS OF BOB WHITE. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HABITS OF BOB WHITE.

PECULIARITIES OF AMERICA’S FAVORITE GAME BIRD. H. Beam but Slight Resemblance to Hl* European Namesake— Migratory In Hl* Habits, but a Faithful Husband and a Devoted Father. A Trial to Wing Shots. Little “Bob While” is one of the favorites of American came birds. He is known to sportsmen front Maine to Florida, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, although different lo alitiesgive him different iar es North and East he is famiiiar as “quail,” while West and South he Is called “par ridge ” Compared with the biros of the same name in Europe he is neither, and for this reason many prefer to call him as ho calls himself—“ Bob White.” The European quail Is smaller ai d more dumpy, with fat, dark meat It does not form in coveys, the plumag - is dull, and he Is a quarrelsome, selnsh fel ow, entirely different from the affecth nate. gallant American bird. The European partr.dge is double “Bob White’s” weight, but lacks the latter’s swift and frequently long continued (light. The sh sh is, however, white, and the wings are of the American shape. “Bob White” is to fotne extent migratory in his habits. In the f.a'l he lias a “running season,” during which he will not take wing, but runs with incredible speed before an enemy. In weight, between six and seven ounces is a good average, although considerable depends

on the feeding ground, the condition of the weather, and the bird’s age. With everything favo able for flesh, bags have been made averaging eight ounces, but this is an exception rather than a rule. Unlike the grouse and the European quail, the little American is a faithful husband and devoted father. To find him in Mormon practices is rare. Should he, however, discover that his gallant

bearing and spruce attire have made bim doubly beloved, ho will show impartial devotion to two spouses. From * fence-rail, with his two wives on their meats not two feet apart, he will gladden •both their little hearts with his iove•song. But he is naturallv a monogagamtst. He selects his mato and makes &is courtship in the spring, soon after ■the snow and frost have gone, when tho willows have turned yellow, wh.lo the trogs are piping in the marsh, and the Wilson snipe Is drumming above the meadows If the wintry storm should eome buck, the males will reassemble in a covey and keep each other warm o’ nights and huddle on the sunny slopes during the day. In the mouth of May they build their •:»ple nest, formed of a slight depression In the ground lined with dried leaves and soft grasses This nest may be found under a tussock of grass, beneath a small bush, in the brier-grown corner of a worm fence, at the. foot of an old stump, alongside a log, or often In the open fie ds of wheat or clover. The nest is sometimes elosod above with Stubbie mingled with tho grass tussock er brier* and provided with a side entrance; . but the nest is as often found open above as closed. In this nest the ben-bird lays from one •do;e« to two do: en eggs of a pure, brilliant white. When the hen is laying and during her time of nesting the cock Is the happiest of husbands Filled with joy and pride, he sits on the tow hough of a neighboring tree, or perches on the fence-rail quite near hio spouse, whom he never wca:les of telling that lie ts “Bob White—your 800 White,” i« *uch a gay," jolly voice, that o erv one within hearing distance can but give it attention. in three or four weeks the chicks leave the eggs. Their food Is seed and insects, large quantities of the latter that would otherwise,work injury to the farmer being caught At the age of two weeks the ycung begin to fly, but the flutter is feeble by the side of the old biids. When too large to longer

father under the mother's protecting wings the flock will take flight it night from tho day’s feet.lng ground, and, dropping at some distance- under a bush, wilt huddle up tosether in a circle with heads out In *his way no foe can approach without instant detection. If the neyt day is wet and co d they will gmu&am nestled together, or not go. to

feed till afternoon. But when bright and pleasant they are away to the feeding ground at sunrise, remaining there till about 11 o'clock. Thon a rest is taken till the middle of the afternoon, when they forage again till sundown. It often happens when shocking in the fall that a covey will be “sprung" with some of the birds too small to bag. This is because there have been two nestings. The eggs and the young are often destroyed by the wet and co’d of the early summer, or by beasts and b rds of prey. In such case the hen again goes to lay-

ing, apd the second brood is retarded by the time lost between the fir.-t and second nest ngs. When biids of two sizes are found in (he same covey', it seems to show that the parents have raised two broods; and th.s happens oftener in the South than in the North—the summer of the Middle and Northern States being generally too short for the la sing of two broods. Audubon states that “in Texas, the Floridas, and as far eastward as the neighborhoo J of Charleston, in South Carolina, it breeds twice in the year, first in May and again in September. ” The affection which exists between

the whole covey of father, motlior, and chicks is often noticed by sportsmen, and w'hen the gun has thinned the numbers the feeling is evinced in a really touching manner. “Frank Forrester” writes of it as follows: “Unlike the young broods of the woodcock, which are mute, save the twitter with wh cli I hey rise, the bevies of quail appear to bo attached to each other by tender affection. If dispersed by acci dental causes, oither in the pursuit of their food or from being flushed by some i asual intruder, so soon as their first alarm lias passed over thoy begin calling 10 (aeh othor with a small, plaintiff note, quite different from the amorous wliistie of the male bird and from their merry, day-breaking cheeping, and each one running toward tho sound and repeating It at intervals, they soon collect themselves into one little family. “If, however, the ruthless sportsman has been among them with his we ltrained setter and unerring gun, so that death lias sorely thinned their numbers, they will protract their little call for their lost comrades, ovon to nightfall; and in such cases—l know not if it be fancy on my part—there has often seemed to me to be an unusual degree of melancho'y in their wailing whistle. ” Bob White tries the wing-shot as sorely as the trout the angler. As with the trout, something must be known of his habits and peculiarities it’ he is to bo landed. In fair weather start early, for the birds will be foeding at sunrise. If there are any fields of buckwheat, range about them, for this is a taking dish. By 11 o’clock they will leave tho field for some covert near water, where they will dress and smooth their feathers. They will remain here several hours unless

started up If the weather is very dry do not seek the birds on the uplands, for Bob White likes the vicinity of water. Aft<>r a rainy spell, go to tho upland stubb'e fields and work the dogs aloug the border of the dri st and sunniest of the coverts. If it is windy and cold, the birds will be found in covert along the sunny iee slopes of the vai eys, in the tall ragwed and briers of the hollows and on the sunny borders of the wcods and hedgerows. They will not now lie well to the dog, and when flushed will go like bulb ts into the deepest thicket As >o the best way to shoot a bird on tile wing opinions differ. Some hold that “snap-shooting” is the only way to shoot successfully. “Snap-shooting” is generally understood to consist in putting the gun to the shoulder and firing the instant it is in position: making the allowance to tne tight, left, under, or above, as the case may require, beforo raising the gun; just as you point you* finger, instinctively, to any object, without having to sight along it Others are just as sure that no one ever shot decently unless he so lowed the bird with the sight on tho gun and covered it before firing. Some again, insist tiiat the gun must swing along with the course of the bird aftjer pulling the trigger. In the opinion tis ah authority, every one who has shot very much acquires a .style peculiar w himself, and cannot do better than depend on his temperament and tho kind of birds he has had the most practice on. He ofeo says the most difficult shot .is a bird «praing direcuy toward you ana flying about tweu* feet above the ground,', “I have btflu Quite successful

in this shot,” he goes on, “by holding directly at the bird untli he Is wlthir range, and then, jnst as I touch thto trigger, I raise the muzzle of the gun about six inches. I would only advise trying this shot where there is more than one bird, and you want to use the second barrel. When there is only one incoming bird, wait until he passes o\e* you, and then by shooting under him, more or less, according to the speed and e'ovation at which he is flying, you will be pretty sure to kill. “In cross shots, at thirty yards and over, hold above tho line of flight and from six to nine feet ahead of the bird. This may seem entirely too much, but I have frequently shot Bob White when flying parallel to a rail-fence by aiming tho full length of the rail ah’ad of him."

EUROPEAN RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE.

AT BREAK OF DAY.

"BOB WHITE."

"EAT AS BUTTER."

CALIFORNIA VALLEY QUAIL.