The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1906-02-02
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PECULIAR CALLS

| PECULIAR CALLS
"In the field" said Professor Judd
1.-The nup'iaI call note Of the cock bird
is an infallible guide to its identity
This familiar challenge, sounding to
the sportsman like Bob White Bob
Bob White and to the farmer like
more wet or mo more wet is by no
means the only note Of the species
duringsthe breeding season.
ut was the good fortune of the
writer during the last week in June,
1902, to hear the nesting note and
other calls. Again and again the
cock left bis distant perch, where he
had been whlstling..' Bob White, and,
still calling, approached the nest on
the bank OF little sluggish briery run
between open fields.
When within so yards OF his mate
be uttered the rally note, 50 thrilling
to the sportsmen in the fall, 'ka-loi-
kee,' which the hen often answered
with single clear whistle. Then fol-
lowed a SERIES of queer responsive
'caterw aulings, more unbirdlike than
those Of the yellow breasted chat, sug-
gesting now the call of the cat to its
kittens, now the scolding of the catfed
gray squirrel, now the alarm notes Of
mother grouse, blended with the
strident cry of the guinea hen.
CAS- a finale sometimes came loud,
rasping noise. not unlike the tfi,rt of
a broken voiced whippoorwil'.'
The call..of the hen to. her young
sters is invariably "ka-loi-kee," ska
lei-kee," while the youngsters respond
"whoil. kee." At a close range the
whistle of the bird loses all its melody
and becomes a nasal shrek almost
painful to the ear. AS many as ~
eggs have been found in the nest of
Bob White. The main breeding sea-
son for the Bob ! White.
in the Northern States is May, June
and July, although Professor Robert
Ridgewsy, curator of ornithology ir
the Smithsonian Institution, found a
nest of Bob White eggs in Southern
Illinois in the middle of October.
Another naturalist disc overed a nest
e lied with eggs in Missouri in Janu-
.ry, on which the mother bird was
found frozen. Two or three broods
have been produced in season.
TENDENCY TOWARD MIGRATION.
There is a tendency among Bob
Whites toward local migration. In
Virginia and Maryland, particular
ly, they leave their summer homes on
the approach of winter and congre.
gate near the large water courses.
The habit Of the bird during the hunt
ing season is to move about most ac-
lively and feed.in the early morning
and late in the afternoon. The best
shooting is to be had the hour before
sunset in the places where the birds
have decided to spend the night.
They roost on the ground, forming a
solid ring, with tails in and heads out.
The Bob White, as an ally of the
farmers, is chiefly valuable as a de-
stroyer OF weed seeds. Prof. Judd
made an estimate of what the Bob
White would accomplish in this line
for the farmers of the two states of
Virginia and North Carolina from the
beginning of September to the end of
April.
He allowed four Bob Whites to
each square mile of land, which is
low estimate, and would give 254.S2e
in the two states. The crop OF each
bird holds half an ounce of seed and is
filled twice day. Since at each eff
tho two daily meals weed ss >>!s con-
stitute at least half the contents of
the crop, half ounce daily is thus
consumed by each bird, and on this
basis the total consumption of seed in
the two states covering the period
mentioned would amount to l,34l
tons. A similar calculation shows
that $40 tons of destructive insects
would be consumed by the birds in
the same period The Bob White eats
the Rocky Mountain locust, the
chnch bug, the potato beetle, the cot
ton boil weevil and cotton worms and
army worms.
The shooting rights are leased to
sportsmen, who pay considerable sums
for he privilege. In some places in
Maryland, Virginia and North Caro-
lima sportsmen pay from to 25 cents
for every bird shot Millions of dol
lars can be realized by the proper
management of the quail crop of the