VALLEY QUAIL. Lophortyx californica vallicola (Ridgway)

Field characters.—A quail with short, blunt-ended, forward-directed topknot on head. Back, wings, and tail uniform grayish brown; breast clear bluish gray; belly marked with crosswise scalings of black on a white or buffy ground. Sexes unlike; males have throat black, outlined with white. Flight direct, with rapidly whirring wings; when on ground runs with celerity. Voice: An assembly call sounding somewhat like the syllables pa-rah'-ho; when disturbed, an explosive, sputtering pit, pit, or whit, whit, uttered many times in rapid succession; when on guard during breeding season, males utter a single loud kyark at irregular intervals.

Occurrence.—Common resident in Lower and Upper Sonoran zones west of the Sierran divide; observed at Snelling and Lagrange and thence eastward to El Portal (altitude 2000 feet), and to Smith Creek, cast of Coulterville (altitude 3200 feet). Frequents hillside chaparral and river-bottom thickets, foraging under these and in adjacent open areas.

The Valley Quail is a characteristic inhabitant of the dry foothill belt and is eminently suited in both structure and habits to gain a livelihood in such an environment. The dense thickets of chaparral which clothe the steep cañon sides afford both food and shelter for the quail, and the intermittent streamlets which thread the deep ravine bottoms afford water sufficient for their daily needs. Quail are also found in the plains region west of the foothills, but only where adequate shelter is afforded by growths along the big rivers, or by berry or other brush patches near farmhouses.

Entering the Yosemite region by train and stage one is not likely to see the Valley Quail at all, unless a pair or a flock be observed at El Portal; but when going in afoot or in an automobile, the species will be noted commonly along any of the regular routes of travel. In the early morning the dusty roads often bear evidence of the presence of quail, the tracks showing plainly their identity, for they are in tandem alignment, one foot in front of the other, with the middle toe dragging between and the hind toe leaving a distinct impression of its own.

Like many other species which are classed as game, quail are essentially gregarious birds and spend most of the year in flocks. They separate into pairs only for the nesting season. By the middle of spring the birds are paired off and from then on, the males are to be seen perched in commanding situations in the brush or in low trees, on guard to sound alarm if need be, while their mates are preparing their nests or caring for the eggs or young chicks.

In May, 1919, at Blacks Creek, just west of Coulterville, we found Valley Quail to be exceedingly common. There were fully 25 pairs in the little basin of which the old Merced Gold Mine is the center. Males were calling all through the day, so that there was an almost continuous chorus of 'guard' notes. Less often we heard one of the birds 'explode,' when unusually excited, the note then sounding like that made by striking a long wire strung between two supports. Often in the afternoon and early evening, as they came down from the dry hillsides to quench their thirst at the creek, two or three pairs would be in sight at once. The males seemed more than ordinarily solicitous at this time. Near Lagrange one was seen following along close behind his mate as she foraged in an open field. Then while she hunted through the long grass at the roadside he perched with drooping topknot on a convenient fence post and watched all about. When she was ready to cross the road he flew down and led her across and then the two disappeared into other forage grounds in the field beyond.

Mr. Donald D. McLean, residing at Smith Creek, on the Coulterville Road, says that the nesting season of the Valley Quail extends until harvest time, in July. When the broods are full-grown, old and young associate together in flocks, and two or more families join into single bands numbering 25 to 50 or more. In the autumn, Valley and Mountain quail have been seen together in the Smith Creek country in mixed flocks numbering 50 or more individuals.

The flocks of Valley Quail do not appear to decrease as rapidly in late fall and early winter as do those of the Mountain Quail. Flocks of 10 to 30 birds were seen by us on a number of occasions in January and February. Since trapping by man for fur-bearing animals (carnivores), the natural enemies of the quail, is now more intensive in the range of the valley bird, the pressure from enemies is probably somewhat lessened in the winter season. The absence of snow is also a factor, permitting the birds to forage far and wide throughout the year. The hardest pinch comes for the quail in early spring, when the seed and berry crops are approaching exhaustion, and before the new growth of the coming year is available. It is in this same early spring season that most of the carnivorous mammals and raptorial birds rear their young, and hence are put to the necessity of providing greater quantities of food for themselves and their offspring. Because the quail is a favorite food of Wildcats and Gray Foxes, and also of Cooper Hawks and Horned Owls, the quail population is subject to relatively greater persecution at this most critical period.

When foraging, quail work in a quiet but industrious manner, each individual moving forward independently, yet keeping within easy call of one another, each contributing to a general murmur of low conversational notes. They are quick to take advantage of easily obtained food such as may be provided in ranch yards. For example, at the McCarthy Ranch east of Coulterville, Valley Quail are to be seen at almost all times of the year, foraging industriously in the barnyard chaff.

When disturbed while foraging, Valley Quail usually depend for safety first upon their wings. A flock seen on Rancheria Flat near El Portal in December, 1914, all flew off in one direction. Then the birds took shelter in some golden oaks whence, when followed up, they scattered out. For the most part they remained in the trees and kept quiet; only one individual sought refuge on the ground. In other places the quail have been found to make use of their legs after the first flight, running rapidly off, then, beneath the shelter of the brush.

Mr. J. B. Varain said that quail are now (1915) relatively scarce compared with their abundance when he first came to Pleasant Valley, in 1867.