Mountain Quail In Oak Run, Feeder Watch

Mountain Quail photo courtesy of Browninga5.com

Yesterday when I took my break from the computer to finish up the second day of my Feeder Watch count, I walked to the living room window to see how many birds were out in the yard before gathering up the essential bird counting tools.  What I saw sent me running to the kitchen to get my bins.

When I looked out the window, I saw a Northern Red-shafted Flicker pecking on the ground and several, rather large, what looked like Quail foraging in the yard.  But they were big, plump birds.  As I brought my bins up to my eyes to get a better look, sure enough they were Mountain Quail!I got very excited as this bird is a lifer for me.  I have heard Mountain Quail calling before but had never seen one of these uncommon, fairly illusive species.  And yet there they were, in all their glory, casually strutting around the yard.

California Quail are as common as sunshine in the Oak chaparral and mixed forest we have here in Northern California, but the Mountain Quail are much more secretive.  My guess is that they came down from higher elevations because of the heavy snows we’ve had recently.

This bird is 11″ to 12″ long and has coloring similar to the California Quail but a with much bolder look.  The throat is chestnut, rather than black, and outlined in white.  They have two long, straight plumes and their sides are chestnut with very bold, white bars.  This single feature immediately distinguishes them from the more common California Quail.

Mountain Quail are non-migratory and are found at altitudes up to 10,000 feet.  They also form coveys, as many quail do.  My covey of Mountain Quail counted 13 individuals!

I watched them from the living room until they wandered out of sight behind a row of trees.  I quickly grabbed my camera in the hope of snapping some photos but as I snuck out the back door and around the back of the trees, one of these super vigilant birds saw me.  He gave a silent signal to the rest of the covey and in a roar of wing beats, turning in to a silent glide, they disappeared into the brush once more.

I will be more vigilant myself now, knowing that I may have a covey of Mountain Quail nearby.  I will keep both my eyes and ears open for that distinctive call and gorgeous coloring.