Gambel's Quail
by Marilyn Smith
Title
Gambel's Quail
Artist
Marilyn Smith
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
This Gambel's quail was perched in the tree, just looking down on us while we walked around at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona.
Normally, we see an entire covey scurrying around the patio
cafe area where they confiscate every single crumb
of food that gets dropped by the lunch crowd.
Gambel's quail are the most entertaining birds to watch.
There strange call or cackles are very distinctive and you
will always recognize it when you hear them in the bushes.
They love to hang out under the scrub brush in the desert
surroundings unless they are hunting for food.
The male has the most beautiful rust-colored "hat" with the
white stripe outlining it. His little black face matches his teardrop
shaped plume that bounces with every step he takes.
Both male and female have grayish bodies with white or cream bellies. However, the male has a distinctive black patch on his belly.
Their wing markings are also colorful with shades of rust and brown
and streaks of white on the feathers..
The quail are very common in the southwest regions in desert scrublands and thickets surviving on seeds and leaves that they find there.
They are nonmigratory birds as their ability to fly is rather limited.
It is very common to see small coveys residing within subdivisions
or mobile home parks.
Uploaded
March 2nd, 2013
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Comments (6)
Hanne Lore Koehler
Spectacular capture of this gorgeous quail, Marilyn! Fantastic light and perspective! Congratulations on your Wisconsin Flowers And Scenery SPECIAL HIGHLIGHTED ARTIST feature! L/F
Randy Rosenberger
Congratulations for being one of our present SPECIAL HIGHLIGHTED ARTISTS, as you are very deserving of this special honor. Check it out on top of the Homepage of our site. It surely is a true honor to FEATURE THIS BEAUTY ON OUR HOMEPAGE! Your talents and love for art are surely dominant in this beautiful piece of outstanding art work! Thanks so very much for sharing, so we may enjoy and adore the beauty within! LIKED AND FAVED Randy B. Rosenberger (admin of WFS group) http://fineartamerica.com/groups/wisconsin-flowers-and-scenery.html