quail :(

Quail are nature's snack food. (Actually, I originally said this about mice, but it holds for quail as well). So we named the bird (birth announcement, baby pictures) Fizzing Whizbee, or just Whizbee, for the Harry Potter candy that flies just out of your reach.

We'd been keeping her in a cage in the guest room/office, but she kicked her bedding all over the floor, and pooped on the floor when let out of the cage. So Francie built her an outside enclosure, and a little quail house. We started putting her out during the day a couple weeks ago, then starting leaving her out overnight this week (just in time for it to get cold and damp).

Last night/this morning, something got to her. We found a small hole dug under the enclosure, a lot of wet feathers outside the enclosure, and, a little ways off, a single foot. Until we found the foot, there was some hope that she'd gotten away (although she never had any street smarts, and wouldn't have lasted long in the wild anyway).

We still have a bunch of (unfertilized) quail eggs that she laid. We'll blow out some of the shells, but they're a bit delicate.