Friday, February 18, 2011

Back to Ground Birds

The Scaled Quail is a resident of Central Mexico, Southeastern Arizona, New Mexico, West Texas, and north into Colorado, Kansas, and Western Oklahoma. They typically are found in arid, brushy grasslands. Although not quite as colorful as their cousins the California Quail and Gambel's Quail, they are intricately scaled -- hence the name. The female lays 9 to 16 speckled eggs. When in danger they prefer to run rather than fly, so they are sometimes taken by coyotes, foxes, and bobcats. They are most often taken by Harrier and Red Tail Hawks. The photos below were taken near Willcox, Arizona (Lake Cochise area):






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