Volume 6, Plate XI / Ornithology (Birds)

Californian Ortyx

Ortyx Californica

Ortyx Californica, a graceful and beautifully marked species of the low woods and plains of California, is brownish grey above, the neck feathers black margined and white tipped, the throat rich black with a crescent of pure white, and the flank plumes striped with yellow. Its chief adornment is a crest of several black feathers, narrow at the base and broadening to the tip, which lie backward but can be raised and bent forward upon any excitement.