Mountain Quail
Encyclopedia
The Mountain Quail, is a small ground-dwelling bird
in the New World quail
family
. This species
is the only one
in the genus
Oreortyx, which is sometimes included in Callipepla
. This is not appropriate, however, as the Mountain Quail's ancestors have diverged from other New World quails earlier than the bobwhites, no later than 6 mya.
of 35–40 cm. They have relatively short, rounded wings and long, featherless legs. These birds are easily recognized by their top knots, which are shorter in the female. They have a brown face, gray breast, brown back and primaries, and heavily white barred underside.
:
, from the United States
to Baja peninsula Mexico
. It has been introduced to British Columbia
in Canada
, and some areas of Washington state in the USA. It can be found up to 3000 m above sea level. It is a non-migratory species; however some populations may be altitudinal migrants in some mountain ranges.
consists primarily of plant matter and seed
s. The chicks are decidedly more insectivorous than adults, gradually consuming more plant matter as they mature.
in a simple scrape concealed in vegetation, often at the base of a tree or shrub
, usually close to water. Incubation
lasts from 21–25 days, usually performed by the female and rarely by the male. The chicks are precocial
, leaving the nest
with their parents within hours of hatching.
. However, its success is tied to sufficient habitat, which expands in cooler and more arid
climate
. Subfossil
remains have been found, for example at Rocky Arroyo in the Guadalupe Mountains
and Shelter Cave
, New Mexico
, where today not enough habitat exists anymore. The bones date found from the end of the last ice age to not much more than 8000 BC.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the New World quail
New World quail
The New World quails or Odontophorids are small birds only distantly related to the Old World Quails, but named for their similar appearance and habits. The American species are in their own family Odontophoridae, whereas Old World Quail are in the pheasant family Phasianidae...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
. This species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
is the only one
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
in the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Oreortyx, which is sometimes included in Callipepla
Callipepla
Callipepla is a genus of birds in the New World quail family, Odontophoridae.-Species:* Callipepla californica – California Quail* Callipepla douglasii – Elegant Quail...
. This is not appropriate, however, as the Mountain Quail's ancestors have diverged from other New World quails earlier than the bobwhites, no later than 6 mya.
Description
The bird's average length is 26–28 cm, with a wingspanWingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
of 35–40 cm. They have relatively short, rounded wings and long, featherless legs. These birds are easily recognized by their top knots, which are shorter in the female. They have a brown face, gray breast, brown back and primaries, and heavily white barred underside.
Subspecies
There are five recognized subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
:
- O. p. confinis (Anthony, 1889) - Southern Mountain Quail - mountains of northern Baja CaliforniaBaja CaliforniaBaja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
- O. p. eremophilus (Van Rossem, 1937) - Desert Mountain Quail - Sierra Nevada of southern CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to northern Baja, and extreme southwestern NevadaNevadaNevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its... - O. p. pictus (Douglas, 1829) - nominate - Cascade RangeCascade RangeThe Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades...
of Washington to coastal mountains of central California - O. p. plumifer (GouldJohn GouldJohn Gould was an English ornithologist and bird artist. The Gould League in Australia was named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed "Darwin's finches" played a role in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection...
, 1837) - southern Washington to western Nevada and central California - O. p. russelli (AH Miller, 1946) - Pallid Mountain Quail - Little San Bernardino MountainsLittle San Bernardino MountainsThe Little San Bernardino Mountains are a short mountain range of the Transverse Ranges, located in southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately 40 mi southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains through San Bernardino and Riverside Counties to near the northeast...
of southern California
Distribution and habitat
It inhabits mountainous chapparal west of the Rocky MountainsRocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
, from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to Baja peninsula Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. It has been introduced to British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and some areas of Washington state in the USA. It can be found up to 3000 m above sea level. It is a non-migratory species; however some populations may be altitudinal migrants in some mountain ranges.
Behaviour
Mountain Quail primarily move about by walking, and can move surprisingly quickly through brush and undergrowth. In the late summer, fall and winter, the adults and immature young congregate into family groups of up to 20 birds. The birds habits can be secretive. Any flight is usually short and explosive, with many rapid wingbeats followed by a slow glide to the ground.Feeding
Its dietDiet (nutrition)
In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. Dietary habits are the habitual decisions an individual or culture makes when choosing what foods to eat. With the word diet, it is often implied the use of specific intake of nutrition for health or weight-management...
consists primarily of plant matter and seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s. The chicks are decidedly more insectivorous than adults, gradually consuming more plant matter as they mature.
Breeding
Breeding among Mountain Quail is monogamous, and rarely gregarious. The female typically lays 9-10 eggsBird egg
Bird eggs are laid by females and incubated for a time that varies according to the species; a single young hatches from each egg. Average clutch sizes range from one to about 17...
in a simple scrape concealed in vegetation, often at the base of a tree or shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
, usually close to water. Incubation
Avian incubation
Incubation refers to the process by which certain oviparous animals hatch their eggs, and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period. Especially in domestic fowl, the act of...
lasts from 21–25 days, usually performed by the female and rarely by the male. The chicks are precocial
Precocial
In biology, the term precocial refers to species in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. The opposite developmental strategy is called "altricial," where the young are born or hatched helpless. Extremely precocial species may be called...
, leaving the nest
Bird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
with their parents within hours of hatching.
Status and conservation
It is not considered threatened by the IUCN, being plentiful across a wide rangeRange (biology)
In biology, the range or distribution of a species is the geographical area within which that species can be found. Within that range, dispersion is variation in local density.The term is often qualified:...
. However, its success is tied to sufficient habitat, which expands in cooler and more arid
Arid
A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...
climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
. Subfossil
Subfossil
Subfossil refers to remains whose fossilization process is not complete, either for lack of time or because the conditions in which they were buried were not optimal for fossilization....
remains have been found, for example at Rocky Arroyo in the Guadalupe Mountains
Guadalupe Mountains
The Guadalupe Mountains are a mountain range located in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The range includes the highest summit in Texas, Guadalupe Peak, , and the "signature peak" of West Texas, El Capitan, both located within Guadalupe Mountains National Park, as well as Carlsbad Caverns...
and Shelter Cave
Shelter Cave
Shelter Cave is an archaeological and paleontological site located in Doña Ana County, New Mexico.-Description:The site is a rock shelter well up on the western side of Bishop's Cap, an outlier of the Organ Mountains. It lies about 450 ft below the summit according to Brattstrom ; this would...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, where today not enough habitat exists anymore. The bones date found from the end of the last ice age to not much more than 8000 BC.
External links
- Mountain Quail videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Mountain Quail photo gallery
- Quail Home Page