Mountain Quail: Shy, secretive, and beautiful
Mountain Quail: Shy, secretive, and beautiful
By: Jon Hammond
Topics:
Posted by editor Mon Sep 18, 2006 17:27:40 PDT
Viewed 809 times
0 responses 0 comments There are some bird species that live in Tehachapi year-round and are always seen, such as ravens, Brewer’s blackbirds, mockingbirds, red-tailed hawks, California quail and others. There are others that live here all year and are almost never seen — a good example is the shy and beautiful Mountain Quail.
These are relatives of the common and familiar California quail whose “Come-back-here!” calls echo through blue oak woodlands and chapparal foothills.
The Mountain Quail (Oreotyx picta) are very different from their cousins, however, and are generally found above 4,500 feet in elevation. They prefer to live in an area known as the Yellow Pine belt, which in Tehachapi ranges from about 5,000 to 8,000 feet and includes Jeffrey pines, white fir, black oaks and occasional Ponderosa pines.
Mountain quail are also slightly larger than California quail and they have they only upright head plume among North American quail — while the black topknot plume on California quail flares at the end and droops forward, resembling a comma, mountain quail have a straight tapering plume that’s almost 3 inches long.
The gray bodies of both quail species have a similar shade, but mountain quail bear lovely chestnut brown markings that are absent in California quail. The larger mountain quail also have bold white bars on their sides while California quail have thin white stripes.
Besides living at higher elevations and having very different plumage, mountain quail differ most profoundly from their valley and foothill relatives in their behavior: they tend to be very secretive and retiring. California quail perch openly on fence posts next to roads and make frequent or daily appearances at homes in the outlying areas; mountain quail avoid people and you can hike in the Tehachapi mountains for years and not see them.
Mountain quail stick to shadowy slopes and forage along the edges of small sunlit openings in the forest. They maintain a low profile and if they detect an intruder or a predator, the quail simply melt into the underbrush, greatly preferring to slip away on foot rather than fly.
Mountain quail also tend to form smaller coveys and family groups than California quail. While I have seen as many as 30 mountain quail together, most of these were juveniles and I seldom encounter more than six to 10 adults together.
The Nüwa (Kawaiisu) Indians of Tehachapi call the mountain quail tivish-dar and used to treasure their plumage. The Indian people encountered mountain quail more often than current residents, but even the Nüwa considered tivish-dar sightings as unusual.
Mountain quail eat some insects while foraging, particularly in early summer, but the seeds of grasses and herbs and berries of several different shrubs are their staple diet. I have happened upon mountain quail harvesting elderberries while I was doing the same thing on several occasions.
Mountain quail have to avoid the usual predators, including bobcats, foxes, coyotes, snakes and raptors, including northern goshawks. Despite their reclusive nature, mountain quail will defend their young more vigorously than any other quail species.
These beautiful birds live at higher elevations on Bear Mountain, Cummings Mountain, Tehachapi Peak and other areas with abundant trees. Field guides often use the phrase “can be found at higher elevations” when describing mountain quail, but a more accurate statement might be “They live at higher elevations — good luck with actually finding any.”
But despite their shyness they do live in our mountains and I’m glad to know that they are there, even if they remain seldom seen.
Have a good week.
| Send to a Friend | Report a Violation |
