IDENTIFYING AND CLASSIFYING GAME BIRDS

Learning Targets

I will describe the characteristics and types of quail

I will describe the characteristics and types of pheasant

I will describe the characteristics of chukar partridges

Terms

Plume – is a long feather located on the top of the head

Top Knot – another name for a plume

Describe the Characteristics and types of Quail There are many different types of

quail found in the wild. Bobwhite Quail California Quail Gambel’s Quail Masked Bobwhite Quail Mearns’ Quail Mountain Quail Scaled Quail

Bobwhite Quail

Colinus Virginianus The widest ranging of quail species Midwest, Southern, Eastern USA. But can also be

found in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and the foothills of the Rockies

Have Reddish Brown coloration with a short gray tail. The male has a white throat and white band above the eye extending down the neck.

The female is duller with her markings having more of a bluff color.

Neither sex has a plume The species’ call is a whistled “bob-bob-white”

Bob White Call

California Quail

Lophortyx Californicus Is the state bird of California Also known as the valley quail Prefers the mixed woodlands and grassy

valleys of California, Oregon, and Washington The male has a black throat and a face

bordered by white bands, and a white forhead The females are duller and lake head

markings Bothe sexes have a forward facing plume The species’ call is a whistled “chi-caa-go”

Gambel’s Quail

Lophortyx Gambelli It is sometimes referred to as the desert quail due to its

preferred habitat Found in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada,

New Mexico, Texas, and Utah Prefers to live in brush, frequently thickets of hackberry

and mesquite, and close to water It is similar in appearance to Californian Quail, although

the male has a prominent black patch on a cream white belly and a reddish head top

The female also has a cream white belly to help distinguish it from the Californian Quail

Both sexes have forward sloping plumes The call is also similar to that of the Californian Quail

Masked Bobwhite Quail

Colinus Virginanus Ridgwayi It is on the endangered species list The head is black, as if hooded by an

executioner’s mask. The breast feather of males are solid reddish-brown.

The females are colored like other races

It whistles Bobwhite during the breading season, forms roosting circles at night and eats seeds, insects and light greens.

Mearns’ Quail

Cyrtonyz Montezumae Also called Montezuma or Harlequin Quail Found in the southwest from Southern Arizona

to Texas and Mexico Prefers open woodland mountain slopes and

grassy slopes The male has a distinctive harqlequin marked

face pattern and a somewhat bug-eyed look with a slight crest, but often not erect, and heavy white spotting on the flanks

The female has a duller, brown face. Both sexes are short tailed

This bird’s call is a soft whistle similar to a screeching owl’s call

Mountain Quail

Oreortyx Pictus The largest of North American quails Its is found mostly in the pacific northwest in

California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington

Prefers higher elevations in brush, scrub oaks, and thickets

Tall, thin, slightly backward tilting head plume in both sexes

The male has a chestnut throat while the female is duller in coloration.

Its call is a whistled soft “whook”

Scaled Quail

Callipepla Squamata Often called a blue quail Prefers to escape on foot, and when flushed

it does not fly far Its range includes parts of Colorado, Kansas,

Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona Usually found in arid country with sparse

grassland Both sexes look similar with no plume,

instead they have a white topped crest extending from mid-head to rear of head

Group Activity

Get into two groups Group one, there are four different

types of non-plume quail that we have talked about in class. Try to find a method for figuring out which quail is which.

Group two, there are three different types of quail with plumes that we have talked about in class. Try to find a method for figuring out which quail is which.

Quiz

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Review

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1. Bobwhite

2. Masked Bobwhite

3. Mearn’s Quail

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4. Mountain Quail

5. Californian Quail

6. Gambel’s Quail

What’s Left?

What’s Left?

Scaled Quail

Describe the characteristics and types of pheasant Ringneck Pheasant Reeve Pheasant

Ringneck Pheasant

Phasianus Colchicus A relatively large bird with distinct color and

plumage The male has a long tail and a head with

distinct green, black, and read feathers with a white collar

Both sexes have brownish and somewhat mottled coloration on their bodies

Originally from China Prefer overgrown grassy fields, or corn

fields, near a creek bank

Reeve Pheasant

Sometimes called long-tailed pheasant Found in central China Although well known in Captivity, attempts

to introduce this pheasant into North America, Hawaii, England, and France have been unsuccessful

The males are known to grow tails up to 6 feet long

The crown, chin, and back of head is white with a black band covering the face, eyes and extending to the back of the head

Describe the characteristics of chukar partridges Red-legged partridge Commonly referred to as the

“chukar” Can best be identified by the black

band running across the forehead through the eyes, down the neck, and meeting between the white throat feathers and upper breast.

There are no obvious color differentiation between the sexes.

Classifying Game Birds

See if you can name the birds in these pictures without your notes.

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Names Review Answers Mountain Quail Ringneck Pheasant Gamble’s Quail Masked Bobwhite Mearn’s Quail Partridge (chukar) Reeve Pheasant Californian Quail Bobwhite Quail Scaled Quail

1. Mearn’s Quail2. Partridge (chukar)3. Ringneck Pheasant4. Gamble’s Quail5. Bobwhite Quail6. Californian Quail7. Reeve Pheasant8. Scaled Quail9. Mountain Quail10.Masked Bobwhite

The hunt

Dogs – used to speed up the hunting process, they help locate the game birds and then flush them out once found.

Gun – the instrument used to take down the bird.

Hunting

Summary

Be able to describe the characteristics and types of quail

Be able to describe the characteristics and types of pheasant

Be able to describe the characteristics of chukar partridges