has been documented on both sides.
West Side. Fairly common spring and fall migrants and winter visitors, mostly in the foothills; rare individuals observed in large lakes as high as the Subalpine zone; nesting confirmed at Isabella Lake and possibly Lake Almanor; a family group was seen at 9,100 feet elevation at Upper Chain Lakes in Yosemite National Park.
East Side. Common to abundant in winter, fall, and spring, sometimes the most common ducks on large lakes and reservoirs; nesting confirmed in Sierra Valley, Tahoe Basin, Mono Basin, and Bridgeport Reservoir.
QUAIL
Family Odontophoridae
New World quail are medium-sized birds only distantly related to the quail of the Old World, but both are named “quail” for their similar appearance and habits. The Western Hemisphere species are in their own family and range from the cold, high deserts of Canada to the rainforests of southern Brazil. Members of this family generally have relatively short wings and tails, and short, powerful legs. While capable of short bursts of fast flight, especially when pursued or disturbed, they mostly travel on foot. Female quail usually lay large clutches of 10 to 20 buffy-white or brownish eggs and incubate them alone for 20 to 25 days. The precocial young can run after hatching and fly in about two weeks. This family includes 32 species but only 2, California and Mountain Quail, occur in the Sierra. The family name is derived from Gr. odontophoros, tooth bearing—a possible reference to the sharp toothlike beaks of juveniles.
Mountain Quail
Oreortyx pictus
ORIGIN OF NAMES “Mountain” for the species’ preferred habitat; quail, OF. quaille, possibly from the croaking or quacking sounds of a European species; L. ortyx, a quail; pictus from L. picta, painted, for the species’ bright colors.
NATURAL HISTORY Mountain Quail are the largest members of their family north of the tropics. Unlike other New World quail, males and females are nearly identical, with the latter having slightly shorter head plumes. These large, handsome quail are easy to miss but may be detected from April through early June by the loud, mellow wook or crow calls uttered by the males only. These ventriloquial calls are difficult to locate and at a distance might be mistaken for the single whistled notes of Northern Pygmy-Owls. These secretive birds seldom fly but instead run to dense cover when disturbed. The young are less cautious and may sometimes be seen at close range as their parents call anxiously, or even feign injury to distract human and other predators. Unlike California Quail, they rarely perch in trees, although scattered trees are usually present in their habitats.
Courting males often strut on the ground or on fallen logs to attract the attention of prospective mates. Females hide their nests in well-concealed hollows on the ground. Both parents care for the young after they hatch in late June or early July. Family groups remain together through the winter and are often joined by nonbreeding adults. Unlike California Quail, they do not typically band together with other families and winter coveys average 5 to 10 individuals.
A striking feature of the Mountain Quail’s annual cycle is the attitudinal migration in spring and fall, sometimes covering over 20 miles each way over a period of days or weeks, nearly all of it on foot. During migration, coveys may traverse atypical habitats such as dense coniferous forests and open, rocky areas. They winter below the heavy snow line down to the foothill chaparral, where some coveys live side-by-side with California Quail. When the heavy snow begins to melt in spring, Mountain Quail move upslope again.
Mountain Quail’s feeding habits are much like those of California Quail, suggesting that competition between these two species may have contributed to their altitudinal segregation while breeding. Foods of both species consist mostly of plant materials such as berries, seeds, flowers of perennial plants, along with a few insects—especially grasshoppers and ants.
STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION Mountain Quail visit foothill chaparral in fall and winter, but they mainly breed at higher elevations. Mountain chaparral and open forests with shrubby understories are preferred habitats, especially on steep slopes with dense thickets of manzanita, ceanothus, huckleberry oak, and other shrubs, interspersed with rocks or grassy openings.
West Side. Fairly common breeders from the Lower Conifer zone up nearly to tree line; in winter, most individuals descend below about 4,000 feet to foothill chaparral habitats to avoid heavy snow.
East Side. Uncommon residents of scrub habitats and open conifer stands up to the Subalpine zone; localized breeders in open Desert zone habitats south of the South Fork Kern River Valley, especially in the vicinity of desert oases where water is available; relatively easy to find (and to see) near Butterbredt Spring from April well into May; uncommon winter visitors to sagebrush flats along the eastern flank of the Sierra and the western Great Basin.
TRENDS AND CONSERVATION STATUS While the range of the Mountain Quail has contracted from the east, leaving the species reduced or extirpated in parts of Idaho, eastern Oregon, and Nevada, California populations appear to be stable.
California Quail
Callipepla californica
ORIGIN OF NAMES “California,” the state where the species was first collected; callipepla, beautifully dressed, from Gr. kallos, beauty, and peplos, a robe; L. californica, of California.
NATURAL HISTORY This exquisitely plumaged quail is the “state bird” of California. California Quail were a favorite game bird of native Sierra tribes, who snared them along their runways; head plumes and other feathers were used to adorn clothes and head-dresses. Backroad travelers in the Sierra foothills sometimes startle large coveys of California Quail, sending them running for cover or erupting into whirring flight in all directions. Rarely found above the foothills, they take shelter in chaparral, open oak stands, and streamside thickets but mostly feed in grassy openings. They do not migrate and may spend their entire lives in areas of only about two square miles. During the long, dry summers, they seldom venture far from streams, springs, or seeps that supply their daily water. At night, quail roost in heavily foliaged trees but will use dense shrubbery if necessary.
In fall and winter, California Quail feed and roost in large coveys numbering from about 25 to 60 birds. They make a variety of clucks and calls for courtship, aggression, alarm, and maintaining contact. When separated visually, covey members utter a three-note assembly call, chi-ca-go, with the second note higher than the others. This call is given frequently in spring by pairs that are separated and by single birds seeking mates. Hollywood film-makers often use these sounds for background in almost any setting, including movies shot in Africa and Australia, hoping their viewers will not notice this gross biological error. Based on old episodes of Star Trek, they may be the most widespread birds in the galaxy!
Males and females form monogamous pairs in late winter, gradually leaving the covey in late April or early May to find nesting sites—later than most resident birds. At this time, older unmated males establish small “crowing territories” to attract unpaired females. Their cow calls, similar to the last note of the assembly call, are repeated several times per minute, usually from exposed perches in shrubs or trees. Each mated male defends his mate from other suitors but does not hold a nesting territory. Females construct nests by lining a small, well-hidden, ground depression with plant stems and grasses. Young hatch in early June and stay with both parents through their first winter. In late summer, two or more of these family groups band together, along with nonbreeding individuals, to form a covey once again.
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