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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