In a message dated 10/11/2002 4:01:59 PM Mountain Standard Time, NJ-MEMORIES-D-request@rootsweb.com writes: > When I lived in New Jersey (Salem, Co.) every year like clockwork our > resident mother Quail and her babies would run across our backyard. They > did this a few times in the summer (Not the winter). Out in California we had both California and Gambel's quails in the desert areas and mountain quail in the higher elevations. The low-elevation birds had curved feathers on top of their heads, looking like question marks; the mountain birds had straight ones that looked like exclamation points. Sometimes we'd see a whole covey of California quail in our neighborhood, just north of Los Angeles: Dad, Mom and anywhere from seven or eight to about a dozen chicks. They were such fun to watch! Last month, while we were in Idaho visiting our daughter and son-in-law, we saw a small covey of quail on the greenbelt along the Boise River. First time we'd seen birds like that since we left California, over five years ago. Not sure whether they were California or Gambel's quail, since couldn't get close enough to see the breast markings. That's the only way to tell them apart. Doris in Colorado (Up2Nutrix@aol.com) "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." -- Jim Elliot, missionary and martyr