Daily Yellowstone journal., 1890-06-25
THE HABITS or "soe WHITE"
A sportsman Writes About His Expert
ence with the Quail.

-
ence with the Quail.
In studying the quail one cannot fail
to notice the almost complete change
of habits In this bird which attends the
transition from one season Of the year
to another. In the spring and summer
the once shy and bevy keeping Bob
White becomes individualized and tame
we say individualized because, al.
though mated. man AID wife are always
one flesh just as truly among birds a
among human beings. No longer in
focks. Bob White turns up everywhere
under your feet in the fields, especially
II you haunt the vicinity of his hest and
brooding mate. You will frequently
see him running along by the fence, or
even venturing out into the road, while
his CHEEKY, sweet song--for it is a song,
albeit but of two notes-rings out again
and again on the sunny air.
So tame and regardless of her own
safety docs the female grow in the nest
ing season that not unfrequently she
will allow herself to be almost trodden
upon before leaving the nest, and l
have known late brooding birdsin grass
meadows to sit fearlessly upon their
nests until cut to pieces by thu. relent-
less knives of the moving machine.
Young quail are perfect little NEGRO
mancers. Almost as soon as they are
out of the shell they seem to have the
power Of making themselves invisible
at the wave of a wand. Wherever they
go to nobody can tell. The ground may
be as bare as a floor, but somehow they
manage to vanish utterly from the eye.
And this is a trick which they do not en-
tirely forget as they grow older. 1t
takes a sharp eyed sportsman to see a
bevy of quail before they rise, even If
the dog is pointing right at them and
the grass is as short as it is on a lawn.
BY August Bob White begins to take
on a different character altogether from
that he has displayed during the spring
and summer months. He ceases to
perch himself in conspicuous places and
sing for the delight of himself and his
friends. both feathered and unfeathered.
He no longer makes excursions into ex-
posed and dangerous localities, nor does
he trust to the friendliness Of every
human being who comes his way.
Gradually he begins to assemble his
family and nearest relatives into a little
community conducted on the simplest
communistic principles, and animated
by m all pervading desire-to get
through the terrible open season with
out being brought to griddle.
That Bob White has developed re-
markable powers for realizing this de-
sire every sportsman will readily &C.
knowledge. No bird can place so many
yards between itself and the gun In two
OF three seconds as the lively little
quail. 1t takes a remarkably quick
shot to get in both barrels effectively
at q bevy Of quail. ever when the birds
rise in the open and the sportsman has
an unobstructed field of view. The al
most irresistible tendency is to fire at
the thick of EN-" but besides being un-
sportsmanlike this method Is generally
ineffective also, for, while It may now
and then cripple a bird, It oftener lets
the whole bevy get away unscathed, or
else sends two or three slightly wound
ed birds into the cover to die a cruel
and lingering death.
The philosophy Of this result is easy
enough to explain, for, quickly as a
covey of quail may seem to the excited
sportsman to fly together when they
are flushed. a little calm observation
will show that the intervals between
the several birds are almost always
nearly as great rs the spread Of a charge
Of shot at thirty yards. Thus it will be
seen that, If the center of the charge falls
In one Of the intervals or spaces, as it is
just sc much more likely To do as the
space is larger than a quail's body. the
only possible chance is that a bird may
be crippled by the outer pellets. and
even this chance is small compared with
the alternative which has been previ.
ously stated.
Therefore, my advice to the true
sportsman in quail shooting is to select
bird for each barrel; make a clean
kill or none at all. And If you are not
skillful and quick enough at first to Sc
lect a bird for each barrel, make sure
of your first shot only, for a time, until
you get SO that you can drop your bird
quickly and neatly; then begin to at
tempt your double on the principle
which has been laid down. I make a
practice of concentrating my attention
every time on what | call the ''laggard"
that Is, the bird nearest me when the
gun is raised; or, If the bevy crosses me
instead of going straight away, it Is the
last bird In the line that | fire at. This
rule applies to the use Of both barrels.
Galaaf tha Ia.ra~l a.ut t;uuz Da,,l