Lophortyx Californicus Quail

“The Quail is a small game bird; the Virginia species is common in North America, and so far south as Honduras. It is larger than the European quail, and is better eating. The California crested quail is another American species. THe quail, genus Coturnix, is widely distributed over the Eastern Hemisphere, visiting Europe in early summer and returning S. in the autumn, when immense numbers are caught and fattened for the market. Length about seven inches, general color reddish-brown, with buff streaks on the upper surface; throat rufous; head, dark brown above, striped with ocherous white, sides reddish-brown, lower parts pale buff, fading into white on belly. Color less bright in the hen bird, and the rufous tinge absent from the throat. They nest on the ground, laying from 9 to 15 pyriform, yellowish-white eggs, blotched with dark-brown. The males are polygamous and extremely pugnacious."—(Charles Leonard-Stuart, 1911)

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