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University of California Press, Published 1977. Hardcover, xx, 281 pp plus one leaf of plates; 24 cm; First Edition (with full number line); illustrated with a color frontispiece by Gene M. Christman, black-and-white photographs, line drawings, maps, figures and tables.
In Very Good condition with a Very Good dust jacket. Burnt orange cloth boards, gilt lettering on spine and publisher's name gilt at foot. Mild shelf and edge wear, binding tight. Pages clean and unmarked. Illustrated dust jacket reproduces the Christman color frontispiece. A few small nicks and tears with mild creasing to edges, mild surface and edge wear. Price-clipped at top corner of front flap. Now in an archival quality (removable) Brodart cover. Comprehensive account of the California Quail, state bird since 1931, covering the species and its distribution, its natural history, and its management. Traces aboriginal use, market hunting for the San Francisco trade, the population peak of 1860 to 1895 and the decline that followed, and the restoration and habitat work that came after. Prologue by Ian McMillan. A joint contribution of the California Academy of Sciences, the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, and the Department of Forestry and Conservation at the University of California, Berkeley. Designed by Dave Comstock. Leopold, eldest son of Aldo Leopold, was professor of zoology and forestry at Berkeley and chaired the 1963 advisory board whose report on wildlife management in the national parks reshaped Park Service policy. Contents: The Species and Its Distribution; Historical Perspectives; Early Efforts to Restore Quail in California; Land Use and Quail Habitat; Sociality in California Quail; Covey Break-up and the Nesting Season; Growth and Development of the Young; Sex and Age Ratios and Their Interpretation; Rainfall as a Factor Affecting Reproductive Success; Quail Mortality; Supplying Cover Needs; Making Food Available; Supplying Drinking Water; Hunting the California Quail; Backyard Quail; Epilogue; Appendix A, Quail in Aboriginal California by Karen M. Nissen; Appendix B, Foods of the California Quail by Bruce M. Browning; Appendix C, Effects of Differing Rainfall on Breeding of California Quail in an Arid Environment by Michael J. Erwin; Bibliography; Index.