Traveling naturalists, accustomed to the secretive nature of quail inother habitats, are often startled to see how conspicuous Gambel�s Quailcan be in the Sonoran Desert.
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Quail in general are plump birds, rather poor fliers, that spend almostall their time on the ground. Thus they have good reason to make themselvesunobtrusive, to avoid drawing the notice of predators. Gambel�s Quailare probably no less vulnerable (or tasty) than the other species, yetthey behave in ways that call attention to themselves. The males callloudly from low perches; family groups go parading across the flats; coveysof two dozen or more run about clucking in the open. In the sparse plantgrowth of the desert, it would be impossible for Gambel�s Quail to beas secretive as their relatives that live in denser cover, so perhapsshy behavior would be a non-adaptive waste of energy.
At one time, south-central Arizona had another common type of quail:the Masked Bobwhite. Unfortunately, it required not just desert, but lushdesert grassland. Large herds of cattle, brought into this region beforethe principles of range management were well understood, eliminated mostof the grasses; when the grass disappeared, so did the Masked Bobwhites.There are still captive flocks, raised from birds found in Sonora, butconservationists have faced major difficulties in trying to reintroducethese birds to the wild.
�KennKaufman
Representative Sonoran Desert species:
Gambel�s Quail (Callipepla gambelii)
Masked Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus ridgwayi)
Order: Galliformes
Family: Odontophoridae (New World Quail)
Spanish names: codorniz de Gambel (Gambel�s Quail), codorniz com�n (MaskedBobwhite)
Distinguishing features
Quail are terrestrial birds with short round wings, stout legs with fourtoes (hind toe is elevated and does not come into contact with the ground),and short, conical bills. The Gambel�s Quail has a black top-knot thatcurves forward; the male only has a black throat, face and belly. Plumageis gray with white, chestnut and buff. The Masked Bobwhite has no top-knot;plumage is brown, black, and buff; the male has a black face and throatwith chestnut brown underparts; the female and young have cream coloredunderparts, face, and throat.
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Habitat
Gambel�s Quail occur in mesquite habitat, desert scrub, thorn thickets,and riparian areas; often are found in habitats with water nearby. Historicalhabitat of the Masked Bobwhite was tall grass bordered by mesquite. Before1880 the masked bobwhite was common in Arizona from the Baboquivari Mountainseast to the Santa Cruz valley. Today, it is extinct in Arizona exceptfor a reintroduced population at the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge.
Feeding
� Diet: Mostly seeds.
� Behavior: Gambel�s Quail are the most arid-adapted quail. During thesummer the quail are active early mornings and late afternoons when temperaturesare not extreme. They avoid heat stress by resting in the shade duringthe hottest part of the day. Quail must either drink water daily or obtainit from their food. They can eat insects and succulent fruits of cactito get this water. Quail also eat seeds and plants. They roost in bushesand low dense trees.
Masked Bobwhite forage in flocks (coveys), except during breeding season;they sometimes move up into shrubs and vines to forage on berries andleaves.
Life History
Quail are gregarious birds. In the fall and winter they often live incoveys of 20 or more individuals, but they pair off during the nestingperiod. They spend a lot of time on the ground in brushy areas, usuallyrunning across hot or open areas to cover. They fly short distances whenstartled or to avoid predators.
Gambel�s Quail usually have 1 brood of 10 to 12 pale-buff eggs. The femaleincubates the eggs for 21 to 24 days. The nest is a shallow depressionlined with grass, leaves, and vegetation; it is on the ground or no morethan 10 feet off the ground. All eggs hatch on the same day and the precocialchicks are fully covered with down. They leave the nest soon after hatching,relying on their parents to protect them and to locate food.
Masked Bobwhite were extirpated from the United States due to the destructionof grasslands. Overgrazing and other abuses of southern Arizona resultedin the disappearance of these quail from Arizona during the late 1800sand early 1900s. Attempted reintroductions have not been very successful.
