Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Q is for Quail

My theme for the A to Z challenge: Desert Canyon Living

California Quail is our state bird and with ravens the most common larger bird in the canyon. 


In spring, I see them in couples as I did when I took this photo. They walk around in pairs, never far from cover.


Those of you who read my post about hiking may remember my remark that my husband always seems to walk ahead; well the quail rooster does the same.

When their eggs hatch their family size increases from two to up to 25. Later in summer they join up with other families and form large groups, called coveys. That's when they sometimes cover our lawn, making it look like a cobblestone square in some old European city. 


In summer they often gather outside our bedroom window in the early morning. There are so many little quail chicks with their moms and dads hovering around, making sure they are OK.


This large rock in our yard frequently serves as a post for the sentry bird, a rooster that jumps up there to keep watch while the other birds forage. 


Like all little ones, baby quail love to play in the dirt. It gets muddy after I water the lawn and they burrow in the mud, about 10 at a time in a tiny space; they roll over, stretch their wings out, and have so much fun getting dirty. 


This picture is dark, but you can see a parade of quail 
marching right by the rabbit. 

One morning a few years ago, the resident road runner showed up. As soon as she came too close, the quail roosters and hens immediately formed a circle around the chicks. A few grownup quail moved toward the road runner and she stepped away. This was repeated several times until the road runner finally just walked away, slowly and nonchalantly as if she really couldn't care less. I have no photos of this interaction; it was very interesting to watch and I didn't want to miss anything, running for my camera.


The quail live in the juniper trees and that's where they take cover when faced with danger. Sometimes, if they don't feel too threatened, they just take off in a speedy walk that is the cutest sight. Their little round bodies aren't made for distance flight, but they can always make it to the nearest juniper to hide. If in real danger, they take off in flight suddenly and in different directions. There's an explosion of wings that makes a huge noise, designed to confuse predators. 

The California Quail chirp contentedly when all is right in their world. It's such an adorable sound and listening to it tends to make everything fine in my world too. They make their more familiar sound, "ca-CA-cow" or "come-HERE-now," when they gather their families. They get really loud and insistent with this call when some of their young ones straggle behind and don't come fast enough to please the grownups.  They are great birds, lots of fun to watch, and wonderful to wake up to on a summer morning.








28 comments:

  1. Good post to be able to catch a photo of them. I know they're fast little things.

    ReplyDelete
  2. these birds are so beautiful to me - i've only seen pictures, never in person. love that you get to enjoy whole families of them!

    ReplyDelete
  3. A wonderful set with beautiful frames, lovely and crisp colors.

    ReplyDelete
  4. How charming! I think you are so fortunate to have resident quail families! I would love that!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love watching quail. We have a lot of them up here although they don't come onto the property. We see them when we are riding on our local trails.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I used to love to see these sweet CA quail when I lived there. We don't have them here and I do miss them and all the other wildlife I used to see there was so much in the foothills where I lived.

    ReplyDelete
  7. We also have quails on our farm,I get a wonderful feeling of contentment as well when I hear them happily going about whatever they do!

    ReplyDelete
  8. what a fun little brood! so sweet to hear how both sexes tend to the little ones.

    ReplyDelete
  9. They're beautiful. Love how they cross the road in a parade;))

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great blog--interesting story & wonderful pictures! See, I told you you were a photographer!!----Fran

    ReplyDelete
  11. We have quail here as well. I think they're a different variety though We love seeing the babies, very cool. Man, they're fast!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Quails seem like the happiest of birds. I didn't know much about them, actually, and enjoyed getting to know them and thank you. I think it would be nice to wake up to them in the morning.

    ReplyDelete
  13. My Mom always kept a large water saucer out for the Quail in Arizona. She loved to see them come across for a drink every morning... but was sad to see the number of chicks get smaller as they fell prey to other animals. We have lots of them up on our 80 acres too but you rarely see them...just hear them in the bushes... thanks for reminding me of them!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Nice shots and description of a favorite bird of mine.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I have lots of quail in my yard and I just love watching them. Their behavior cracks me up sometimes.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Nice pictures! I loved learning about quails-something I knew very little about. A family of 25??? Oh my goodness. I'm glad I'm not a quail. lol.

    ReplyDelete
  17. They sound fascinating! It must be so much fun to watch them. And I had no idea their families were so big!

    ReplyDelete
  18. great post.. i learned something too...we have them march around here too...didn't know they can have so many babies.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Inger,
    they are just too cute!...I learned something today and enjoyed it very much!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Your photos are terrific. I like the one where a rabbit is getting along with quails and also the one where the birds are in a line. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I have never seen the western quail with the little top feather. Our quail in the east don't have it.
    You always teach me something new! I knew that a group of quail was called a 'covey', but I didn't realize that families got together to form the group. I just thought it was one family. How neat that the quail will circle to protect the young.
    Many years ago a hunter neighbor of mine brought home an injured quail. He named it 'Dan Quayle' after the Vice President. But, Dan surprised them...he, er, she, laid an egg!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Great blog for the Q letter! I have never seen quail in the wild so it was very interesting to hear how they protect their young.

    ReplyDelete
  23. We have smaller quail here, but I really think yours are much more beautiful and interesting than ours!

    By the way, I'm loving your A-Z challenge!

    ReplyDelete
  24. They remind a little of our guineas. So much chatter. I would love to see them person. Great photos, Inger. :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. I had know idea they had such large families! I love the shot of them "marching" in a row :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Great post and lovely pictures! I learned a lot about quail. That's incredible that they have families of 25! Wow.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Aren't they fun!!!
    when I was little I called them Umbrella birds, because of their topknots.

    well I admit, I still call them Umbrella Birds

    they say "chi-CA-go" here.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Your quail look a bit different from mine but they seem to behave the same. They are my favorite birds. Wish we had more of them where I am.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for leaving a comment.. ~~ Inger

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails