The Gambel's Quail (Lophortyx gambeli) 

 By Sylvester D. Judd 



Length ; Ten inches. 



Range: Desert region of southern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, 

 and southwestern Utah, east to the southwestern corner of Colorado ; also in 

 southwestern New Mexico to the Rio (irande \'alley and the El Paso region of 

 extreme western Texas, and s(jutli into the northeastern corner of Lower Cali- 

 fornia and to Guaymas, Sonora. 



Though ditifcring markedly in coloration from the \alley qnail of the Pacific 

 coast, Gambel's (|uail so closely resembles that bird in size and general habits that 

 in my mind the two are inseparable. That the quail themselves are sometimes 

 misled by the likeness would appear from the fact that the two readily hybridize, 

 and I have seen a number of the hybrids from southeastern California. This ([uail 

 prefers canon bottoms and rocky hillsides for hunting grounds, and the speed with 

 which the individuals of a frightened covey can make good their escape among 

 rocks and bushes is surprising. Gambel's quail trusts for safety first to its legs 

 and only secondly to its wings, while it is rare indeed that it resorts to Bob- 

 white's favorite ruse of close hiding. Ordinarily in fall it associates in large bands 

 — they can scarcely be called coveys, since they are the aggregate of many coveys — 

 and under these circumstances the pot hunter who cannot slay his scores must 

 indeed be a bungler. Gambel's quail is no stranger in vineyard and garden, 

 although for the most part it frequents scantily inhabited districts. In one respect 

 both Gambel's and the California valley quail have greatly the advantage over 

 Bob-white since, if these two western species ever roosted on the ground, they 

 long ago abandoned the habit in favor of trees an<l thick undergrowth, where they 

 are safe from most prowlers of the darkness. 



The Gambel quail in general appearance is much like the valley (piail. but. 

 among other diiiferences, lacks the scalelike feathers of the lower parts and has 

 considerable chestnut along the flanks. It lives in the Lower Sonoran zone, from 

 western Texas to southeastern California and from southern Utah and Nevada 

 south through central Sonora, Mexico. The desert is its home, but it is rarely 

 found far from water. Its favorite haunts are patches of bushy vegetation, 

 such as mesquite. mimosa, creosote, and patches of prickly pear. It frequently 

 takes uj) its aliode about culti\ated land, living in alfalfa tields or nesting in 

 vineyards. 



.\n interesting account of the haliits of the ( ianibel (|uail in the Paiirunip 

 A'alley, Nevada, is given by E. W. Nelson: 



"I noticed that when a flock of quail came to feed on grain left by the horses 

 an old male usually mounted the top of a tall bush close by and remained on 

 guard for ten or lifteen minutes; then, if everything was quiet, he would tl\ 

 down among his companions. At the first alarm the flock would take to the 

 bushes, running swiftly, or flying when hard pressed. They roosted in the 

 dense bunches of willows and cottonwoods growing along the ditches. * * '■'" 

 When feeding thev have a series of low clucking and cooing notes which arc- 

 kept up almost continually." 3ig 



