Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-08-31
THE eAMEsT BIRD OF ALL.
Interesting Facts and Observations
About Bobwhite.

Interesting Facts and Observations
About Bobwhite.
In three ways the bobwhite Is Of
strictly economic importance-as g
destroyer Of noxious seeds and in
sects; as a delicate and nourishins
food, and as an object Of sport" de-
clared Sylvester D. Judd, assistant
ornitnologist of the biological survey
of the department of agriculture.
This the government Of the United
States is trying to impress upon the
friends Of the little game bird, says
the Washington correspondent Of the
Charlotte Observer.
Every landowner should realize
the value Of the bobwhite and should
demand from sportsmen a fair price
for the birds killed on his property,
continued he. with proper manage
ment some farms Of from 500 to 1000
acres would probably yield a better
revenue from bobwhites than from
poultry. Many farms In North Car
olina yield a regular income from
this source. This Is obtained by leas-
Ing the shooting right to wealthy
sportsmen, who, in localities where
birds are abundant, willingly pay con-
siderable sums for the privilege. This
Is probably the most profitable use
to which certain poor lands In the
south can be put. In some places in
Maryland, Virginia and North Caro-
lima the sportsman often pays the
landowner from five to twenty five
cents for every bird shot.
1.-The sooner the farmer realizes the
value of the bobwhite and the fact
that the market hunter is a bird ex-
terminator, profiting at the land
owners expense, the better will be his
chance of an income from his crop of
quail"
Mr.. Judd has made a careful study
of bobwhite and talks and writes en-
tertainingly Of him.
A Game Bird.
mo bird" he vows, has so firm a
hold on the public interest as the
game bird. The laws enacted in its
behalf exceed in number a hundred
fold those relating to all other kinds of
birds. Among the game birds the
bobwhite is held by many to be pre-
eminent. Easily accessible over a
wide area Of the country, small
enough of size and swift enough Jf
wing to test the sportsman's skill,
delicious enough to please the epi-
cure, to most sportsmen 1t Is without
peer the king of our feathered
game.
1.-THE name 'bobwhite' Is derived
from a fancied resemblance to this
word in the familiar utterance Of the
bird. 1t has been adopted by several
writer's because of the inaccuracy OF
the two names by which the species
Is usually known-'quail' in the north
and west and partridge in the south
The name quail properly belongs to
a smaller migratory bird Of a differ
ent genus, found in the Old Word
the quail Of the Bible story; while
partridge in New England universal
ly applied to the ruffed grouse, Is
strictly the name of another Old
World genus. though also used to des-
ignate the group to which bobwhites,
quail partridges and other closely re-
lated birds belong.
Where Birds Are Found.
THE bobwhite Is found from south
ern Maine and southern Ontario to
the Gulf Of Mexico, except in noun
famous regions, which are too cold
for it, and exclusive of southern Flor
ida and southern Texas, in each of
which an allied race occurs. It ranges
as far west as South Dakota and east
ern Colorado. 1t has been introduced
into New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, Calf
fornia, Oregon, Washington and the
island of Jamaica. The bobwhite of
Florida, which is confined to the pen
insula, is a much smaller and darker
Texas subspecies. which is resident
north to western Kansas and south in
to Mexico, though no smaller than the
northern form, is less deeply colored
and somewhat differently marked. At
least ten subspecies occur in Mexico,
many of them different markedly in
appearance from the familiar bobwhite
of the United States, but no apprecia-
BILE difference in notes."
In discussing bobwhite, Mr.. Judd
sometimes becomes sentimental and
eloquent.
Hear him: To pastoral inland
scenes-woodlot in a green mist of
young leaves, summer grass fields and
bushy pastures, brown stubble and
skeleton cornflelds-the bobwhite adds
charm, homely but no less enjoyable.
AS it calls in summer from the fence
post or runs fearlessly across the road,
the stroller can see 1t closely enough
to admire its trim, alert figure, and its
tasteful color pattern Of black, white
and brown, set off by delicate tintings
of blue Its mellow whistle seems a
proffer Of good fellowship, investing
even a solitude with cheerful friendll-
ness, while the plaintive covey call,
heard in the growing darkness as 1t
summons a scattered flock to its nign:-
ly resting place, is one Of the tender
est of evening sounds.
Useful On Farm.
1.-The bobwhite," he continued, is
probably the most useful abundant
species on the farm. 1t Is one of tine
most nearly omniverous birds, con-
suming large quantities of weed seeds
and destroying many Of the worst i'll
sect pests with which the farmer has
to contend. 1t does not injure grain,
fruit or any other crop.
'In an investigation sol stomachs
were examined, collected in every
month of the year, though mostly
during the hunting season, and OBJ
tained from twenty-one states, and
from Canada and the District Of Co
lumbia, but chiefly from New York.
Maryland, Virginia, Florida, Ohio, In
diana, Illinois, South Dakota, Nebras-