Description

John Cassin (1813-1869)
Plate 4, TheMassena Partridge
From: Illustrations of the Birds of California, Texas, Oregon, British and Russian America
Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1856
Chromolithograph
Paper dimensions: 10 “x 7
Framed dimensions: 16 x 17

With text below image:
The Massena Partridge are rarely found outside the Southwest United States, and typically live in Western Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. It can be identified by its snout and compressed bill, large puffy crest, and black and white speckled markings. These peculiar birds frequent dry deserts, valleys, and mountains as high as 8000 feet, and have been called the “Fool Quail” due to their clownish plumage. They are capable of very rapid flight, which is usually accompanied by a clucking call, and nest in holes on the ground lined with grasses and weed.