To my great delight, there is a small covey of Gambel's Quail (Callipepla gambelii) frequenting the feeders at my sister's place here in Tucson. Similar to the California Quail, the Gambel's is less scaled, lighter coloured overall, with a rich ruddy crown.
Gene & I came across several groups on our desert hike yesterday. This male flew to the top of a saguaro (pronounced sa-wha'-ro, by the way) cactus skeleton - giving me an opportunity to snap a couple of pix - while his little family scurried off.
The Gambel's is a New World Quail, Family Odontophoridae, all of which have chunky bodies (although the ones I've seen here have been rather svelte) and crests or head plumes.
The Gambel's Quail is named in honour of William Gambel, a 19th century naturalist from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and explorer of the Southwestern United States. He reported seeing these birds while collecting plants and animals along the Santa Fe Trail in 1841. (exerpt from Birds of the American Southwest by Lynn Hassler Kaufman)
More information at http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gambels_Quail/id/ac
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambel's_Quail
Gene & I came across several groups on our desert hike yesterday. This male flew to the top of a saguaro (pronounced sa-wha'-ro, by the way) cactus skeleton - giving me an opportunity to snap a couple of pix - while his little family scurried off.
The Gambel's is a New World Quail, Family Odontophoridae, all of which have chunky bodies (although the ones I've seen here have been rather svelte) and crests or head plumes.
The Gambel's Quail is named in honour of William Gambel, a 19th century naturalist from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and explorer of the Southwestern United States. He reported seeing these birds while collecting plants and animals along the Santa Fe Trail in 1841. (exerpt from Birds of the American Southwest by Lynn Hassler Kaufman)
More information at http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gambels_Quail/id/ac
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambel's_Quail
Very beautiful photos Katy, I wish I was with you to see this great bird!
ReplyDeleteThanks, PB. This is such an interesting place.
DeleteGlad you are enjoying your trip down to Mom and Dad's. It's our new favourite place and can't wait for our next visit. Walking in the desert with Dad is my favourite thing to do.
ReplyDeleteLove it, too. We walked for nearly 3 hours yesterday morning - I was a little lame by the time we returned to the house!
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