Outlines for Scout Workers

BY DELBERT W. PARRATT, B. S.

II. BOB WHITE

"I see you on the zig-zag rails, You cheery little fellow! While purple leaves are whirling down, And scarlet, brown, and yellow. I hear you when the air is full Of snow-down of the thistle; All in your speckled jacket trim, 'Bob White! Bob White!' you whistle."

Why is the Bob White so named? 2. To what family does it belong? Distinguish it from other birds of this family. 3. Note size, shape, and color. 4. Contrast male and female in size and in color, and explain why these differences. 5. Contrast the song of the male Bob White with that of the fe-

male. Why the difference? When does it sing mostly? Why then? What is meant by the "covey call?" 6. Upon what does this bird live and how is it adapted to get its food? 7. What are the enemies of the Bob White and how does it pro- tect itself from these? 8. Explain the manner in which Bob Whites group themselves while sleeping. Why this way? 9. Tell of the speed and height at which this bird flies. During which season does it fly most? Why then? 10. Where and how is the nest usually made? Why there? 11. Tell of the color and number of eggs. How many broods are usually hatched in a season? 12. Where does the Bob White spend its winters? 13. Should the quail be protected? Why? Contrast the open sea- son in our state for quails with that for ducks. Why the difference?

HANDY MATERIAL " 'I own the country here about,' said Bob White; 'At early morn I gayly shout, 'I'm Bob White!' From stubble field and stake-rail fence You hear me call, without offense, Bob White! Bob White!' •I'm

"'Sometimes I think I'll ne'er more say, 'Bob White;' It often gives me quite away, does Bob White; And mate and I, and our young brood, — When separate wandering through the wood, Are killed by sportsmen I invite — By my clear voice Bob White! Bob White! Still, don't you find I'm out of sight " While I am saying, Bob White, Bob White?' — C. C. M. The bird under consideration is so named because his call is suggestive of "Bob White." He is one of the gallinacious birds, as are also the pine hen, grouse, sage hen, partridge, and Cali- fornia quail. These all prefer walking to flying and ordinarily fly only when in danger. Strictly speaking, the Bob White is an eastern bird and consequently not a native of our state. He has been introduced into Utah and thrives here in a manner pleasing to lovers of this beautiful and interesting creature. Our most common quail is the California Valley partridge, a name suggestive of of the fact that the vast regions of our locality were once a part Alta or Upper California. The Bob White is about ten inches long and of a dumpy ap- pearance. His back is brownish red, tinged with gray and mottled with dusky spots. His chin, throat, forehead and lines through eyes and along the sides of his neck are white. There is a black band across the top of his head. On the head of the female bird,

brownish red replaces the white. Her smaller size and leafy brown coloring make her very inconspicuous when on the nest. As with most other birds, the female Bob White exercises the

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right of deciding who her mate shall be. She is not placed in competition with others of her sex to win the attentions of any particular male. This striving for recognition is left to the males and in the struggle the fellow with the prettiest feathers and most attractive call out-classes his less fortunate rivals. And during the mating season the jealous rivals often engage in lively fights to determine which shall "keep company" with a certain female and in these the larger bird, of course, stands the better chance of winning out. The larger bird therefore is the one to get mated and to have his kind reproduced in the next genera- tion. This process of fighting, mating, and reproducing has been going on for a long time until now the males have come to be somewhat larger than the females. The male bird's loud clear song of "Bob White" is thought to resemble "more wet" and is regarded in some localities as an omen of rainy weather. However, it is a cheery song, making rain seem desirable. After the pair of Bob Whites is mated, the song is used by the male to call his companion in case she is hid from

view or is straying too far from his side. The nest, which is made of grass, is hid in the bushes, often near a fence. There is always a well defined, though crooked trail to the nest. Nests are often placed near foot paths ap- parently for protection by man against other enemies. There are from ten to eighteen pure white, rather sharply pointed eggs. The points are turned downward in the neatly packed nest. As a rule one brood is raised in a season, the so called second brood coming only when the first is destroyed. The young birds can run about as soon as hatched. They are difficult to raise from the eggs, chiefly on account of the impossibility of obtaining the insects on which the young feed. Both male and female take turns in keeping the eggs warm during nesting period, the female, of course, serving the major portion of time. Quail are hunted by men and boys in the autumn. Many perish from cold and hunger, or from being imprisoned under the snow during severe winters. Foxes and coyotes prey upon these birds, and snakes upon their eggs. In order to baffle and be- wilder their enemies, quail, in common with other wild chickens, rest on the ground in the form of a circle, heads outward, so that each can fly off in a straight line, if alarmed, without interfering with the others. The flight is low and rapid with numerous quick flappings of the wings. After being dispersed the Bob Whites are called together by the "covey call" of Whir-r-rl-ee ! Whir-rl-ee Whir-r-rl-ee the sweetest, softest, tenderest call one would care !

to hear. As a rule, quail do not find it necessary to fly much except during the hunting season. Half the food of this quail consists of weed seeds, almost a fourth of grain, and about a tenth of wild fruits. Although thus

eating grain, the bird gets most of it from stubble. Fifteen per cent of the Bob White's food is composed of insects, including several of the most serious pests of agriculture. It feeds freely upon Colorado potato bugs and chinch bugs it devours also cu- ;

cumber beetles, clover leaf weevils, cottonboll weevils, cutworms, and Rocky Mountain locusts. Bob White stays with us all winter. Many farmers, who love this bird, feed whole flocks when the snow is deep and food scarce. Besides his usefulness to farmers, the quail, in other countries, proves himself a source of comfort. The Chinese quail, in the East Indies, is used as a fighting bird and also for warming his owner's hands in winter.

Who's whistling so cheerfully down in the clover, When the meadows are wet with the sweet morning dew? He's piping and calling, this ardent young lover, And telling his tale the whole morning through, What is it he says in the early sunlight? "Bob White! Bob White! Bob— Bob White!" At noon when the day dog in wrath has descended, With his swift golden arrows, on grain-field and hill; And the birds of the morning their love-songs have ended, Then deep in the wood, and down bv the rill I hear a shrill whistle, so cheerful and brisrht: "Wheat ripe? Bob White! Not — not auitel" When shadows of evening are lengthening slowly, Ere the night dews lie damp on the meadows again; As light breezes sweep o'er the soft grass so lowly, What is it he says? I hear the refrain, While in the thick verdure he's hid from my sight: "Good night! Bob White! — Good good night." —EFFIE L. HALLETT

References: Encyclopedia; Geographical Magazine, May, 1914; June, 1913; Song, Bob White, Songs in Season; Story, How the Quail became a Sniye, Holbrook Nature Myths; Utah State Fish and Game Lows.

A distinguished member of the National Geographic Society, on his way down-town one day when the polar controversy was at its height, passed some little colored boys who were playing with two very pretty kittens. Pausing, he asked the leader of the party if he had named the kittens. "Oh, yes," was his reply, "I calls 'em Tawm and Jerry." "Why not call them Cook and Peary?" " Deed, boss," was the quick rejoinder, "dese yere ain't polecat*."