Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-03-29
#tiseellaneuns 8eaaing.
RUsEs OF THE QUAIL.
Birds Wonderful Art of Hiding From
Its Foes.

Birds Wonderful Art of Hiding From
Its Foes.
Any man who has shot quail steadily
will have noted the birds tricks and
manners in hiding. It is the quail's
instinct to trust first and last to its
protective coloration.
| Bevies which have not been much
shot at will take wing more readily
than others, because their members
have not learned that they are least
safe when In the air. In we'll hunted
fields quail will lie until the dogs nose
or the mans foot is within a yard Of
them.
There Is no doubt that however thick
the cover and skilfully chosen the hid
ing place the dog often sees them be-
fore they flush, but the man seldom
does. It is easy enough for the man 20
tell when the dog does see as well as
scent his quarry. The animals eyes
show it plainly.
Then, If he chooses, the man may
stand motionless and search the ground
and cover again and again; but the
chances are much against his distin-
gushing any bird forms. This Is the
more singular as he knows exactly
the size, shape and color Of the quail
and ought to be able to pick 1t out.
Probably the human eye takes in too
much territory at once and has an in
disposition to focus itself upon small
space.
Indians are by inheritance and con-
slant practice the best trailers in the
world. They will see deer's track,
or the slight impression Of the VOLTS
paws, where white man can see only
unmarked ground, but an Indian can
not see hiding quail any better than
another human.
This has been tried often. Indeed,
Indian youths on the western reserva-
tions pursue quail viciously with bows
and arrows and kill many, but they
shoot them when perched in high trees.
They do not make ground shots often.
The best hand at this kind Of sport
the country has ever known was the
late Maurice Thompson, who was much
Of a toxophilite and sang and wrote
the praises Of the bow. He used the
old fashioned weapon for two reasons:
There was a good deal Of the poet in
him, and he was born poacher.
The latter was the strongest reason.
The bow makes no noise and the farm
er in his field a quarter mile away did
not know that a city-dweller was muir
dering his birds within call.
Nothing so delighted Thompson as
the sight Of a weather-beaten sign,
showing dimly: mo Shotin on This
Premis." That was the "premis" he
wanted to shoot on. The farmer could
get even with him only by finding his
bicycle hidden somewhere near the road
and breaking out its spokes.
In hunting quail with the bow
Thompson displayed great patience
and knowledge Of the habits Of the
birds. He knew where they were to be
found and moved slowly and gently.
Often he would hear them running and
cheeping before he saw them.
He would drive them thus for a
hundred or two hundred yards, keep
ing near them, cautious not to fright
en- them into flight. When one Of them
crossed an open space or stopped in an
open space to look for the remainder Of
the bevy, he let drive.
Nearly all Of his quail were killed
while running. If they flushed he
marked them down and followed them
as before. Often he would kill a half
dozen from one bevy before they be-
came so scattered that he could not
find them. He did not attempt to dis
cover them once they had taken to hid
ing separately because he knew that
he could not do it.
Through thousands Of years Of effort
to protect itself from its many foes the
quail has developed a back, wing and
neck covering which blends perfectly
with any brown objects Of woods or
fields-earth-c -clods, cornstalks, fodder,
dead or half dead grasses, fallen
leaves, underbrush, twigs, old logs
and so forth.
The males have never lost the betray-
ing stripe of white over the eye and 1t
seems singular that this traitor stripe
remains. AS the preservation of fe-
males Is more important that that of
males the eye-stripe of the females Is
brown.
The breast feathers Of the quail are
Of no assistance at all, being distinct
i've. In hiding the bird covers every
one Of these feathers. The belly and
breast are pressed to the ground, the
short tail is depressed, concealing the
light underfeathers, the head is drawn
down upon the shoulders, the wings are
jammed tightly against the body.
Only the tell-tale white stripe re-
mains and in order to conceal that as
much as possible the quail will squat
with its back to its pursuer. 1t pre-
fers slight depression and If 1t can find
one in time it squats with it's back
flush with the surface Of the ground.
1t is then absolutely indistinguishable
save for the stripe.
A man who wishes to discover a
cock quail in form must look solely for
the stripe. If he fixes it's appearance in
his mind and lets his eye search solely
for it he may find his bird, though the
chances are largely against him. But
for the ability of the quail to conceal
its breast and belly feathers they would