CALLIPEPLA PICTA.
Plumed Partridge.
S p e c if ic C harac t er .
Ca ll capite, plumis duabus elongatis, e t gracilibus cristam pendentem nigram efficientibus ornato ;
g u la saturate castanea, a d latera albo m arginata, pectore cinereo ; abdomine splendide castaneo
fa sciis nigris e tfu lv is transversim notato.
Head ornamented with two long slender arched black feathers, rising from the vertex and
inclining towards the back; crown of the head, back o f the neck and chest deep ash-grey;
throat deep chestnut, bounded on the sides by a line o f white, and immediately beneath
the eye by a smaller streak o f black ; lores dull white; all the upper surface olive-brown;
tail brown, freckled with a darker tin t; primaries brown, margined with a lighter tin t;
sides and abdomen deep chestnut, the outer line o f feathers above edged with white ; on
each side of the abdominal line the feathers are strongly and elegantly marked with alternate
bands o f black and white.
Total length, inches; bill, a ; wing, 5a; tail, 3a; tarsi, 1a; middle toe and nail, 1a.
O rty x picta, Doug, in Linn. Trans., vol. xvi. p. 167-—Vig. in Zool. Journ., vol. iv. p. 4 9 0 .- ||
Less. 111. de Zool., texte de pi. 52.—Jard. and Selb. 111. Ora., vol. i. Gen. Ortyx.
O rty x plumifera, Gould in Proc. o f Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 42.—lb . in leones Avium.
P e rd ix p lumifera, Aud. Birds o f Am., vol. iv. pi. 422. figs. 1 and 2.— lb . Orn. Bio., vol. v.
p. 226.
Plumed Partridge, Aud. Birds of Am., 8vo, vol. v. p. 69. pi. 291.
For the discovery of this highly ornamental species we are indebted to the researches of the late Mr. David
Douglas, in whose baggage three specimens were found after his lamented and untimely death. It will be
seen by the synonyms given above, that I some years since characterized this bird under the name of Ortyx
plumifera, not being at the time aware that Mr. Douglas had previously described a bird of this genus (from
the notes made during his first journey) in the sixteenth volume of the “ Linnean Transactions ” under the
appellation of Ortyx picta, which in all probability is identical with the present species. Although his
description does not accord in every particular with the birds characterized by me, and which are in the
collection of the Zoological Society, little doubt remains on my mind that his description is intended for the
present bird : I therefore retain his name of picta, and allow that of plumifera to sink into a synonym.
“ From October until March,” says Mr. Douglas, “ these birds congregate in vast flocks, and seem to
live in a state of almost perpetual warfare ; dreadful conflicts ensue between the males, which not unfrequently
end in the destruction of one or both combatants, if we may judge from the number of dead birds daily seen
plucked, mutilated and covered with blood. When feeding they move in compact bodies, each individual
endeavouring to outdo his neighbour in obtaining the prize. The voice is Quick-quick-quick, pronounced
slowly, with a gentle suspension of the voice between each syllable. At such times, or when surprised, the
crest is usually thrown forward over the beak, and the reverse when retreating, being brought backwards and
laid quite close on the back. Their favourite haunts are dry upland or undulating gravelly or sandy soils
in open woods, or coppice thickets of the interior ; but during the severity of winter, when the ground is
covered with snow, they migrate in large flocks to the more temperate places in the immediate vicinity of