A Rattlesnake Kills a California Quail
A Rattlesnake Kills a California Quail
While checking over reports from several wildlife refuges under the supervision of the United States Biological Survey, I became interested in some notes concerning an encounter between a rattlesnake and a California Quail (Lophortyr californica) contained in the report of C. G. Fairchild, assistant refuge manager at the Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge, Siskiyou County, California. Mr. Fairchild is a careful and conscientious observer, and I believe his observations should be put on record. The substance of his report is as follows:
On July 26, 1938, a young California Quail was seen to fly under a bush at the Biological Survey headquarters. An enrollee of Camp Tule Lake B. F. 3 was approaching the bush to get a better view when he heard the buzz of a rattlesnake. Upon investigation the quail was found lying in a paralyzed condition beside the rattler; it died within 15 minutes. The snake was 2 1/2 feet long and bad six rattles. An autopsy was made and fang marks, surrounded by characteristic discoloration, were noted on the lumbar region. The antagonistic muscles of the legs were unequally paralyzed, and the heart was found to have stopped in dlastole. These conditions indicate that the poison had a rapid lethal effect; otherwise the bird would have escaped the snake after being struck, unless the fangs were held in the wound until the quail was too weak to struggle.
The California Quail (Lophmtyz californica) is a common permanent resident in the Tule Lake region, and rattlesnakes frequent the same kind of cover in considerable numbers. Additional studies of the relationship between these two species in this arid region are much needed.
Stanley G. Jewett
Portland, Oregon, September 28, 1938
