The Mearns quail (Cyrtonyx montezumaemearnsi) in Southern Arizona

Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic)

Authors Bishop, Richard A.

Publisher The University of Arizona.

Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this materialis made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona.Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such aspublic display or performance) of protected items is prohibitedexcept with permission of the author.

Download date 15/06/2018 07:54:01

Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/551712

THE MEARNS QUAIL (CYRTONYX M ONTEZUM AE MEARNSI)

IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA

by

R ich a rd A . B ish op

A T h e s is Su bm itted to the F a c u lty of

W ILDLIFE M ANAGEM ENT

In P a r tia l F u lf illm e n t of the R eq u irem en ts F o r the D eg ree of

M ASTER O F SCIENCE

In the G raduate C o lleg e

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

1 9 6 4

STA TEM EN T BY AUTHOR

T h is th e s is h as b een su b m itted in p a r tia l fu lf illm en t o f r e ­q u irem en ts fo r an advan ced d e g r ee at The U n iv e r s ity of A r izo n a and i s d ep o sited in the U n iv e r s ity L ib ra ry to be m ad e a v a ila b le to b o r ­r o w e r s under r u le s of the L ib ra ry .

B r ie f quotations fro m th is th e s is a r e a llo w a b le w ithout s p e ­c ia l p e r m is s io n , p ro v id ed that a c cu ra te ack n ow led gm en t of so u r c e i s m ad e. R e q u e sts for p e r m is s io n for exten d ed quotation fro m or r e ­prod u ction of th is m a n u scr ip t in w h ole or in p a rt m a y be gran ted by the head of the m ajor d ep artm en t or the D ean of the G raduate C o lle g e w hen in h is judgm ent the p ro p o sed u se of the m a te r ia l i s in the in t e r ­e s t s of s ch o la rsh ip . In a ll other in s ta n c e s , h o w ev er, p e r m is s io n m u st be obtained from the au th o r .

SIGNED:

A PP R O V A L BY THESIS DIRECTOR

T h is th e s is h as b een ap p roved on the date show n below :

t u p , f c .L . K. SOWLS

o c ia te P r o fe s s o r of Id life M anagem ent

G L jJ a - r / <r 4 f\ D ate J

T h is study w as fin a n ced by the A r izo n a C oo p era tiv e W ild life

R e se a r c h Unit, w hich i s c o o p e r a t iv e ly m ain ta in ed by the fo llo w in g

o rg a n iza tio n s: The U n iv e r s ity of A r izo n a , The A r izo n a G am e and

F is h D ep artm en t, The U. S. F is h and W ild life S e r v ic e , and The

W ild life M anagem ent In stitu te . A d d ition a l fin a n c ia l h e lp w a s g iven

d ir e c t ly by The A r izo n a G am e and F ish D ep artm en t, The U. S. F is h

and W ild life S e r v ic e , and T u cson W ild life U n lim ited S p o rtsm en 's

Group.

i i i

ACKNOW LEDGM ENTS

My s in c e r e s t a p p rec ia tio n i s ex ten d ed to D r. C. R oger

Hung e r f or d, A s s is ta n t U nit L ea d er , for h is v a lu a b le a s s is ta n c e in

the f ie ld and for h is su g g e st io n s o ffer ed throughout the study.

I w ish to e x p r e s s m y gratitu d e to J a m es and Seym our L evy ,

who in it ia te d the in t e r e s t and h e lp ed gain fin a n c ia l supp ort for th is

study, for th eir f ie ld a s s is ta n c e and con stan t h e lp throughout the

p r o jec t.

I am g ra te fu l to D r. L y le K. S ow ls, U nit L ea d er , for h is

a s s is ta n c e in th e s is p rep a ra tio n and for q u ellin g m any u n fo r ese en

p r o b le m s .

A p p rec ia tio n i s a ls o exten d ed to D r. W illiam J. M cC on nell

of the A r izo n a W ild life R e se a r c h Unit; D r. C h a r les W. M ason of the

Botany D ep artm en t for a s s is ta n c e w ith p lant id en tifica tio n ; A . L o rin

W ard of the U. S. F is h and W ild life S e r v ic e for c o n fir m a tiv e s e e d

id en tifica tio n ; D r. L y tle B lan k en sh ip , U. S. F is h and W ild life S e r v ice ;

p e r so n n e l of the F o r t H uachuca G am e M anagem ent D iv is io n ; M r. Joe

M itch e ll and fa m ily o f Sonoita; D r. and M rs. C arn es W eeks of

P atagon ia; and Gam e and F is h D ep artm en t p e r so n n e l.

W illiam J. B ig le r , T h om as J. M cM ich ael, D an ie l B r ic c o , and

L eon F a g e r a r e thanked for th eir h e lp during the c o u r se of the study.

iv

V

I w ould a ls o lik e to thank m y w ife , Judith, fo r h er contin uous

help throughout the p rep ara tion of the th e s is .

/

TA BLE O F CONTENTS

LIST O F IL L U ST R A T IO N S.........................................................................................v i i i

LIST O F T A B L E S ................................................. x

A B S T R A C T ............................. x i

IN T R O D U C T IO N ......................................................................................................... 1

THE STUDY A R E A .................................................................................................... 2

D e sc r ip tio n .................................................................................................... 2C lim a te ......................................................................................................... 3

CHARACTERISTICS, DISTRIBUTION A N D H A B IT A T ......................... 7

T axonom y and M orp hologyW e ig h t s ...................................D is t r ib u t io n ................................................................................................ 8H a b i t a t ......................................................................................................... 10

METHODS AND R E S U L T S ...................................................................................... 14

T rapping and M a rk in g ............................................................................ 15

NOTES ON BEHAVIOR . . . ................................... 18

A c tiv ity P e r i o d s ...................................................................................... 18R o o s t in g ..................................................................................... 18F l i g h t ............................................................................................................... 20V o i c e ......................................................................................................................21

FOODS TAKEN AT VARIOUS S E A S O N S ...............................................................23

F e e d i n g .................................................................................................................23S ea so n a l F o o d H a b i t s .................................................................................. 24W ater R e q u i r e m e n t s ...................................................................................26

P a g e

v i

00

-v]

VX1

TA BLE OF C O N T E N T S- - C ontinued

R EPR O D U C TIV E C Y C L E ..................................................................................... 33

P a i r in g ......................................................................................................... 33Gonad D evelop m en t. ........................................................................... 36C a l l i n g ..................................................................................... .... 37N e s t in g ......................................................................................................... 40C are of Young . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

LIMITING FACTORS . .......................................................................................... 49

P r e d a t io n .................................................. ....................................... .... . 49P op u lation F lu c tu a t io n s ..................................................................... 50W eather C on d ition s. ........................................................................... 51G razing E ffe c t ........................................................................................... 52

MOVEMENTS AND HOME RANGE ................................... .... 55

P O P U L A T IO N S .................... ..................................................................... .... . . 57

S ex and A ge R a tio s ................................................................................ 57C o v e y s .......................................................................................................... 59P opulation D e n s i t y ................................................................................. 61

P A R A S IT E S ......................................................................................................... .... . 67

M ANAGEM ENT ......................................................................................................... 68

Sex and A ge D e t e r m in a t io n ............................................................ 71C en su s M ethods and P op ulation E s t i m a t e s . ......................... 71

CONCLUSIONS . ........................................ ....................................................... 78

P a g e

R E FE R E N C E S CITED 80

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

1 U sin g the throw, net over the poin ting d o g .............................. 5

2 C anelo H ills Study A r e a ...................................................................... 5

3 B ox C anyon Study A r e a ...................................................................... 6

4 B ox C anyon Study A r e a ...................................................................... 6

5 D istr ib u tio n m ap of r e c e n t s i g h t i n g s ........................................ 11

6 Q uail hab itat in the Santa R ita M o u n t a in s .............................. 13

7 Q uail hab itat in th e C an elo H i l l s .................................................. 13

8 Dog poin tin g c o v ey of b ird s on the study a r e a .................... 17

9 A c tiv e n e s t found in the C an elo H i l l s ........................................ 17

10 D a ily a c t iv ity p e r i o d s ........................................................................... 19

11 Status of b ird s o b s e r v e d ................................................................. 34

12 O vary d e v e lo p m e n t ................................................................................ 38

13 T e s te s d e v e lo p m e n t................................................................................ 39

14 F req u en cy of c a llin g m a le s in r e la t io n to in cu b ationp e r io d ............................................................................... 41

15 P ea k in cu b ation and hatch in g p e r io d s in r e la t io n tosu m m er r a i n s .......................................................................................... 43

16 N e st w ith g r a s s fla p co n cea lin g the o p e n i n g ......................... 44

17 L ocation of n e s t found in C an elo H i l l s ........................................ 44

F ig u r e P a g e

v i i i

ix

LIST O F ILLU STR A TIO N S— C ontinued

F ig u r e P a g e

18 N e s t show ing egg s h e lls fro m w hich ch ick s ju ste m e r g e d .........................................................................................................45

19 P la n t and bulbs of the d e s ir e d O x a l i s ............................... ..... . 45

20 C ovey s iz e of b ird s in fa ll-w in te r and s p r in g ..................... 60

21 H u n ters, dogs, and b ird s a fter a s u c c e s s fu l hunt . . . . 72

22 A rea hunted in B ox C an y o n ....................................................... 72

23 A ging c h a r a c te r is t ic s o f g rea ter p r im a r y c o v e r ts . . . . 73

A ging c h a r a c te r is t ic s of g rea ter p r im a r y c o v e r ts . . . .24 73

LIST O F TA BLES

1 W eights of M earn s q u a i l ...................................................................... 9

2 W inter food s of M earn s q u a i l ........................................................... 28

3 Spring food s of M earn s quail ............................................................ 29

4 Sum m er food s of M earn s q u a i l ....................................................... 30

5 F a ll food s of M earns q u a i l ............................. 31

6 S ex and age of c o lle c te d b i r d s ...................................................... 58

7 B obw hite quail p o p u la t io n s ................................................................. 62

8 S ta t is t ic s of the C anelo H ills Study A r e a .................................... 63

9 S ta t is t ic s of the B ox C anyon Study A r e a ................................... 64

10 Data c o lle c te d at hunter ch eck in g s t a t i o n s ............................... 69

T able P a g e

x

ABSTR AC T

F ie ld in v e s t ig a tio n s w e r e c a r r ie d on from F eb ru a ry , 1963,

through M arch, 1964. The o b je c tiv e s w e re to gain m o re data on food

h a b its , rep rod u ction , s e x and a g e , lim itin g fa c to r s and c e n su s m eth o d s.

D ata w e re g a th ered by o b serv a tio n s on two study a r e a s and

s e v e r a l ch eck a r e a s . C o lle c t io n s and hunting p ro v id ed sp e c im e n s for

food h ab its and s e x and age data. A tape r e c o r d e r w a s u se d in an

attem p t to lo c a te and c en su s M earn s quail by u sin g r e c o r d e d fe m a le

quail c a l l s .

The b reed in g se a so n began w hen the b ird s p a ir e d off in la te

F eb ru a ry . H ow ever, no ch a n g es in the gonads w e r e o b se r v e d un til m id -

June. N estin g s ta r ted in la te June w ith the peak h atch o ccu rr in g from

A u gu st 1 through A ugu st 25. B rood s o b se r v e d during the fa ll and w in ­

ter a v e ra g e d 9» 3 b ird s p er b rood and sp r in g c o v ey s a v e ra g e d 6 b ir d s .

The s e x ra tio on ly s lig h tly fa v o r e d the m a le s and the young to

adult ra tio w as 3. 5 to 1.

M earn s quail a r e fa ir ly s p e c ia l iz e d in th eir fo o d h ab its due to

th eir in s t in c t iv e nature of scr a tc h in g for food . The m ain ite m s in the

M earn s quail d ie t a r e a c o r n s , bu lbs and tu b ers , v a r io u s s e e d s and

in s e c t s .

F ie ld o b se rv a tio n s in d ic a te d that o v erg ra z in g i s the m o s t

s e r io u s lim itin g fa c to r . In 1963 b ird s w ere found in n u m b ers up to

248 b ird s per sq u are m ile and p ro v id ed e x c e lle n t sh ootin g throughout

the hunting se a so n .

INTRODUCTION

The M ontezum ae quail (C yrtonyx m on tezu m ae m e a r n s i) , a

s p e c ie s about w hich l it t le i s known, in h ab its the oak g r a ss la n d zone

of m o s t sou th ern A r izo n a m ountain r a n g e s . F o o l qu ail a s th ey a r e

so m e tim e s c a lle d a r e b e lie v e d to be qu ite r a r e b eca u se th ey a r e s e l ­

dom o b se rv e d . Only two s tu d ie s h ave p r e ce d e d th is p r o je c t. L eop old

and M cC abe (1957) con d u cted a study on M ontezum ae quail in M exico

and W allm o (1954) of the A r izo n a G am e and F ish D ep artm en t w ro te a

sh o r t paper on th e ir n estin g in A r izo n a .

The la c k o f in fo rm a tio n on th e se b ird s and the d e s ir e by a few

in d iv id u a ls to hunt the s p e c ie s have long in d ica ted a n eed fo r a study of

M earns qu ail. H ence th is stud y w a s undertaken b e c a u se of d ir e c t

in te r e s t show n by the A r izo n a C o o p era tiv e W ild life Unit, A r izo n a

G am e and F ish D ep artm en t and a few lo c a l sp o r tsm en .

The m ain o b je c tiv e s w e r e to gather data on food h a b its , r e p r o ­

duction, p op u la tion s, g e n e ra l e co lo g y and the e f fe c ts of hunting on b ird

n u m b ers.

1

THE STUDY AREAS

D escr ip tio n

Two m ain study a r e a s w e re ch osen :

(I) The C anelo H ills Study A r ea i s lo c a te d about 50 m ile s

so u th ea st of T ucson and one m ile south of Sonoita in Santa C ruz County

at an e lev a tio n of 5, 000 fe e t . It i s 180 a c r e s in s iz e and i s lo c a te d in

gen tly r o llin g o a k -g r a s s la n d h il ls in a r e a l e s ta te d eve lop m en t a r ea .

The v eg e ta tio n i s c h a r a c te r iz e d by s e v e r a l s p e c ie s o f oaks

(Q u ercus spp. ), a llig a to r ju n iper (Ju n ip eru s depp ean a), bear g r a s s

(N olin a m ic r o c a r p a ), m im o sa (M im o sa d y so ca rp a ), cen tu ry plant

(A gave p a lm er i) , skunk bush (R hus tr ilo b a ta ), gram a g r a s s e s

(E outeloua spp. ), panicum (P an icu m spp. ), and can e b ea rd g r a s s

(A ndropogon b a rb in o d is). F ig u r e 2 sh ow s the topography and v e g e ­

tation of the a r e a .

(31) The B ox C anyon Study A r e a i s lo c a te d on the e a s t s id e

of the Santa R ita M ountains n ear the ju nction of the B ox C an yon -

G r e a te r v ille ro a d s in P im a C ounty. It c o n s is t s of 130 a c r e s of r o llin g

h il ls in the o a k -g r a s s la n d v e g e ta tio n type at 5, 200 fe e t e lev a tio n . The

topography i s broken m o r e in to s m a ll r id g e s , d raw s, and v a lle y s than

the C an elo H ills A r ea . F ig u r e s 3 and 4 show the v e g e ta tio n and to p o g ­

raphy of the a r ea .2

3

The a r e a i s c h a r a c te r iz e d by the sa m e type o f v e g e ta tio n a s

e x is t s in the C anelo H ills ex cep t that the v e g e ta tio n of the la tter a r e a

i s m o r e d en se . N u m erou s s p e c ie s of oak s, a llig a to r ju n ip er, b e a r -

g r a s s , skunk bush, m im o sa , fa ls e m e sq u ite (C allian d ra er io p h y lla ),

p eren n ia l gram a g r a s s e s , p a n icu m s, and can e b ea rd g r a s s co v er the

n o rth -fa c in g s lo p e s . S c ie n tif ic n a m es of p lan ts w e re taken fro m

K earn ey and P e e b le s (1951).

C lim ate

The c lim a te of the study a r e a s i s ty p ica l o f sou th ern A r izo n a

m ountain r a n g e s . Som e v a r ia tio n e x is t s b e c a u se of the d if fe r e n c e s in

e lev a tio n . G en era lly sp eak in g , i t i s c h a r a c te r iz e d by h igh te m p e r a ­

tu r e s , h igh evap oration r a te , low r e la t iv e hum idity , and low annual

r a in fa ll. P r e c ip ita t io n f a l l s m o s t ly during two ra in y p e r io d s w h ich

a ltern a te w ith w a r m -d r y p e r io d s .

The ra in y p e r io d fro m July to Sep tem b er i s c h a r a c te r iz e d by

sudden b r ie f th u n d ersto rm s w h ich bu ild up during m id -d a y and d i s s i ­

pate by su n se t. The r a in s u su a lly a r e o f h igh in te n s ity and sh o rt d u ra ­

tion and c a u se c o n s id e ra b le r u n -o ff . T h ese r a in s d evelop over the

m ou ntain s from m o is t tr o p ic a l a ir that c o m e s in to the s ta te fro m the

Gulf o f M ex ico . The other ra in y p e r io d o c cu rs fro m D ecem b er to

M arch w hen ra in fa l l s over a la r g e stea d y fron t at low in te n s ity w hich

often p e r s is t s fo r s e v e r a l d ays.

The w eath er data i s fro m the CaneLo R an ger S tation (S e lle r s ,

I960). A v era g e annual r a in fa ll w a s 18. 5 in ch es and 60 p e r c e n t of th is

f e l l in July, A ugu st and S ep tem b er. The lo w e st annual r a in fa ll w as

10. 89 in c h e s in 1924 and the h ig h es t annual r a in fa ll w a s 30. 92 in c h e s

r e c o r d e d in 1914. In 1963 su m m er m o is tu r e am ou nted to 1 2 .8 2 in c h e s

and f e l l from la te July to m id -S ep tem b er; 6. 21 in c h e s f e l l in July .

R a in fa ll during July, A u gu st and S ep tem b er for the p a s t four y e a r s

w a s a s fo llo w s: 1 9 6 0 - -8 . 92 in c h e s , 1961- - 1 1 .9 6 in c h e s , 1 9 6 2 --6 . 46

in c h e s , and 1 9 6 3 --1 2 . 82 in c h e s .

A v era g e m on th ly te m p e r a tu r e s v a r ie d fro m 33 d e g r e e s

F a h ren h eit in D ecem b er to 76 d e g r e e s F a h ren h e it in July. The lo w e st

tem p era tu re from 1910 to 1957 w a s m in u s 6 d e g r e e s in 1949 and the

r e c o r d h igh w as 105 d e g r e e s in 1953.

4

5

F ig u re 1. The throw net b ein g u sed in an attem pt to ca tch m o tio n ­le s s b ird s. (Photo by C. R. Hunger ford )

F ig u re 2. T yp ica l o a k -g r a s s land habitat in the C anelo H ills Study A rea . (P hoto by C. R. Hunger for d)

6

F ig u re 3. O ak-jun iper s id e h ill in the B ox Canyon Study A rea . (Photo by C. R. Hunger ford )

F ig u re 4. A fa v o red spot for M earns quail in the Box Canyon Study A rea . (P hoto by C. R. Hung e r f or d)

CHARACTERISTICS, DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT

T axonom y and M orphology

The H arlequin quail m o re co m m o n ly known a s the M earn s

quail, M ontezum ae quail, fo o l quail, or M essen a q u a il r a n g e s th rou gh ­

out sou th ern A rizon a , N ew M exico , p a r ts of T ex a s and n orth ern M exico

in su ita b le h a b ita ts .

T h ere a r e two oth er s u b - s p e c ie s of M earn s qu ail (C. m .

m o n tezu m a e) and (C. m . s a l le i) w h ich inhabit c e r ta in a r e a s in M ex ico .

L eop old and M cC abe (1957) d e sc r ib e d th e se s u b - s p e c ie s and th eir

ran ge in M exico a lon g w ith the O ce lla te d quail (C. o c e l la tu s ) w h ich i s

c lo s e ly r e la te d to the M earn s q u a il. S c ie n tif ic n a m es of b ird s w e re

taken from A m er ica n O rn ith o lo g is ts U nion (1957).

M iller (1943) d e sc r ib e d the M earns q u a il's body c h a r a c t e r is ­

t ic s , p h y s ic a l ad ap tation s, and bone m e a su r em e n ts a s fo llo w s: A

p o w erfu lly a rch ed back, la r g e e y e s , stron g le g s w ith lo n g -c la w e d to e s ,

and an a lm o st t a i l l e s s rum p . T he h u m eru s i s long but s le n d e r , p e lv is

i s n arrow , the iliu m i s exten d ed far backw ards and the fr e e v e r te b r a e

of the ta il a r e m a rk ed ly red u ced . The h u m eru s i s lon ger and m o re

s len d er than in the C a lifo rn ia quail (L ophortyx c a lifo r n ic u s ) . The p e l­

v is form (narrow ) ten d s to m ak e room for a p ow erfu l m u sc le group

w hich s e r v e s the b ird in d igging and e x p lo s iv e r i s e from the ground.

7

In h is p ap er, M ille r p r e se n ts other data on bone m e a su r e m e n ts and

c h a r a c te r is t ic s of th is qu ail.

W eights

W eights w e r e ob ta in ed on 70 b ird s w h ich had been, c o lle c te d

or sh ot by h u n ters. T able 1 g iv e s th e se w e ig h ts a long w ith w e ig h ts

g iv en by L eop old and M cC abe (1957). The b ird s w e ig h ed during the

sp rin g and su m m er w e r e fu lly develop ed , but w e ig h ts ch an ged w ith

the app roach of the b reed in g se a so n . F e m a le s ga in ed w eigh t and the

m a le s lo s t s lig h tly .

The b ird s c o lle c te d during the fa ll and w in ter a v e r a g e d l e s s

b eca u se o f th e high num ber of young b ird s w hich w e r e o f d ifferen t age

grou p s. S e v e ra l w e ig h ts w e r e not in c lu d ed b e c a u se the b ird s w e r e

le s s than th re e -fo u r th s grow n.

M a les o u t-w eig h ed f e m a le s and young d evelop in g m a le s w e r e

a s m u ch a s 25 g ra m s h ea v ier than f e m a le s of the sa m e b rood .

T h ree young quail w e ig h ed se v e n g r a m s each im m e d ia te ly

a fter h atch in g .

D istr ib u tio n

In A r izo n a the s u b - s p e c ie s (C. rm m e a r n s i) i s p r e se n t fro m

the M ogollon r im cou n try south in to M ex ico . T hey occupy, to a l im ite d

extent, p in e fo r e s t s , but m o s t co m m o n ly the o a k -g r a s s la n d zon e of

A rizo n a m ountain r a n g e s . The M ontezum ae q u a il have been r e p o r te d

8

9

T able 1. W eights of M earns Q uail.

_________________________________ T h is Study

Spring and Sum m er

No. of B ird s S ex A v era g e W eight M axim um M inim um

11 M ale 198 g m s. 212 g m s. 190 g m s .

17 F e m a le 188 g m s. 215 g m s. 162 g m s.

F a ll and W inter

No. of B ird s S ex A v era g e W eight M axim um M inim um

29 M ale 195 g m s. 225 g m s . 170 g m s.

13 F e m a le 177 g m s. 192 g m s. 160 g m s .

W eights o f A dult B ird s G iven by L eop o ld and M cC abe (1957)

N o. o f B ird s S ex A v e ra g e W eight M axim um

45 M ale 194. 9 g m s. 224. 5 g m s.

22 F e m a le 175. 7 g m s. 200. 0 g m s .

10

by A r izo n a G am e M anagers in v a r io u s p la c e s fro m the W hite M ountains

south to the A r iz o n a -M e x ic o b o rd er . F ig u r e 5 in d ic a te s r e c e n t s ig h t

lo ca tio n s of M earn s quail in A r izo n a .

F o w le r (1903) s ta te s that th is b ird r a n g es fro m the n ational

boundary betw een A rizo n a and M exico , north to P r e s c o t t , e a s t to T a o s,

New M ex ico , and south to the e a ste r n lim it in the B an d era H ills north

of San A ntonio, T ex a s . L igon (1927) in h is a r t ic le on M earns quail

p r e se n ts a d istr ib u tio n m ap show ing th eir ra n g e in New M ex ico .

H abitat

The w ide v a r ie ty of h a b ita ts in w hich th is quail i s found s e e m s

to in d ica te that i t i s fa ir ly ad ap tab le . M earn s quail have b een o b se r v e d

from 4, 000 fe e t up to 9, 500 fe e t , but h ave b een found m o st com m on ly

in e lev a tio n s from 5, 000 to 6, 000 fe e t . I have o b se r v e d them in m e s -

quite g r a ss la n d a r e a s w h ich w e r e o ccu p ied by G am bel quail (L op h ortyx

g a m b e lii) and s c a le d quail (C a llip ep la squam ata), and w hich I w ould not

co n sid er good hab itat for the M ea rn s q u ail. H ow ever, th is a r e a

su p p orted an e x c e lle n t stan d o f g r a s s and fo r b s . I h ave o b se r v e d them

at the other e x tr em e at h igh er e le v a t io n s in the p in e zon e in th e Santa

R ita M ountains. T hey do not appear p len tifu l in e ith e r e x tr e m e ,, but

they a r e th ere in sm a ll n u m b ers. T hey a r e r ep o r ted to be p r e se n t a ll

the w ay from the d e se r t ed ge up to m ountain top s at 9, 500 fe e t .

11

UTAHCOCONINO• MOHAVE NAVAJO

f<yf Detent*

G onodoo WwJow to t l

Si M tSoeJi

Williwni

YAVAPAI

■ W inslow

Jerome0 UrnefKitv

Comp Vecdr0

YUMA

MARICOPA

GlendaleOX-o W

Uondale* loHeson’Buckeye Miami

Supenoi o V R * » o \

Sonora0 '

^Florence Hayd

Coolidje

GRAHAM

PINAL

PIMACO CH ISE#

ith Tucson]

r Tombstone jHuacSuca 0 Siena Vista

I '. is b e e ^ #

W oven0

F ig u re 5. R ecen t sigh t r e c o r d s of M earns quail in A rizon a .

12

L eop o ld and M cC abe (1957) found the M earn s quail to be quite

p len tifu l in the p in e -o a k zon e in M exico and th ey r ep o r ted fin d in g b ird s

in lo g g ed -o v er a r e a s , se c o n d grow th shrub, and even on c le a r e d and

cu ltiv a ted land w h ere a few fe n c e r o w s, g u ll ie s , and r o a d s id e s r em a in e d

undisturbed . T hey b e lie v e d that the underground fo o d s a r e the k ey

i te m s in th eir d iet and w ith th e se , the quail can to le r a te a w id e ra n g e

of co v er co n d itio n s.

In A r izo n a the M earn s quail i s m o s t co m m o n ly found in the

oak -ju n ip er zon e. T his a r e a has l e s s s e v e r e w in ter con d ition s than

h igh er e lev a tio n s and m o r e ground c o v e r than the low er e le v a t io n s . In

y e a r s of good r a in fa ll, n u m erou s s e e d -b e a r in g fo r b s , g r a s s e s , s e d g e s ,

and oth er tuber and b u lb -b ea r in g p lan ts a r e p rod u ced . T h is v e g e ta tio n

su p p lie s adequate n estin g c o v er a s w e ll a s p ro tec tio n , and a la r g e fo o d

supply. W ith e lev a tio n a l and to p o g ra p h ica l ch a n g es th e r e i s found a

v e g e ta tio n a l change, but a s lon g a s the e s s e n t ia l ite m s a r e p r e se n t , so

a re the q u a il. In 1963, w hen the v e g e ta tio n a l co n d ition s w e r e good,

M earns qu ail w e r e found in abundance both in rou gh can yon s and in low

r o llin g h i l l s . F ig u r e s 6 and 7 show top ograp h ica l and v e g e ta tio n a l

d iffe re n c e s w h ere qu ail w e r e found in good n u m b ers.

13

F ig u re 7. L arge v a lle y in the C anelo H ills show ing type of v e g e ta tion in h ab ited by quail.

METHODS AND R ESU LTS

The m o s t e ffe c t iv e w ay to lo c a te b ird s w a s by the u se of a

b ird dog. D uring th is stud y a B rittan y S p an ie l w a s u sed . W ithout

her it w ould not h ave b een p o s s ib le to gath er the data h e r e p r e se n te d .

O b serv a tio n s on the study a r e a s w e r e m ad e by w orking the

dog over the e n tir e a r e a a s e ff ic ie n t ly a s p o s s ib le . The a r e a s u sed

by each p a ir w e re p lo tted on study a r e a m a p s. By r ep ea ted su r v e y s ,

the m in im um num ber of p a ir s w as d e term in ed . T h ese p a ir s w e r e

r ep ea ted ly f lu sh ed in the sa m e g e n e ra l a r e a s , although i t w a s not

p o s s ib le to f lu sh each p a ir on e v e r y su r v e y . On o c c a s io n s w hen the

p a ir s w e r e not found, f r e s h d ig g in g s w e r e found in the im m ed ia te a r e a

w h ich in d ica ted that the b ird s had b een ap p a ren tly o v er lo o k ed . W eather

co n d itio n s, e ff ic ie n c y of the dog, and the a c tiv ity o f the b ir d s s e e m e d

to d e term in e the s u c c e s s of th e s u r v e y s .

T h ese su r v ey s or o b se r v a tio n s w ere con tin u ed throughout the

su m m er and fa l l . A s n estin g p r o g r e s s e d u su a lly only s in g le m a le s

w e re flu sh ed . A t th is tim e the h en s w e re probab ly in cu b atin g . In

O ctober a fter the b roods had hatch ed , two good su r v e y s on each of

the two study a r e a s lo c a te d a l l e x p e c ted broods ex ce p t on e. The b roods

cou ld be d istin g u ish ed by th eir d if fe r e n c e s in a g e and num ber in the

b rood s. T h ese b rood s w e re lo c a te d w ith in the a r e a s p r e v io u s ly

14

15

a ss ig n e d to each p a ir . F rom the f ir s t part of O ctober until the hunting

sea so n in D ecem b er , th ese b roods w e r e o b se r v e d w eek ly to obtain in ­

fo rm ation on m o v em en ts and m o r ta lity .

T rapping and M arking

Stoddard tra p s w e r e u sed in h op es o f ca tch in g and m ark in g

b ird s for r e -o b s e r v a t io n . F iv e Stoddard tra p s w e r e s e t from June 18

to July 30 on the C anelo H ills Study A rea , but on ly one b ird w as c a p ­

tu red . T his m a le b ird w as k ille d by a haw k w h ile in the trap . T his

m ethod of trapping w a s term in a ted at the end of Ju ly . A hoop net, c o n ­

stru c ted of nylon netting on a w ooden hoop, and a w e ig h ted throw net

w ere tr ie d in the f ie ld . The net w a s throw n over the b ird s a s th ey r e ­

m ain ed "frozen" in fron t of the po in tin g dog a s show n in F ig u re 1. The

birds w ould u su a lly flu sh a s the n et sa ile d overh ead , but on two o c c a ­

s io n s they rem a in ed m o tio n le s s un til the net s e t t le d ov er th em , then

ran from under the net h e ld up by the ta ll g r a s s . M any t im e s it w as

im p o ss ib le to u se the n ets w hen b ird s w ere under b u sh es or tr e e s .

The only s u c c e s s fu l m eth od found to cap tu re b ird s w as to

p ick up young ch ick s by hand fro m broods p o in ted by th e dog. E igh teen

young b ird s w e re caught in th is m a n n er. F ifte e n of th e se w e r e taken

and r a is e d for pen o b se r v a tio n s . A brood f lu sh ed by the dog on O ctober

2 flew d ir e c t ly at m e and a chick; about a m onth o ld w a s batted down,

banded and r e le a s e d . Two other ch ick s , ea ch fro m a sep a ra te brood.

16

w ere banded on the B ox C anyon Study A rea w hen th ey w e r e but a few

days old. F ig u r e 8 sh ow s the dog poin tin g a brood on the B ox Canyon

Study A rea during the la s t of th e hunting se a so n .

17

F i g u r e 8. B r i t t a n y S p an ie l (on th e r i g h t ) p o in tin g a c o v e y of b i r d s on th e Box C anyon Study A r e a . (P h o to by S tev e G a l l iz io l i )

F i g u r e 9. A n e s t c o n ta in in g 14 eg g s w h ic h h a tc h e d on S e p te m b e r 24 . N ote the n e s t c o n s t r u c t i o n of w ov en g r a s s s t e m s .

NOTES ON BEHAVIOR

A c tiv ity P e r io d s

In the w a rm er s e a s o n s the b ird s began feed in g e a r lie r and

w e re m o r e a c tiv e in th e e a r ly and la te h ou rs of the day. D uring c o o le r

p er io d s th ey r em a in e d grou p ed for v a r ie d p e r io d s of tim e a fter d ay ­

ligh t, and did not b eco m e a c tiv e until 8:00 or 9 :00 A . M.

The g e n e ra l feed in g or a c t iv ity p a ttern tend ed to be one of

a c tiv e fe e d in g in the m orn in g and ev en in g . The tim e b etw een th e se

p e r io d s w a s sp en t r e s t in g , dusting, p reen in g and d igging for food .

F ig u re 10 show s th e ir r e la t iv e a c t iv ity p e r io d s during the four s e a s o n s .

D uring ra in y w eath er th ey r e m a in e d huddled togeth er m u ch o f

the tim e , but a t in te r v a ls th ey dug q u ite v ig o r o u s ly and sh ow ed sudden

b u rsts of en erg y by m o ck fig h tin g and sh o r t f lig h ts .

R o o stin g

M earn s quail r o o s t lik e m o s t ground r o o stin g q u ail, in a

c ir c le . T hey do not a lw a y s m ak e a neat c ir c le lik e bobw hite q u ail

(C olinu s v ir g in ia n u s) , but s o m e t im e s form a s e m ic ir c le w ith th e ir

ta i ls around a r o ck or c lum p o f g r a s s . The r o o s t in g s ite v a r ie s c o n ­

sid era b ly . I have found p la c e s w h ere th ey h ave r o o s te d in b o tto m s of

can yon s, on g r a s s y s id e h i l l s , on s te ep s id e s of s m a ll d raw s, in g r a s s y

18

P M .

7 6

5 4 3 2

I12

i 11■ 10

98

76

AM.

><ou.o

SPRING SUMMER FALL WINTER

SEASON OF THE YEAR

[ H FEEDING

| | RESTING a DUSTING

ROOSTING

F i g u r e 10. D a ily a c t i v i t y p e r io d s fo r the fo u r s e a s o n s .

20

sw a le s and on top of open g r a s s y M ils s e v e r a l hundred y a rd s fro m any

t r e e s . T hey see m to be n o n -s e le c t iv e in th e ir r o o s t s ite and a t t im e s

have r e tu rn ed to r o o s t in the sa m e sp o t for s e v e r a l n ig h ts .

F lig h t

M earn s quail h ave an e x p lo s iv e r i s e fro m the ground, but

th eir flig h t i s u su a lly qu ite sh o r t. T h eir red u c ed ta il g iv e s them lit t le

h elp in b reak in g th e ir sp e e d and th ey land qu ite abrup tly . T hey a r e

quite sk ille d f l i e r s for sh o r t d is ta n c e s , but th ey cannot su sta in long

r ep ea ted f l ig h ts . D uring N o v em b er , w M le c o lle c t in g , I caught a h a lf -

grow n b ird w hen h e fa i le d to f ly e f f ic ie n t ly the tM rd tim e he w a s f lu sh ed .

The d is ta n ce th ey f ly and th e ir b eh av ior w hen f lu sh ed d if fe r s

w ith the d eg ree of h a r a ssm e n t. B ir d s sh o t a t p r e v io u s ly a r e m o r e

w ary, f ly fa r th er and ten d to run m o r e . N o r m a lly the b ird s w e r e

f lu sh ed under 20 fe e t and d id not f ly fa r th er than 100 y a r d s . Q uail

often run a fter being f lu sh ed o n ce , and th ey a r e v e r y h ard to r e f lu sh .

T hey a r e c a lle d "fool quail" by so m e p eo p le b e c a u se th ey s i t

ex cep tio n a lly tigh t, but tM s h a s p ro v en to be one of th e ir b e s t p r o te c ­

tion d e v ic e s . TM s i s the r e a s o n w hy so few b ird s a r e o b se r v e d in the

f ie ld by p eo p le w ithout d o g s. TM s s e e m s to be a w e ll d ev e lo p ed in s t in c t

wM ch m a k es the hunting and o b se rv in g of th e se b ird s v e r y d ifficu lt .

A fter being flu sh ed , the b ird s w e re v e r y d iff ic u lt to f lu sh a

seco n d tim e . Young b ird s l e s s than th r e e -fo u r th s grow n a r e m u ch

21

harder to r e f lu sh than a d u lts . P o s s ib ly th is i s b eca u se o f th e ir la ck of

con fid en ce or en erg y . On s e v e r a l o c c a s io n s w hen I tr ie d to r e f lu sh

broods, only the ad u lts cou ld be flu sh ed even w hen young b ird s w e re

known to be p r e se n t.

V o ice

The M earn s quail h ave d ifferen t c a l ls fo r d ifferen t o c c a s io n s .

A h ig h -p itch ed ch eep in g c r y i s g iven by the b ird s w hen flu sh ed or

fr ig h ten ed . A nother c a ll freq u en tly h eard i s a m o a n in g -c r y in g sound

u ttered by adu lts w hen th e ir young a r e en d an gered . A lso , I h ave h ea rd

th is c a ll w hen p ick in g up c r ip p led or penn ed b ird s .

Som e au th ors r e fe r to c o n v e r sa tio n a l n o tes u ttered by th e se

b ird s w h ile feed in g , but I h ave not h ea rd su ch c a l ls ex cep t that low

ch irp in g am ong penned b ird s w a s h ea rd w h ile th ey du sted or grou p ed

in to c ir c le s .

The c a l ls m o st often h ea rd a r e the m ating c a l ls and the a s s e m ­

bly c a lls w hich have b een d e s c r ib e d by L eop old and M cC abe (1957).

T h is a s se m b ly c a ll i s a low q u aver in g w h is t le w h ich s lo w ly d escen d s

the s c a le . It h as a som ew h at h igh er p itch , but i s low er in v o lu m e .

T his i s g iven by c h ic k s on ly a few days o ld and a ls o by f e m a le s . I h ave

n ever h ea rd the m a le g iv e th is c a l l . A brood broken up during N o v e m ­

ber began g iv in g the c a l l about 40 m in u tes a fter th ey w e r e flu sh ed . It

has been d e sc r ib e d a s v e n tr ilo q u ia l and m y e x p e r ie n c e s bear th is out.

22

The c a lls I am m o st fa m ilia r w ith a r e th o se u ttered during the

b reed in g se a so n . T h ese c a l ls a re ap p aren tly u sed to a ttr a c t the m a te .

The fe m a le c a ll r e s e m b le s the a s se m b ly c a ll w h ich i s a s e r ie s of h ig h -

pitch ed , lo w -v o lu m e n o tes d escen d in g in s c a le . T h is can be h ea rd 150

yard s aw ay on a ca lm day. T his c a ll m o st c lo s e ly r e s e m b le s the c a ll

g iven by the canyon w ren (G ath erp es m e x ic a n u s ). The m a le c a ll i s the

h a rd est to d e sc r ib e and i s the m o r e v e n tr ilo q u ia l. It i s a d escen d in g

w h istle com b in ed w ith a buzz w hich r e s u lt s in a v e r y w eird , in ta n g ib le

c a ll . T h is c a ll can be h ea rd 200 y a rd s aw ay under good co n d itio n s . I

have h ea rd m a le s g iv in g th is c a ll w hen th eir m a tes w e r e incub atin g and

on ce 30 m in u tes a fter a c o v ey w as f lu sh e d during the hunting s e a so n .

In s e v e r a l in s ta n c e s I have c a lle d in m a le s during the b reed in g s e a s o n

by w h istlin g the fe m a le c a ll .

FOODS TAKEN A T VARIOUS SEASONS

F eed in g

M earns quail a r e h ig h ly s p e c ia l iz e d in th e ir feed in g b eh a v io r .

M ost of th eir feed in g in v o lv e s d igging for a v a r ie ty of b u lb s, tu b ers ,

and s e e d s . B ird s o b se r v e d w h ile feed in g , s c r a tc h e d w ith one foot and

then the o th er w ith freq u en t p a u se s to turn th e ir h ead and look in to the

h o le for s e e d s or other i t e m s . U su a lly the c o v e y fe d so c lo s e to g eth er

that th ey often tou ch ed one an oth er . E igh t p en n ed b ird s w e r e o b se r v e d

dusting and feed in g to g eth er in a c ir c le 14 in c h e s in d ia m eter . It

ap p ears that th ey fe e d co n tin u o u sly throughout the day. Only b ird s

that w e re c o lle c te d a fter 3:00 P . M. h ad a fu ll crop and m o s t b ird s

c o lle c te d during the m orn in g had l i t t le or nothing in th eir c r o p s .

T heir d igg in gs w e r e found a lon g s id e h i l l s , s m a ll d raw s,

along w ash b o ttom s, under t r e e s and b u sh es , and at the b a s e s of r o ck s

and g r a s s c lu m p s. W ood s o r r e l (O x a lis sp . ) grow s co m m o n ly in a r e a s

shaded by r o ck s and g r a s s c lu m p s and ap p aren tly the qu ail b eco m e

a ccu sto m ed to sea r c h in g in th ese p la c e s . The d ig g in g s v a r ie d in s iz e

and shape depending on the food ite m sought. D ig g in g s in se a r c h of

O xalis and other bulbs w e r e u su a lly c o n e -sh a p e d w ith one s id e of the

cone dug aw ay and w ith the bulb sh u ck s rem a in in g in th e h o le . A r e a s

sea r c h e d for food s near the su r fa c e w e r e u su a lly found in duff and

23

24

le a v es under b u sh es or tr e e s and w e r e the m o st n u m erou s s ig n s ob ­

se r v e d in sou th ern A r izo n a . T h e se d igg in gs w e r e fa n -sh a p e d and w e r e

scr a tc h e d out to about 1 /8 in ch below the ground su r fa c e . A r e a s

scr a tc h e d or dug up by th e s e b ird s o ften c o v e r e d s e v e r a l sq u are yard s

and so m e feed in g sp o ts r e s e m b le d a r e a s ro o te d up by the c o lla r e d

p e c ca r y (P e c a r i ta ja cu ). S c ie n tif ic n a m es of a n im a ls w e re taken fro m

M iller and K ellogg (1955).

S ea so n a l F ood H abits

A s sta ted by L eop old and M cC abe (1957), the M earns quail

r e ly on bulbs and tu b ers qu ite h e a v ily during c e r ta in t im e s of the y e a r .

I have found tu b ers and f le s h y bulbs being taken a t a ll s e a so n s , but

m o re a r e eaten in the sp rin g and su m m er w ith the ex cep tio n of O x a lis

w hich s e e m s to be taken in a ll s e a s o n s . F ig u r e 19 i s a ph otograph of

the p lant and bulbs of the d e s ir e d O x a lis .

T ab les 2, 3, 4 and 5 show , a cco rd in g to the s e a s o n s , the

ite m s found in 221 quail c r o p s . F o r ty - f iv e c ro p s taken fro m p rev io u s

y e a r s and ex a m in ed by w ild life un it p e r so n n e l w e r e added to m y sa m p le

of 176 cro p s taken during 1962 and 1963. O ver the e n tir e yea r the

data show that the m o st p ro m in en t food ite m s a r e a c o r n s , O x a lis bu lbs,

v a r io u s s e e d s , sed g e tu b ers , and in s e c t s .

C o n sid era b le am ou nts of B rod iaea sp . and M illa b if lo ra bulbs

w e re taken during the sp r in g and su m m er , but w e r e not found in the

cro p s an a lyzed , p erh ap s b e c a u se the sa m p le w a s too sm a ll . S e v e r a l

a r e a s exam in ed in la te A u gu st sh ow ed s ig n s w h ere L iterally hundreds

of th ese bulbs w e r e taken and a p p a ren tly the b ird s w e re liv in g a lm o s t

e x c lu s iv e ly on th is food . It i s not know n how th ey lo c a te th e se bulbs

b eca u se no a b o v e-g ro u n d p o r tio n s a r e p r e se n t .

D uring January, F e b r u a r y and M arch, the w in ter se a so n ,

M earns quail fe e d m a in ly on s e e d s , b u lb s, a c o rn s and in s e c t s .

D uring the sp r in g m onths o f A p r il, M ay and June, a change in

diet tow ard m o r e sed g e tu b e rs , g r ee n a c o r n s , in s e c t s , and u n id en tified

f le s h y tu b ers w as app arent fro m th e crop co n ten ts ex a m in ed . The la ck

of se e d s b eca u se o f the p r e v io u s ly dry y ea r of 1962 p rob ab ly a ccou n ted

for the p red om in an ce of th e se i t e m s .

B ird s c o lle c te d during th e su m m er m onths of July, A u gu st and

S ep tem b er w e re u su a lly feed in g on in s e c t s and g r ee n a c o r n s . P o s s ib ly

the lack of other so u r c e s of fo o d s fo r c e d them to ea t a c o r n s until the

su m m er ra in s brought fo r th new bu lbs and in s e c t s . I n s e c ts w e r e taken

r e g u la r ly and ap p ea red to be im p o rta n t food ite m s for both young and

ad u lts . W ood s o r r e l w a s tak en fre q u e n tly during A u gu st a fter the

su m m er r a in s p rod u ced an abundant supply. V ery few bu lbs w e r e

found in the c r o p s , but m o s t o f the brood s o b se r v e d had b een ea tin g

O x a lis .

D uring O ctob er , N o v em b er and D ece m b e r , w h ich m ak e up the

fa ll sea so n , n u m erou s s e e d s , sed g e tu b ers , a c o r n s and w ood s o r r e l

bulbs w e re taken . In 1962 a h igh freq u en cy o f p a r t ia lly d eca y ed a c o rn s

25

26

w ere o b se rv e d in the cro p s taken during D e ce m b e r . I b e lie v e th is w as

the r e s u lt of a good m a st cro p in conju nction w ith a poor s e e d crop

ca u sed by in su ff ic ie n t su m m er r a in fa ll . In the fa l l of 1963 an abundant

se e d supply w as p r e se n t fo llo w in g the e x c e lle n t su m m er r a in s and

la rg e am ounts of s e e d s and a few a c o r n s w e r e ea ten .

I b e lie v e th ey take what i s m o s t a v a ila b le and the m o st p r o m i­

nent ite m s show n in T ab le 5 a r e a ls o the m o s t abundant. F ood h a b its

change w ith y e a r ly s e e d and m a s t co n d ition s and a ls o w ith the v a r ia tio n

in hab itat due to th e in te n s ity of g r a z in g .

F ood ite m s m en tio n ed w e re k ey ed out by s e e d c o m p a r iso n w ith

the w ild life unit c o lle c t io n and v e r if ie d by A . L . W ard, U. S. F is h and

W ild life S e r v ic e B io lo g is t , a t the D enver F e d e r a l C en ter . To id en tify

c er ta in unknown bulbs and tu b ers , I m a rk ed the a r e a s in w h ich the b ird s

w e re c o lle c te d , then r e tu rn ed a fter the grow ing s e a s o n and c o lle c te d

plants w ith the r o o ts and bulbs a tta ch ed .

A m o re c o m p le te a n a ly s is of the sp r in g and su m m er fo o d s

w ould be d e s ir a b le , but qu ite d ifficu lt b e c a u se i t i s h ard to c o lle c t

b ird s during the b reed in g s e a s o n . F a l l and w in ter fo o d ite m s found in

the cro p s of 196 quail a r e l i s t e d in T a b les 2 and 5.

W ater R eq u irem en ts

L eop old and M cC abe (1957) and V o r h ie s (1928) s ta te that

M earns quail e x is t and rep ro d u ce w ithout f r e e w ater; h o w ev er , th ey

depend on th eir food for m o is tu r e . H un gerford (I960 ) r e p o r ts that

G am bel quail do not n eed fr e e w a ter , but obtain w ater fro m su ccu len t

p lan ts.

It ap p ea rs that qu ail can su r v iv e w ithout w ater and m an y

a r e a s in sou th ern A rizo n a o ccu p ied by M earn s q u a il a r e w ithout

w ater w ith the ex cep tio n of the su m m er ra in y s e a so n . No doubt th ey

obtain w ater from the f le s h y bu lb s, tu b e rs , and in s e c t s , but to what

exten t th eir rep ro d u ctio n depends on a v a ila b le m o is tu r e in the f r e e

sta te and in su c cu len ts i s not known.

I b e lie v e quail drink w ater w hen i t i s a v a ila b le . In fa c t, ju st

a fter a thunder show er in e a r ly A u gu st an adu lt m a le w as o b serv ed

drinking fro m a puddle a lon g the ed ge of the ro a d on th e B ox Canyon

Study A rea . Its m ate w as ea tin g s m a ll r e d an ts from an ant h il l 15

y a rd s aw ay. A lso a c o v e y of M earn s q u a il w a s f lu sh e d a t the ed ge o f

a m a r sh y pond, but i t w as im p o s s ib le to d e term in e i f th ey w e r e d r in k ­

ing or sea rch in g for food .

27

28

T able 2. I tem s found in 23 cro p s o f M earn s quail c o lle c te d duringJanuary, F eb ru a ry and M arch .

P e r c e n t P e r c e n tF ood Item s C om m on N am e P a r t E aten O ccu rren ce V olum e

O xalis sp . w ood s o r r e l bulb 6 9 .6 64. 3C yperus sp. sed g e se e d -tu b e r 2 1 .7 9. 3Juniperus sp. Juniper fr u it 8 .7 6 .4Q uercus sp. l iv e oak a c o rn s 13. 0 2. 0P iptochaetum d ro p seed s e e d 8. 7 2 .5

fim b riatu mE uphorbia dentata sp u rge s e e d 8. 7 T ra ceP h a seo lu s r it e n s is bean s e e d 1 3 .0 2. 0Panicum sp . pan ic g r a s s s e e d 3 0 .4 1. 5Ipom ea sp. m orn in g g lo r y s e e d 2 1 .7 T ra ceS eta r ia sp . b r is t le g r a s s s e e d 8. 7 T ra c eD iodia te r e s buttonw eed s e e d 8. 7 T ra c eM im osa d ysocarp a M im o sa s e e d 4 . 3 T ra ceOpuntia sp . ca c tu s s e e d 4 . 3 T ra ceD esm od iu m R o se i t ic k c lo v e r s e e d 1 7 .4 T ra c eA gave sp . cen tu ry p lan t s e e d 4 . 3 T ra ceUnknown g reen 4 .3 T ra ce

m a te r ia l - - — —Unknown se e d s - - — — 2 1 .7 2 .9In se c ts 4 3 .5 9. 8

O rthoptera g r a ssh o p p e r s 1 7 .4C o leop tera b e e t le s 1 7 .4H em ip tera tru e bugs 8 .7H om optera le a f h o p p ers 4 .3

29

T able 3. Item s found in 13 c ro p s o f M earns quail c o lle c te d duringA p r il, M ay and June.

P e r c e n t P e r c e n tF ood Item s C om m on N am e P a r t E aten O ccu rren ce V olum e

Q uercus sp . l iv e oak a c o rn s 69. 3 41 . 8C yperus sp. sed g e se e d -tu b e r 5 3 .9 19- 8O xalis sp . w ood s o r r e l bulb 30. 8 30. 7P anicum sp . p an ic g r a s s s e e d 7. 7 T ra c eSolanum sp . n igh tsh ad e tuber 23. 1 1. 7B rod iaea sp . l i ly bulb 7. 7 0. 2T ree buds — — — - 7. 7 0. 6Unknown se e d pods — - 7. 7 0. 2Unknown g reen

m a te r ia l - — — — 7. 7 0. 5In sec ts 6 1 .6 3. 8

O rthoptera g r a ssh o p p e r s 7. 7H ym enop tera ants 7. 7C o leo p tera b e e t le s 23. 1In sec t e g g s 7. 7

30

T able 4 . Item s found in 12 c ro p s of M earn s quail c o lle c te d duringJuly, A u gu st and S ep tem b er.

F ood Item C om m on N am e P a r t E atenP e r c e n t

O ccu rren ceP e r c e n tV olu m e

Q uercus sp. liv e oak a co rn 83. 3 36. 6C yperus sp . sed g e se e d -tu b e r 8. 3 T ra c eO xalis sp . w ood s o r r e l bulb 8. 3 T ra c eLupinus sp . lup ine s e e d 8. 3 13. 6Y ucca e la ta y u cca s e e d 8. 3 T ra ceUnknown se e d s — — — — 16. 7 T ra c eUnknown g reen

m a te r ia l — — — 8. 3 T ra c eIn se c ts 100. 0 49 . 7

O rthoptera g r a ssh o p p e rs 25. 0H ym enoptera ants 33. 3C o leop tera b e e t le s 83. 3A rach nida sp id e r s 8. 3

31

T able 5. Item s found in 173 c ro p s of M earn s quail c o lle c te d duringO ctob er, N ovem b er and D e ce m b e r .

F ood Item s C om m on N am e P a r t E a tenP e r c e n t

O ccu rren ceP e r c e n tV olu m e

Q uercus sp . l iv e oak a co rn 2 1 .4 16. 7O xa lis sp . w ood s o r r e l bulb 4 7 .4 33. 2C yperus sp . sed g e se e d -tu b e r 35. 8 18. 2E uphorbia dentata sp u rge s e e d 3 2 .4 8. 2P h a seo lu s r it e n s is bean s e e d 1 7 .9 2. 7P an icum sp . pan ic g r a s s s e e d 38. 1 1. 3C om m elin a

d ian th ifo lia dayflow er s e e d 2 1 .9 2. 7S e ta r ia sp . b r is t le g r a s s s e e d 20. 2 4 . 1K a lls tr o e m ia sp. ca ltro p s e e d 1 3 .9 1. 2Sorghum h a lep en se Johnson g r a s s s e e d 1 .2 0. 8P asp alu m sp . paspalu m s e e d 1. 7 0 .9C e ltis r e t ic u la ta h a ck b erry s e e d 2. 3 0 .4Ipom ea sp . m orn in g g lo r y s e e d 1 1 .0 0. 4Solanum sp. n igh tsh ad e se e d -tu b e r 1 .2 0. 5L otus sp . d ee rv e tc h s e e d 1 .2 0 .4D esm od iu m R o se i tick c lo v er s e e d 5. 2 0. 3P ip toch aetiu m

fim b ria tu m d ro p seed s e e d 2 .9 0. 3P h y sa lis sp . g ro u n d ch erry fr u it 5 . 8 0. 5T rich o stem a

a r izo n icu m b lu ec u r ls s e e d 2. 3 0. 2Juniperus sp . ju n iper fr u it 1. 7 T ra c eY ucca e la ta y u cca s e e d 1. 7 T ra ceD iodia te r e s buttonw eed s e e d 1 .7 . T ra c eF e r o ca c tu s

W is liz en i ca c tu s s e e d 0 .5 T ra ceP so r a le a ten u iflo ra scu rfp ea s e e d 0. 5 T ra c eLupinus sp. lup ine s e e d 1. 7 T ra c eC allian d ra er io p h y lla f a ls e m e sq u ite s e e d 3 .5 T ra c eC a ss ia W righ tii p a r tr id g e p ea s e e d 3. 5 T ra ceV ic ia sp. v e tc h s e e d 1 .7 T ra ceJacquernontia sp . Jacquem ontia s e e d 1 .2 T ra c eP o rtu la ca sp . p u rs la n e s e e d 5. 8 T ra c eM im osa d yso ca rp a m im o sa s e e d 1 .2 T ra c eG alactia W righ tii m ilk p ea s e e d 0. 5 T ra c eA gave sp . a g a v e s e e d 1. 7 T ra ceUnknown se e d s — — — — 6. 3 T ra ce

32

T able 5. (C ontinued)

P e r c e n t P e r c e n tF ood Item s C om m on N am e P a r t E aten O ccu rren ce V olu m e

Unknown g reenm a ter ia l — — — — 1 .2s e c ts 35. 8C o leop tera 16. 8

C u rcu lion id ae w e a v ilsT en eb rion id ae darkling b e e t le sC arabidae ground b e e t le sC o c c in e llid a e lad y b e e t le sC h ry so m elid a e le a f b e e t le sS carab a e id a e sc a r a b a e id s

O rthoptera 15. 0L o cu stid a e g r a ssh o p p e r sG ry llid ae c r ic k e tsT ettig o n iid a e katyd ids

H ym enoptera 1 .7F o r m ic id a e ants

H om optera 1. 7C ica d e llid a e le a f h o p p ers

H em ip tera tru e bugs 1 .2A rachnida sp id e r s 1 .2C hilopoda c e n tip e d e s 1 .2

T ra c e6. 8

R EPR O D U C TIV E CYCLE

Pairing

F o w ler (1903) r e p o r te d that b ird s w e r e p a ir e d by la te M arch

in the C a rm elita M ountains, A r izo n a , and W allm o (1954) found quail

p a ired as e a r ly a s A p r il 11 in 1950 in the H uachuca M ountains. In th e

Santa R ita M ountains quail w e r e o b se r v e d to be p a ir e d a s e a r ly a s

F eb ru a ry in 1963. N u m erou s p a ir s w e re o b se r v e d during M arch and

A pril; h ow ever, a c o v ey of s ix b ird s w as se e n d igging a long a r o a d s id e

on A p r il 25 in the C an elo H ills . It a p p ea rs that m o s t of the quail had

p a ired by la te M arch but a few fa m ily grou p s s t i l l r e m a in e d to g e th er .

On F eb ru a ry 26, b ird s of a c o v e y w e r e o b v io u sly p a ir e d and

the p a ir s w ere feed in g se p a r a te ly about 45 y a r d s ap a rt. A c o v ey s ig h ted

on F eb ru ary 21 c o n s is te d of 12 b ird s w h ich w e r e lo c a te d in the bottom

of a s te e p -s id e d canyon in the Santa R ita M ountains. One w eek la te r on

F eb ru a ry 28 only p a ir s cou ld be f lu sh e d fro m th is a r e a . T he o b se r v e d

seq u en ce of change fro m c o v e y s to p a ir s to b rood s i s show n in F ig u r e

11. T his graph show s the tim in g of th e se ch a n g es and co n seq u en tly

the p r o g r e s s of the b reed in g s e a s o n .

A lthough m o st b ird s p a ir e d off in la te F eb ru a ry and e a r ly

M arch, no ap p aren t change in gonad s iz e w as o b se r v e d u n til June 28.

33

34

PAIRS

SINGLE MALES

BROODS

O 35

u_ 30

LJ 25

Z 20

MONTHS OF THE YEAR

F i g u r e 11. The s t a t u s of b i r d s o b s e r v e d f r o m th e t i m e th a t c o v e y s b r o k e up un t i l the h u n t ing s e a s o n .

35

M any th e o r ie s h ave b een p ro p o sed on w hy n estin g i s d e layed ,

but g en era l opin ion am ong p r e v io u s w r ite r s s u g g e s ts that the n estin g

p er io d i s c lo s e ly c o r r e la te d w ith su m m er r a in s . T h is la te n e s s of the

b reed in g sea so n h as b een r e p o r te d by L eop o ld and M cC abe (1957),

Sw arth (1909), C am pb ell (1934), B ran t (1951), and W allm o (1954).

D uring the su m m er of 1963, the r a in s s ta r te d during la te July and c o n ­

tinued through A u gu st. T he co m in g of the g r ee n v e g e ta tio n la g g ed b e ­

hind the in it ia l r a in s by ten d ays. Abundant new p lant grow th a p p ea red

about A ugu st 3 in the Santa R ita M ountains and C an elo H ills a r e a s and

the f ir s t r ec o r d e d brood h a tch ed about A u g u st 1.

It h as been su g g e s te d by D r. C. R . H un gerford that the in s e c t s

hatch ing a fter the r a in s began w ould su p p ly th e quail w ith V itam in A

w hich has been found to be lin k ed w ith the d ev e lo p m en t o f the gonads

and rep rod u ction . A nother th eo ry i s that the su m m er r a in s ad van ce

prod u ction of g r ee n p lan ts w h ich su p p lie s n eed ed co v er for n e s tin g .

H ow ever, in 1963 a few young b ird s w e re hatch in g and in m o st c a s e s

the fe m a le s w e re lay in g a t the t im e su m m er r a in s b egan . It i s ra th er

doubtful that the b ird s w a it un til new grow th b e c o m e s abundant for n e s t

co n cea lm en t u n le ss the a r e a i s in su ch a denuded s ta te that no n e s tin g

co ver of any type i s a v a ila b le .

A fe m a le c o lle c te d on th is date had a f o l l ic le 12 m m a c r o s s and w as

rap id ly app roachin g lay in g con d ition .

36

T his data s tr o n g ly su g g e s ts an in ter -r e la t io n sh ip b etw een n e s t ­

in g of M earn s quail and su m m er ra in s; h ow ever the ex a ct c o r r e la t io n

i s not known. T h is stud y d e fin ite ly sh ow ed that the m a jo r ity of the

young w e re p rod u ced ju st a fter su m m er r a in s began .

Gonad D evelop m en t

M ale b ird s in b reed in g con d ition w e r e c o lle c te d a s e a r ly a s

June 15. A m a le c o lle c te d on th is date had t e s t e s that m e a su r e d 8 x 3

m m . for the le ft t e s t is and 6 x 2 m m . for the r ig h t. N ine m a le s c o l ­

le c te d from June 25 to A u gu st 8 sh ow ed no g r ea ter t e s t e s d eve lop m en t

than did the one c o lle c te d on June 15. T h ere fo re it i s b e lie v e d that

m a le s w e re in b reed in g con d ition w hen the le ft t e s t i s m e a su r e d no

m o r e than 8 x 3 m m .

L ew in (1936) found that the le ft t e s t i s of m a le C a lifo rn ia V a lle y

quail co n ta in ed l iv e sp erm w hen i t m e a su r e d 8 m m . in len gth . He a ls o

n oted that the t e s t e s con tin u ed to d eve lop un til th ey r ea c h e d an a v e ra g e

m axim um len gth of 15 m m ., then im m e d ia te ly s ta r te d to r e g r e s s .

L ive sp erm w e r e p r e se n t u n til the t e s t e s r e g r e s s e d back to 8 m m .

T h is ap p ea rs to be c lo s e ly p a r a lle le d by M earns q u ail. H ow ever, b e ­

c a u se of the d ifficu lty of c o lle c t in g m a le s during the b rood se a so n , no

sp e c im e n s w e r e c o lle c te d to v e r ify a con tin u ed grow th and r e g r e s s io n

a s L ew in found in C a lifo rn ia V a lle y qu ail. In M earn s quail a s in the

C a lifo rn ia V a lle y qu ail, the r ig h t t e s t is did not d eve lop to the ex ten t of

the le ft t e s t i s .

37

The f ir s t fe m a le n ea r in g b reed in g con d ition w a s c o lle c te d on

June 28. T his b ird w as 48 to 72 hou rs aw ay from lay in g her f ir s t egg .

F iv e fe m a le s w e re c o lle c te d in July and a ll of th e s e b ird s w e r e in

b reed in g condition and a l l but one con ta in ed ov u la ted f o l l i c le s . No

doubt a few hens w e r e lay in g p r io r to June 28, but none w e r e c o lle c te d

in th is cond ition to su b sta n tia te th is . B rood s b a ck -d a ted by w ing m olt

data show ed a few h en s lay in g by June 22.

F ig u r e s 12 and 13 show the ch ro n o logy of b reed in g a s in d ica ted

by the condition of th e gonads o f c o lle c te d b ir d s . The len gth of the le ft

t e s t is in m a le s and the con d ition of the o v a r ie s in the fe m a le s a r e

p lo tted by m onth c o lle c te d in o rd er to show the d e g r ee o f o v a ry and

t e s t is d eve lop m en t a s th e s e a s o n p r o g r e s s e d .

C allin g

' U hm ated m a le G am b el qu ail begin c a llin g during the p e r io d of

p air fo rm a tio n and contin ue to c a ll through the peak of hatch in g . It

w as b e lie v e d that M earn s q u a il w ould fo llo w the sa m e p attern , but no

c a llin g w as n oted until m id -J u n e . The f ir s t c a llin g m a le s h ea rd w e r e

in d u ced to c a ll by p lay in g a fe m a le quail c a ll on a tap e r e c o r d e r . No

m a le s w ere h ea rd c a llin g w ithout in d u cem en t p r io r to m id -J u ly . A few

m a le s w e re h ea rd c a llin g on the study a r e a s in m id -J u ly and m o re

m a le s began a n sw er in g the c a l ls on the tape r e c o r d e r a t th is t im e .

C allin g sudd en ly in c r e a s e d and m a le s co u ld be h ea rd c a llin g in good

INCUBATINGo o o

LAYING

o o e o O

PRELAYINGo —o'

o e o

i i i i i i i

F M A M J J A S

MONTHS OF THE YEAR

F i g u r e 1 Z. B r e e d in g c o n d i t i o n of f e m a l e quail col let ted .

40

The in cu b ation p er io d w as c a lc u la te d by the u se o f the p r im a r y fea th er

m o lt seq u en ce . F ig u r e 14 sh ow s th e num ber of m a le s h ea rd c a llin g

during the su m m er m onths w h ich i s c o r r e la te d w ith the p eak p e r io d of

in cu b ation .

In th is study v e r y few s in g le m a le s w e r e found a fter c o v e y s

sp lit up and none w e r e found a fter brood p rod u ction . C oveys h ave been

o b se r v e d that have m o re m a le s than fe m a le s , but the r e v e r s e has a ls o

been o b serv ed . What happens to the e x c e s s m a le s i s not known, but I

have n ev er s e e n m o r e than one adu lt m a le b ird in a co v ey .

I b e lie v e that un m ated m a le s w e r e s c a r c e in the p op ulations

during m y study and that few w e r e h ea rd c a llin g for m a te s . The m a jo r ­

ity of c a llin g m a le s w e r e thought to be m ated o n e s .

N estin g

Sutton and P h illip s (1942) r e p o r te d young b ird s on June 14,

1942, and B ent (1932) o b se r v e d a n e s t w ith e g g s on June 18, 1932.

W allm o (1954) o b se rv e d a brood of c h ick s on July 16, 1950. F ro m

th ese r e p o r ts i t a p p ea rs that the b reed in g se a so n s ta r ts in e a r ly June

and con tin u es un til la te S ep tem b er .

The e a r l ie s t b rood o b se r v e d in 1963 h atch ed on A u gu st 1. The

h atch ing date w as c a lc u la te d by the tim e r eq u ir ed fo r young b ird s to

M earn s quail ran ge fro m la te Ju ly to m id -A u g u st. T his p e r io d c lo s e ly

c o in c id e s w ith the in cu b ation p er io d for the m a jo r ity of the b ro o d s.

(Z)0CUiI-LU2

2

H<9ZHI

7

6

5t

4

3

2

I

8

0 0

X X xxo xo

x xo

X = ADULT MALES 0 = YOUNG MALES

X X X

OOO 0000

MONTHS OF THE YEAR

F i g u r e 13. Left t e s t i s d e v e l o p m e n t .

41

PEAK OF INCUBATION

AUGUST SEPTEMBERJUNE JULY

MONTHS OF THE YEAR

F i g u r e 14. N u m b e r of c a l l i n g m a l e s in r e l a t i o n to the i n c u b a t i o n p e r i o d .

42

sh e d t h e i r p r i m a r y wing f e a t h e r s . B a c k - d a t i n g by th i s m e th o d , the

f i r s t egg w a s l a id on Ju n e 22. N e s t in g r e a c h e d a p e a k in e a r l y Ju ly ,

d r o p p e d in m i d - J u l y , t h e n r e a c h e d a s e c o n d p e a k a b o u t m i d - A u g u s t .

The p e a k h a t c h o c c u r r e d a b o u t a m o n th l a t e r in e a r l y to m i d - A u g u s t

an d m i d - S e p t e m b e r . T he l a t e s t n e s t t h a t I knew abou t h a t c h e d on

S e p t e m b e r 24 a n d a n o t h e r n e s t on ly 100 y a r d s a w a y h a t c h e d on S e p t e m ­

b e r 17. D a ta p l o t t e d in F i g u r e 15 sh o w s the r e l a t i o n s h i p b e tw e e n h a t c h ­

ing d a t e s of 23 b r o o d s a n d the s u m m e r r a i n y s e a s o n .

D u r in g th i s s tu d y f ive n e s t s w e r e found a n d a l l w e r e s i m i l a r l y

c o n s t r u c t e d . G e n e r a l l y the n e s t s w e r e s e t i n a s m a l l s c r a t c h e d out

d e p r e s s i o n one to t h r e e i n c h e s d eep a n d n u m e r o u s g r a s s s t e m s w e r e

w oven t o g e t h e r to f o r m the s i d e s a n d top. T h e c a v i t y w a s l i n e d w i th

f ine v e g e t a t i v e m a t e r i a l s o m e t i m e s in c lu d in g a few o a k l e a v e s . F i g u r e

9 sh o w s the g e n e r a l c o n s t r u c t i o n of a n e s t . The e n t r a n c e w a s u s u a l l y

w e l l c o v e r e d by a f l a p o r m a t of g r a s s s t e m s w h ic h hung down a n d

c o n c e a l e d the open ing . The f l a p in p o s i t i o n i s shown in F i g u r e 16. It

a c t s l ike a h in g e fa l l in g b a c k in to p l a c e w h e r e v e r the hen l e a v e s o r

e n t e r s th e n e s t . The n e s t w a s w o v en in to s t e m s of the g r a s s p l a n t s

tha t s u r r o u n d the n e s t g iv ing i t s t a b i l i t y . It r e s e m b l e d the n e s t of the

m e a d o w l a r k ( S t u r n e l l a m a g n a ) q u i te c l o s e l y . T he n e s t s found d u r in g

th i s s tudy did no t d i f f e r g r e a t l y f r o m th e d e s c r i p t i o n s g iven by W a l lm o

(1954).

43

---- FIRST EGG LAID

HATCHING DATES

SUMMER RAINS

JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER

M O N T H OF T HE YEAR

F i g u r e 15. The c h r o n o l o g y of n e s t i n g e v e n t s in r e l a t i o n to s u m m e r r a i n s .

44

j

F i g u r e 16. N e s t in the C a n e lo H i l l s showing how the g r a s s f lap c o n c e a l s n e s t e n t r a n c e .

F i g u r e 17. L o c a t i o n of n e s t fo u n d in C an e lo H i l l s .

45

F ig u re 18. N est w ith the g r a s s flap lifted show ing n ew ly hatched e g g s .

F i g u r e 19* F l o w e r s , l e a v e s , an d b u lb s of the d e s i r e d Q x a l i s . (Pho to by C. R . H u n g e r f o r d )

The e g g s w h ich I s tu d ied did not d iffer fro m the fo llo w in g

d e scr ip tio n g iv en by L eop old and M cC abe (1957): "They a r e ch a lk y

w h ite and s im ila r in ap p ea ra n ce to th o se of the bobw hite, ex cep t that

the a p ex i s n o ticea b ly le s s p o in ted . Tw enty e g g s m e a su r ed , a v e ra g e d

32. 2 m m . (3 1 -3 4 )by 24. 9 m m . (2 4 -2 5 . 5), w h ich d im en sio n s do not

d iffer s ig n ifica n tly from m e a su r e m e n ts g iven by B ent (1932) and o th e r s . "

The m ean w eigh t of 15 eg g s m e a su r e d by L eop old and M cC abe (1957)

w as 10. 59 + .2 5 g r a m s w ith the h e a v ie s t egg w eigh in g 1 1 .2 g r a m s .

The c lu tch s iz e a cco rd in g to th em v a r ie d from s ix to 16 e g g s , but

a v e ra g e d 1 1 .1 e g g s p er c lu tch . T h ree c lu tc h e s exa m in ed in th is study

w e re 11, 12, and 14. The in cu b ation p e r io d ch eck ed by L eop old and

M cC abe (1957) p ro v ed to be 25 to 26 days and 24 to 36 hou rs e la p se d

from th e o n se t of pipping to th e h atch ing of th e la s t eg g . The in cu b a ­

tion p e r io d d e sc r ib e d by them i s the in te r v a l from the o n se t of in cu b a ­

tion to the e m e rg e n c e fro m the egg of the la s t ch ick .

C are of Young

T h ere s e e m s to be a tigh t pair bond and both b ird s a c t iv e ly

tak e p art in r ea r in g the young. W hether or not the m a le h e lp s during

in cu b ation i s not d e fin ite ly known, but W illard (1913) s ta te d that m a le s

help in cu b ate the e g g s . T h is h as not been r ep o rted by other w r ite r s .

H ow ever, L eop old and M cC abe (1957) b e lie v e that the p a ir sh a r e the

duty of in cu b ation . T hey a ls o m en tion that the m a le has been o b se r v e d

46

47

v e r y c lo s e to the n e s t . D uring th is study m a le s w e re n ev er o b se r v e d

near the n e s t , but m any t im e s m a le s w e r e h ea rd c a llin g 50 to 100

y a rd s aw ay from n e s t s i t e s . A p p aren tly th ey s ta y ed c lo s e to the n e s t

and the fe m a le c a lle d to the m a le upon lea v in g the n e s t , b eca u se qu ite

often p a ir s w e r e o b se r v e d fe e d in g to geth er during the t im e the fe m a le

w as in cu b atin g .

M earn s quail appear to be v e r y a tten tiv e p a ren ts and n u m e r ­

ous en co u n ters w ith young b rood s su b sta n tia te th is . Of 10 b rood s

f lu sh e d w ith c h ic k s l e s s than a m onth old, e igh t p a ir s a c ted in the sa m e

w ay a t the o n se t of dan ger. A t 10 A . M. on A ugu st 30, the dog p o in ted

a brood of b ird s under s e v e r a l oak tr e e s a lon g a g r a s s y w a sh b ottom .

A s I ap p roach ed , the two ad u lts sto o d up and s tr e tc h e d th eir n eck s to

s e e over the g r a s s . A t f i r s t i t a p p ea red to be a p a ir , but w hen the

dog w ent tow ard them , th e fe m a le fe ig n e d in ju ry and f e l l in the g r a s s

about 20 fe e t aw ay. Im m ed ia te ly the dog took c h a se and the qu ail

b a re ly kept ah ead of the dog by fly in g and fa llin g in to the g r a s s w h ile

exh ib itin g a b ro k en -w in g a c t. W hen sh e had lu red the dog to about 50

y a rd s aw ay, sh e took flig h t and fle w about 70 y a rd s up a ro ck y h il ls id e .

In the m ea n tim e th e m a le sn ea k ed off in to the g r a s s g iv in g a s e r ie s of

m oan ing c r ie s w h ich sen t th re e young running in to h eavy g r a s s . When

I did not le a v e , the m a le ca m e out o f h id ing and began c ir c lin g m e a c t ­

ing hurt. He kept th is up for about a m in ute until the dog re tu rn ed

from ch a sin g the fe m a le . The m a le lik e w ise lu red the dog aw ay fro m

the young in the sa m e m anner a s did the fe m a le . I r e tr e a te d a few

y a rd s and sa t down; 20 m in u te s la ter I retu rn ed and both b ird s w e r e

p r e se n t and fe ig n e d in ju ry for a few sec o n d s, then flew o ff through the

t r e e s .

T h is w a s the g e n e ra l beh av ior and in a l l but two in s ta n c e s the

fe m a le w a s the f i r s t one to f ly and le a d the dog aw ay.

When danger w a s p r e se n t th e d is tr e s s c a l ls of the p a ren ts

sen t the ch ick s in to h id ing and th ey w e r e qu ite s k il le d a t co n cea lin g

th e m s e lv e s . On one o c c a s io n 12 c h ick s s c a t te r e d in to the g r a s s upon

a m a le 's w arn ing, but on ly f iv e w e r e found a fter 45 m in u tes of s e a r c h ­

in g . One ch ick had b u rrow ed down under so m e le a v e s at th e b a se of a

sm a ll bush, th e o th ers w e r e found in the m id d le of the b a sa l p ortion

o f g r a s s c lu m p s.

A s the young grew o ld er , th e d e fen se by the p a ren ts d im in ish ed .

W hen the young w e re m o re than h a lf grow n, the p a ren ts se ld o m sh ow ed

th is b eh a v io r .

It a p p ea rs that the a d u lts tak e e x c e lle n t c a r e o f the young,

ca tch in g in s e c t s and d igging up s e e d s and bulbs fo r th em . W hen the

ch ick s w e re about two w e ek s o ld th ey tend ed to s c r a tc h and fe e d for

th e m s e lv e s , but depended la r g e ly on the ad u lts fo r gu id an ce.

48

LIMITING FACTORS

M any c r e a tu r e s in c lu d in g m an h ave b een b lam ed fo r lim itin g

the n u m b ers of M earn s qu ail. It i s m o r e p rob ab le, h o w ev er, o v e r -

g ra zin g and un favorab le w ea th er co n d itio n s a r e the c a u s e s of the low

quail n u m b ers that have been o b se rv e d .

P red a tio n

T h ere a r e few known in s ta n c e s o f p red ation on M earn s quail;

h ow ever, L eop o ld and M cC abe (1957), L igon (1927), M iller (1943) and

O 'Conner (1936) l i s t s e v e r a l l ik e ly p r e d a to r s . A m ong th e se p red a to rs

a re the C o o p er 's Hawk (A c c ip ite r c o o p e r ii), h orn ed ow l (Bubo v ir g in ia n u s ),

ja y s (A p h elocom a sp . ), co y o te (C anis la tr a n s ), and the g r ey fo x ( U rocyon

c in e r e o a r g e n te u s ). P o s s ib le n e s t p r ed a to rs m en tion ed by L eop o ld and

M cC abe (1957) in c lu d e co a ti-m u n d i (N asua n a r ic a ), p e c c a r y (P e c a r i

tajacu ), r a cc o o n (P ro cy o n lo to r ) and skunks of the g en era (M ep h itis,

S p ilo g a le , and C on ep atu s). To w hat ex ten t n e s t p red ation o c cu rs i s not

known; h o w ev er , i t i s b e lie v e d to be m in o r .

D uring th is stud y I found on ly one in sta n ce of known p red a tio n .

T h is in s ta n c e o c c u r r e d in the C anelo H ills during July w h e r e I found

the r e m a in s of an adu lt fe m a le in an open m eadow b e s id e so m e fr e s h

d ig g in g s. S c a tter ed quail fe a th e r s and tra ck s o f so m e la r g e ra p to r .

49

50

probably a h orn ed ow l, w e r e found in the fr e s h d ir t of the d ig g in g s.

P au l E rr in g to n (1963) con ten d ed that p red ation r e m o v e s the

m o re expendab le m e m b ers of a p op ulation . If th is i s tru e , p red ation

i s u su a lly not a s e r io u s su p p re ss in g fa c to r upon a population w hich h as

a high rep ro d u ctiv e p o ten tia l. W ith a population of low d en sity and

w ith su ch ex cep tio n a l adap tation s for e lu s iv e n e s s , i t i s v e r y doubtful

that p red a tio n a c ts a s a lim itin g fa c to r upon M earn s qu ail.

P op u lation F lu ctu a tio n s

V io len t flu ctu a tio n s in M earn s quail population n u m b ers have

b een r ep o r ted by L eop old and M cC abe (1957) in M ex ico . In so u th ea stern

A rizo n a la r g e n u m b ers of M earn s qu ail w e re r e p o r te d during the y e a r s

1956 and 1958. Seym our and J a m es L evy , T u cson ta x id e r m is ts , ob­

s e r v e d la r g e n u m b ers of b ird s in the Santa R ita M ountains during 1956.

T hey o b se r v e d up to s ix c o v e y s o f 20 to 40 b ird s each in one day. D u r­

ing th is sa m e p e r io d L ev i P a ck a rd of the A r izo n a G am e and F ish

D ep artm en t and J e r r y P r a tt , M anager of the F o r t H uachuca W ild life

A rea , o b se r v e d hundreds of th e se b ird s in the T u m a ca co r i and H ua­

chuca M ountains o f A r izo n a . S in ce th is p er iod , pop ulation n u m b ers

h ave fa lle n to the p o in t w h ere m any p eop le b e lie v e th ey a r e in danger

of ex tin c tio n . T his b e lie f i s com m on p r in c ip a lly b e c a u se the b ird s

a r e v e r y s e c r e t iv e and se ld o m o b se rv e d .

51

T h ese population flu ctu a tio n s that have been o b se r v e d in d ica te

that the M earn s quail h as an a b ility to in c r e a s e ra p id ly and su sta in

ra th er la r g e pop ulations under fa v o ra b le co n d itio n s .

W eather C onditions

W eather i s a v e r y im p o rta n t reg u la to r of quail p op u la tion s.

Swank and G a lliz io li (1954) in th e ir study on the e ffe c ts of r a in fa ll on

G am bel quail rep ro d u ctio n found that the r i s e and fa ll of G am bel qu ail

p op u lation s in A r izo n a w as a lm o s t w h o lly dependent upon the good

grow th of sp r in g v e g e ta tio n w hich in turn w as dependent upon the quantity

of r a in fa ll r e c e iv e d during the p reced in g w in ter m on ths. M earn s quail

see m qu ite dependent on su m m er r a in s for s u c c e s s fu l rep ro d u ctio n .

N estin g s u c c e s s can be rou gh ly fo r e c a s t by the freq u en cy and in te n s ity

of the r a in s . In the su m m er of 1963 r a in s w e re som ew h at la te r than

u su a l, but a m p le r a in f e l l in t im e to c r e a te v e r y good v e g e ta t iv e

c o v e r . R ep rod u ction w a s v e r y good in M earns quail and a ll the p a ir s

found on the study a r e a s p rod u ced b ro o d s. It a p p ea rs that d ir e c t ly or

in d ir e c tly , the su m m er r a in s in flu en ce population n u m b ers.

The a v a ila b le food supply i s th e r e s u lt of the am ount of

su m m er ra in . In y e a r s of good v e g e ta tiv e grow th, s e e d and bulb r e ­

p rod u ction su p p lie s abundant food , but the food supply cou ld l im it the

pop ulation i f few s e e d s , bu lb s, and a c o rn s w e re p rod u ced .

52

It i s p rob ab le that h eavy sn ow s and fr o z e n grou n 4 w hich

w ould p rev en t the quail fro m d igg ing , w ould h ave s e v e r e e f fe c ts on

w in ter in g p op u lation s. T h is co u ld c a u se a h eavy d ie -o f f i f a d v e r se

w in ter con d ition s p r e v a ile d fo r any length of t im e . L eop old and M cC abe

(1957), L igon (1927), O 'C onner (1936), and Sm ith (1917) have a l l m e n ­

tion ed th e se con d ition s a s being le th a l or d e s tr u c tiv e to M earn s quail

p op u la tion s.

D uring la te N o v em b er , 1963, th ree in c h e s o f snow fe l l o v er

the B ox Canyon a r e a . H ow ever, the fo lia g e o f the oak and ju n iper p r e ­

v en ted snow fro m co v er in g the ground beneath the t r e e s . The quail

w e re found m ovin g from tr e e to tr e e , feed in g on a v a ila b le g r a s s s e e d s

and g r a ssh o p p e rs w hich had b een im m o b iliz e d by the co ld . U su a lly the

snow d oes not la s t long enough to c a u se s e r io u s e ffe c ts ex cep t at h igh er

a lt itu d e s . I s e r io u s ly doubt that snow i s a lim itin g fa c to r a t the low er

e lev a tio n s of th e se d e s e r t m ou ntain r a n g e s u n le s s s e v e r e w in ter c o n ­

d ition s e x is te d for over a w eek .

G razin g E ffe c t

L. M iller (1943), L igon (1927), and L eop old and M cC abe (1957)

a ll b e lie v e that o v erg ra z in g i s d e tr im en ta l and i f con tin u ed w ill e l im i­

nate the b ird s fro m c er ta in a r e a s . T h ese w r ite r s contend that o v e r ­

u tiliz a tio n by c a ttle w il l d e str o y the c o v er and bulb and tuber b ear in g

p lan ts and c a u se a d e c r e a s e in q u ail. O v erg ra z in g i s , in m y opin ion,

53

the g r e a te s t s in g le fa c to r th rea ten in g the e x is te n c e of M earn s qu ail.

I have found o v e rg r a z in g , e s p e c ia l ly during the grow ing s e a ­

son , to be d e tr im en ta l in s e v e r a l in s ta n c e s ; and if n e c e s s a r y s te p s a r e

not taken on F o r e s t S e r v ic e land, the qu ail w ill d im in ish in n u m b ers a s

th ey did in c e r ta in a r e a s in M ex ico m en tion ed by L eop old and M cC abe

(1957). The C anelo H ills Study A r e a i s lo ca ted w ith in an a rea being

d ev e lo p ed for hom e s i t e s , but the p r e se n c e o f p eo p le did not se e m to

a ffec t the q u ail. T h is a r ea had not been g r a ze d for s e v e r a l y e a r s and

quail n u m b ers w e r e quite h igh , but ju st o u tsid e th is a r ea on the F o r e s t

S e r v ic e land, w hich had b een a b u sed by o v e rg r a z in g , v e r y few quail

w e re found.

In the Santa R ita M ountains, G ardner C anyon w as s e v e r e ly

o v e r g r a z e d and quail d e n s it ie s w e r e low and lim ite d to s m a ll p o ck ets

w h ere the c o v e r had not b een d ep le ted a s m uch a s in o th er a r e a s . In

co n tr a s t to th is , on ly a few m ile s north in B ox Canyon, the g ra z in g

le a s e s had not been u t iliz e d to the f u l le s t ex ten t and the p r iv a te land,

under c o n se r v a tiv e m an agem en t, w as in v e r y good con d ition .

A lthough o v e rg r a z in g p la y ed a b ig r o le in hab itat d estru c tio n ,

the la ck of r a in s w a s found to be eq u a lly im p o rta n t. If the a r e a s

r e c e iv e d the a v e r a g e r a in fa ll for the su m m er m on ths a t the r ig h t

freq u en cy , g razin g w ou ld not tend to o v e r -u t i l iz e the ran ge . H ow­

e v e r , i t s e e m s to be se ld o m that the d e s ir e d r a in s fa ll .

54

M uch o f the d e s ir a b le M earn s quail ra n g e i s lo c a te d on F o r e s t

S e r v ic e land and so m e of th is land i s m o s t s e r io u s ly ab u sed . In r e c e n t

y e a r s , the F o r e s t S e r v ic e h as had c e r ta in a r e a s under study and i s

adjusting the g ra z in g to p rop er in te n s ity . The C an elo H ills i s one of

th ese a r e a s and the num ber of c a tt le g ra z in g the a r e a h as been red u ced .

F o r a g e and ground co v er a r e r e c o v e r in g a s w e ll a s the n u m b ers of

M earn s q u a il.

In su m m a ry , I w ould reco m m en d that sp e c ia l c a r e sh ou ld be

taken to p rev en t o v e rg r a z in g during the grow ing sea so n and w h en ever

p o s s ib le so m e d eg ree of under -u t iliz a t io n of cu red g r a s s e s m ay be

n e c e s s a r y for b etter w in ter su r v iv a l of the b ird s .

M OVEM ENTS A ND HOME RANGE

L ittle h as been w r itte n on the m o v em en ts of the M earn s quail

p r im a r ily b eca u se th ey a r e h ard to o b se r v e .

D uring th is study, b ird s w e r e lo ca ted by the u se of a dog and

th eir lo ca tio n w as m a rk ed on a top ograp h ic m ap. A t w eek ly in te r v a ls ,

su r v e y s w e r e run to r e lo c a te the b ir d s . S u c c e ss in r e f lu sh in g the b ird s

v a r ie d w ith the m o is tu r e p r e se n t , th eir da ily a c t iv it ie s , and the to p o ­

graphy. Q uail that o ccu p ied a r e a s w ith s teep s i d e h ills w e r e h ard er to

fin d b eca u se of the d ifficu lty o f c o v er in g the e n tir e a r e a s . M ost of the

m o v em en t data w a s e x tr a c te d fro m s ig h t r e c o r d s on in d iv id u a l a r e a s

and feed in g s ig n s .

D uring the y ea r the d e g r ee o f w andering v a r ie d . A s n estin g

ap p roach ed and p r o g r e s s e d , b ird s w e r e found to m o v e l e s s and l e s s .

D uring th is study th er e w as no ev id en ce of e ith er m em b er o f a p a ir m o v ­

ing over 150 y a rd s from a known n e s t s ite .

A fter h atch ing, the b rood s e e m e d to m ove ev en l e s s than did

the p a ir s p r io r to n e stin g . H ow ever, a s the ch ick s grew o ld er , the

m o v em en ts of the brood began to c o v er a la r g er a r ea , but did not co v er

an a r ea g r ea ter than 200 y a rd s in r a d iu s . A b ird banded on the B ox

Canyon Study A r ea on O ctober 4 w as shot on D ecem b er 30 on ly 50 y a rd s

fro m the banding s it e .

55

56

B ird s w e re found in s e v e r a l lo ca tio n s off the study a r e a w h ere

th ey occu p ied la r g e v a l le y s or can yon s w ith s te ep oak -ju n ip er s id e -

h il ls . T h e se b ird s did not tend to m o v e out of th e se p a r ticu la r can yon s,

but ran ged over the b ottom s of the can yon s and a lon g the s id e h il ls ,

show ing m o re p r e fe r e n c e for the n o r th -fa c in g s lo p e s .

The b ird s w h ich I o b se r v e d s e e m e d to occu p y the sa m e a r e a

the y e a r around w ith no m ajor sh ift in ra n g e . M any h u n ters r ep o r ted

find ing the b ird s in the sa m e sp o ts y ea r a fter y e a r . Seym ou r and

J am es L evy h ave o b se r v e d co n cen tra tio n s o f q u a il in the sa m e p o ck ets

and d raw s in su b seq u en t y e a r s . In a ll c a s e s under study, lo c a tio n s

w h ich had p a ir s p r io r to the n e stin g s e a s o n a ll con ta in ed c o v ey s dur­

in g the hunting s e a so n .

PO PULATIO NS

S ex and A ge R a tio s

S ex and age data w e r e ob ta in ed from c o lle c t io n s m ade during

th is study and from b ird s ex a m in ed at ch eck in g s ta tio n s during the four

hunting s e a so n s h e ld in A r izo n a . R e su lts a re show n in T able 6 in c lu d in g

data p r e se n te d by L eop old and M cC abe (1957). L eop old and M cC ab e's

f ig u r e s w e r e obtained from c o lle c t io n s and m u seu m sp e c im e n s ex a m in ed

from v a r io u s u n iv e r s it ie s . T h e se f ig u r e s d iffer , p o s s ib ly b e c a u se o f

d ifferen t population d e n s it ie s sa m p led and sh o o ter b ia s . In so m e

in s ta n c e s c o lle c to r s m ay h ave d e lib e r a te ly c o lle c te d ad u lts or a p a r ­

ticu la r s e x .

The pop u lation s sa m p led in A r izo n a g iv e a v e r y c lo s e s e x ra tio

w eig h ted s lig h tly tow ard the m a le s . S ow ls (I960), during a f iv e y ear

banding study, found the s e x r a t io s of 3, 628 G am bel qu ail to be 56 p e r ­

cen t m a le s to 44 p e r c e n t fe m a le s in ad u lts and 53 p e r c e n t m a le s to 47

p e r ce n t fe m a le s in ju v e n ile s .

The p ercen ta g e of young found in the ex ist in g M earn s quail

population w as quite h igh . I found 3. 5 young to one adult w hich i s r a r e ­

ly , i f ev er , p r e se n t am ong the G am bel qu ail.

57

58

T able 6 . S ex and a g e of M earn s qu ail.

Sex A geNo. B ird s M ale F e m a le A dult Im m atu re

P e r c e n t P e r c e n t P e r c e n t P e r c e n t

248 54. 3 45 . 7 2 0 . 6 7 9 .4 A r izo n a *

502 63. 0 3 7 .0 - - — L eop old and M cC abe (1957)

57 5 7 .9 42 . 1 39- 0 6 1 .0 L eop old and M cC abe (1957)

* B ird s c o lle c te d fro m 1 9 6 0 -1 9 6 4 fro m hunter ch eck in g sta tio n s and by unit p e r so n n e l.

59

C oveys

B en d ire (1892), Judd (1905), and B a ile y (1928) in L eop old and

M cC abe (1957) s ta te that g e n e r a lly th ey do not fo rm la r g e c o v e y s . E x ­

cep t for one in s ta n ce a ll b ird s o b se r v e d during th is study w e re thought

to be s in g le fa m ily grou p s. It a p p ea rs that la r g e c o v e y s do not u su a lly

a sse m b le ; h ow ever, s e v e r a l w r ite r s d e sc r ib e la r g e c o v e y s . B ran t

(1951), F o w ler (1903), O 'C onner (1936), Sw arth (1929) and L eop o ld and

M cC abe (1957) have r e c o r d s o f c o v e y s of over 20 b ir d s .

Seym our L evy (p erso n a l co n v ersa tio n ) r e c a lle d during 1956 in

the Santa R ita M ountains that the b ird s w e r e in la r g e c o v ey s up to about

40 b ird s . A lso , G era ld P r a tt of the F o r t H uachuca W ild life A rea noted

la r g e c o v ey s in 1958. The in s ta n c e s ju st m en tion ed o c c u r r e d at a tim e

of e x ce p tio n a lly h igh quail n u m b ers. N e v e r th e le s s , th is sh ow s that

under c er ta in c ir c u m sta n c e s c o v e y s do group to g e th er .

F ig u r e 20 sh ow s the s iz e of the c o v ey s or broods o b se rv e d

during th is study. I o b se r v e d 86 c o v ey s during th is study; h o w ev er ,

m o st of th ese w e r e se e n during the hunting sea so n . The a v e ra g e s iz e

during the sp r in g w as s ix b ird s p er c o v ey and th e a v e r a g e c o v ey s iz e

during the fa ll and w in ter w a s 9. 3 b ir d s . The m o st com m on c o v ey s iz e

w as 10 b ird s , but c o v e y s of e igh t and 12 b ird s w e r e freq u en tly s e e n .

M ost of the c o v e y s w e r e a c c u r a te ly counted , but in a few in s ta n c e s an

ex a ct count w as not p o s s ib le . W allm o (1951) rep o rted 15 c o v e y s in the

H uachuca M ountains during 1949 w ith an a v e ra g e c o v ey s iz e o f 10 b ir d s .

to>UJ>ou

U_oQCUJ0053

16151413

12II

10

9876

5

432

I

n n n6 7

SIZE

T I

□ f a l l aSPRING

8 9 10OF COVEYS

WINTER

n i

15 16

F i g u r e 20. C o v ey s i z e of b i r d s o b s e r v e d d u r in g f a l l - w i n t e r an d s p r i n g .

61

In 1950 he o b se r v e d 49 c o v e y s w hich a v e ra g e d e ig h t b ir d s . L eop old

and M cC abe (1957) o b se r v e d 33 c o v e y s in M exico from N ovem b er to

M arch g iv in g an a v e ra g e of 6 .4 b ird s p er co v ey . C om bining th eir data

w ith r e c o r d s p r e v io u s ly p u b lish ed , th ey found an a v e ra g e c o v ey s iz e of

7 .6 . I found an o v e r a ll c o v ey s iz e of 8 . 7.

P op u lation D en sity

D en sity f ig u r e s on M earn s quail in A r izo n a a r e few . W allm o

(1951) su r v ey e d 1, 120 a c r e s in the H uachuca M ountains and found at

le a s t 45 b ird s , or 26 b ird s per s e c t io n . L eop old and M cC abe (1957)

e st im a te d a m in im um population of 28 to 30 adu lt quail p er se c t io n du r­

in g the su m m er of 1948 in M ex ico . T h ese f ig u r e s se e m quite low , a l ­

though th ey co m p a re fa v o ra b ly w ith so m e f ig u r e s on bobw hite q u a il.

T ab le 7 fro m Swank and G a lliz io li (1954) sh ow s r e la t iv e d e n s it ie s of

bobw hite quail in four s ta te s . T h ese pop ulation d e n s it ie s v a r ie d fro m

0 .7 to 1 .1 quail p er 10 a c r e s in V irg in ia and fro m 0. 7 to 3. 8 qu ail per

10 a c r e s in Iowa. T h e se d e n s it ie s co m p a re w ith so m e M earns quail

d e n s it ie s ex is t in g in so u th ea ste rn A r izo n a .

The B ox C anyon Study A r e a i s 130 a c r e s in s iz e and in la te

O ctober a m in im um of 45 b ird s w a s found in th is a r e a . T h is w as a d e n s ­

ity of 3. 5 b ird s per 10 a c r e s . T a b les 8 and 9 g iv e pop ulation s ta t is t ic s

of the two study a r e a s . O ther a r e a s v is i t e d in B ox C anyon during the

hunting se a so n had s im ila r pop u lation d e n s it ie s .

62

T able 7. B obw hite quail p op u la tion s, quail p er 10 a c r e s .

V irg in ia 1 F a ll

p op u - Y ear la tion

Iowa

Y ear

2

F a llpop u­la tio n

3O klahom a

F a ll p op u -

Y ear la tion Y ear

T exas^A ugu stpopu­la tion

1935 0 .9 1941 2 . 2 1939 2 .5 1949 1 2 .9

1936 0. 7 1942 3. 2 1940 0 .9 1950 1 2 . 8

1937 1. 3 1943 3. 8 1941 2 . 2 1951 3 .6

1946 0 .9 1944 3. 2 1942 2 . 5

1947 1 . 0 1949 0 . 6 1943 1 . 8

1948 1 . 1 1950 0. 7

^M osby and O verton, 1950. ^K ozicky and H en d rick son , 1952. 3 B au m gartn er , 1944.■^Lehman, 1952.

63

T able 8 . P op u lation s ta t is t ic s o f th e C anelo H ills Study A rea .

B reed in g P o p u la tio n -

B rood No. B ird s

-M inim um 7 P a ir s

A dults Young

#1 8 2 6

#2 11 2 9

#3 12 2 10

#4 10 2 8

#5 10 2 8

#6 11 2 9

T o ta ls 62 12 50

A p p rox im ate D ate of H atch

#1 A u gu st 1 s t

#2 A u gu st 15th

#3 A u gu st 2 6 th

#4 A u gu st 2 2 nd

#5 A u gu st 2nd

#6 S ep tem b er 20th

One n e s t w as d e s tr o y ed and m o st lik e ly th ese b ird s tr ie d to r e n e s t , but young w e r e n ever s e e n .

64

T able 9* P op u lation s ta t is t ic s of the B ox Canyon Study A r e a .

B reed in g P o p u la tio n --M in im u m 7 P a ir s

Two other p a ir s w e r e c o lle c te d p r io r to n estin g

B rood No. B ird s A dults Young

#1 6 2 4

#2 10 2 8

#3 7 2 5

#4 3 2 1

#5 12 2 10

#6 7 2 5

T o ta ls 45 12 33

A p p rox im ate D ate of H atch

#1 A ugu st 12 th

#2 A u gu st 2 2 nd

#3 Sep tem b er 14th

#4 S ep tem b er 24th

#5 A u gu st 10th

#6 S ep tem b er 5th

65

The C anelo H ills Study A r ea i s a 160 a c r e a r ea w h ich su p ­

p o rted a m in im um pop ulation of 62 quail in m id -O cto b er or a d en sity

of 3. 9 b ird s per 10 a c r e s . The num ber o f M earns quail in the Santa

R ita M ountains and the C an elo H ills app roach the d e n s it ie s of bobw hite

in V irg in ia , Iowa, and O klahom a for the y e a r s s p e c if ie d in T ab le 7.

T h ere fo re I q u estio n that the 1963 pop ulation of M earn s quail cou ld

r e a lly be c o n s id e r e d low . T hey do not rea c h pop ulation le v e ls co m p a ­

r a b le to th o se of the G am bel q u a il. T hey cannot u se the v a r ie ty o f

h ab ita ts nor do they h ave su ch a h igh r ep ro d u c tiv e s u c c e s s a s the

G am bel qu ail. It i s p o s s ib le that fo llo w in g a s e r ie s o f y e a r s in w hich

con d ition s of w eath er and v e g e ta tio n w e re e x tr e m e ly fa v o ra b le th ere

cou ld be e x tr a o rd in a r ily h igh p op u la tion s.

Two other a r e a s w e r e ch eck ed during the su m m er and fa l l and

a p p rox im ate pop ulation f ig u r e s w e r e obtained . One a r e a in the C anelo

H ills , a few m ile s from the stud y a r e a , con ta in ed f iv e p a ir s o f b ird s

at n estin g t im e . T h is a r ea w as ro u gh ly 400 y a rd s by 300 y a rd s in s iz e .

F iv e b rood s w e r e o b se r v e d in th is a r e a sh o r tly a fter hatch ing and

a p p ro x im a te ly 53 b ird s w e r e counted .

The other a r e a w hich w as ro u gh ly 400 y a rd s sq u a re w as

lo ca ted one m ile w e s t of the B ox C anyon Study A r ea and con ta in ed a

m in im um of n in e p a ir s during m id -J u ly . H ow ever four p a ir s w e r e

broken up by the c o lle c t in g of s ix b ir d s . Ju st p r io r to the hunting

se a so n , f iv e c o v ey s w e r e lo c a te d in th is a r ea w ith a to ta l of 49 b ird s

and s ig n s of a s ix th c o v e y w e r e found, but it co u ld not be flu sh ed .

F ro m th e se data i t a p p ea rs that fa ir ly h igh p op ulations

e x is te d in c er ta in a r e a s ; h ow ever th is i s not u n ifo rm ly the c a s e over

the e n tire hab itat. It w ould be d an gerou s to p r o je c t th e se f ig u r e s

over a co n s id e ra b ly la r g er a r e a b eca u se of hab ita t and d en s ity d if­

fe r e n c e s . It i s m y b e lie f , h o w ev er, that the e n tir e oak -ju n ip er

hab itat in the C an elo H ills and the Santa R ita. M ountains a v e ra g e d 40

b ird s per sq u a re m ile on D ecem b er 1, 1963.

66

PARASITES

B ird s c o lle c te d w e re ex a m in ed in the f ie ld fo r p a r a s ite s and

b lood s l id e s w e r e taken w hen p o s s ib le . F ew e x tern a l p a r a s ite s w e re

found on the b ird s exam in ed in th e f ie ld and d u sting the fe a th e r s w ith

in s e c t ic id e did not p rov id e any m o r e sp e c im e n s . The ex tern a l p a r a ­

s i t e s p r e se n t w e re M allophaga sp e c im e n s known a s C o lin ico la m e a r n s i

d e sc r ib e d by E m e r so n in 1948. A lso , E m e rso n d e sc r ib e d O xylip eu ru s

m on tezu m ae taken from the M earn s q u a il. He b e lie v e s that the M earn s

quail shou ld a ls o h ave s p e c ie s of the g en era M en acan thu s, A m y r sid e a ,

and G oniodes, but so far th ey h av e not been c o lle c te d . Tw enty blood

s l id e s w e re exam in ed , and no b lood p a r a s ite s w e r e found.

67

M ANAGEM ENT

P r io r to I960 th is s p e c ie s w as not hunted in A r izo n a b e c a u se

m any p eop le b e lie v e d that i t w a s an en d an gered s p e c ie s . A sm a ll s e g ­

m en t o f the pu blic p lu s A r izo n a G am e and F ish D ep artm en t e m p lo y e e s

began ad vocatin g a M earn s qu ail hunt and in I960 a sh o r t open hunting

se a so n w as h e ld in the Santa R ita M ountains. Hunt s ta t is t ic s fo r the

p a st four y e a r s a r e p r e se n te d in T ab le 10. T h e se data w e r e c o lle c te d

by the u se of ch eck in g s ta tio n s , but on s e v e r a l o c c a s io n s the s ta tio n s

w e re c lo s e d too e a r ly in the day and so m e h u n ters w e r e not in ter v ie w ed .

A lso , a few h u n ters w e re in th e a r e a on days w hen the s ta tio n w as not

op erated .

In 1961 the f ig u r e s show a v e r y low k ill w h ich w a s a ttr ib u ted

to the w ea th er . The hunting s e a s o n opened during ra in y w eath er

w h ich lim ite d the num ber of h u n ters and the s u c c e s s o f th o se that did

hunt.

The 1962 hunting se a so n w a s m o re rew a rd in g w ith a h igh er

k ill , but s t i l l not a l l the h u n ters w e r e ch eck ed . It h as b een c a lle d to

m y a tten tion that an ad d ition a l 50 b ird s w e r e known to have b een k il le d

and not ch eck ed through the ch eck in g sta tio n .

I c o lle c te d data during the 1963 hunting se a so n a t ch eck in g

sta tio n s and by p e r so n a l co n ta ct w ith h u n ters in the f ie ld .

68

69

T able 10. Data c o lle c te d a t the hunter ch eck in g s ta tio n s during thefour M earns quail hunting s e a s o n s .

I 960 1961 1962 1963

N um ber of hu n ters 117. 0 1 9 . 0 39. 0 52. 0

Q uail bagged 4 5 .0 8 . 0 50. 0 128. 0

Q uail k il le d p er 10 hu n ters 3. 8 4 .2 1 2 . 8 24. 6

Q uail see n 425 . 0 2 8 .0 240. 0 4 6 1 . 0

C o v ey s see n 78. 0 6 . 0 30. 0 47 . 0

Q uail see n per c o v e y 5 .4 4 .7 8 . 0 9 -8

P e r c e n t young in the bag 5 6 .0 8 8 . 0 82. 0 8 3 .0

P e r c e n t m a le s in the bag 56. 0 5 0 .0 6 2 . 0 54. 5

P e r c e n t fe m a le s in the bag 44 . 0 5 0 .0 38. 0 45 . 5

L ength of the s e a so n 1 2 /1 7 -1 8 1 2 /9 -1 7 1 2 / 8 - 1 6 1 2 /7 -3 1

Data from the 1960 -1 9 6 2 hunting s e a s o n s w e re c o lle c te d by the State G am e and F ish D ep artm en t.

70

G a lliz io li and Webb (1961) in th e ir r e s e a r c h co m p le tio n r e p o r ts

found that fro m 1951 to I9 6 0 th e h ig h es t p ercen ta g e of young G am bel

quail in the bag w as 80 p e r c e n t and a v e ra g e d 50 p e r ce n t over the 11

y e a r s . In 1962 the sta te r e c o r d e d 82 p ercen t young M earns quail in

the bag and in 1963 81 p e r c e n t young w e r e p r e se n t , in d ica tin g e x c e lle n t

rep ro d u ctio n of the s p e c ie s .

The 1963 population w a s r e la t iv e ly untouched by hunting. D u r­

in g the hunting se a so n , the h u n ters on ly hunted the fr in g e of good

M earns quail ra n g e and the c o v e y s sh o t in to w e r e not red u ced to any

d etr im en ta l le v e l .

P o s s ib ly heavy hunting on c e r ta in c o v e y s that a r e e a s i ly

lo ca ted m ay red u ce a lo c a l pop u lation . H ow ever, the law of d im in ish ­

ing re tu rn s soon s e t s in and the hunter w ill s e a r c h fo r new c o v e y s .

E sp e c ia lly w ith the e x is t in g p op u lation s of G am bel and s c a le d qu ail,

i t i s quite doubtful that m an y h u n ters w il l hunt e x te n s iv e ly for a few

M earn s quail w hen th ey can fin d n u m erou s c o v e y s of o th er qu ail.

G a lliz io li and Webb (1961), a fter 10 y e a r s of study on G am bel and

s c a le d quail p op u la tion s, con c lu d ed that hunting i s a r e la t iv e ly u n im ­

p ortan t fa c to r in reg u la tin g qu ail n u m b ers.

M earn s quail hunting a ffo rd s m any h ou rs o f r e c r e a t io n for

th o se h u n ters e n th u s ia st ic enough to hunt hard for a few b ir d s . A lso ,

the r e la t iv e ly unhunted b ird p op ulation g iv e s in c e n tiv e to the h u n ters

that w ill go a fter th em .

71

S ex and A g e D eterm in a tio n

Sex and age of th e se b ird s can be d e term in ed by p lu m age d if ­

fe r e n c e s . The age can be ob ta in ed by b u rsa ex am in ation or e x a m in a ­

tion of the g r ea ter p r im a ry c o v e r ts . L eop old (1939) d e sc r ib e d th is

tech n iq u e and b e lie v e d i t to be an a c cu ra te aging m ethod . The ad u lts'

g r ea ter p r im a r y c o v e r ts a r e d arker in co lo r and the p a ttern m uch

m o re d is tin c t w h erea s the you n gs' c o v e r ts a r e b u ff-c o lo r e d and not

uniform in m a rk in g s. A dult c o v e r ts a r e m o r e f irm and l e s s e a s i ly

r u ff led than im m a tu re c o v e r ts . H augen (1957) d e sc r ib e d th is tech n iq u e

for bobw hite q u ail. F ig u r e s 23 and 24 show the d if fe r e n c e s ju st m e n ­

tio n ed in the young and adu lt c o v e r ts .

A nother m o r e ex a c t ag in g c r it e r ia fo r young b ird s w hich have

not a c h ie v ed th eir fu ll f i r s t w in ter p lu m age i s m e a su r in g the len gth of

the la s t p r im a r y sh ed . L eo p o ld and M cC abe (1957) r e c o r d e d th e tim e

i t took for the p r im a r ie s to be dropped and obtained th e a g e in d a y s. It

i s m y op in ion that the a g e o f a young b ird can be c a lcu la te d a c c u r a te ly

to w ith in f iv e days fro m th is data and co u ld be a too l fo r ca lcu la tin g the

p eak h atch ing p er io d .

C en su s M ethods and P op u lation E s t im a te s

D uring the e a r ly s ta g e s of th is p ro jec t, lo ca tin g the qu ail w as

a big p ro b lem . To h elp so lv e th is p ro b lem , Seym our and J a m es L evy

began ex p er im en tin g w ith fe m a le quail c a l ls to lo c a te and a ttra c t unm ated

m a le qu ail.

72

F ig u re 21. H unters, dogs, and b ird s a fter a s u c c e s s fu l hunt in the B ox Canyon Study A rea . (Photo by S teve G a lliz io li)

F ig u re 22. Habitat of the a r ea hunted in B ox Canyon. (P hoto by S teve G a lliz io li)

73

F i g u r e 24. Aging c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of u p p e r p r i m a r y c o v e r t s . N o te the d i f f e r e n c e in the ru f f l in g of th e d i f f e r e n t a g e d f e a t h e r s .

\ •

74

C aptive p a ir s o f four s p e c ie s w e re obtained , the p a ir s s e p a ­

ra ted and the c a l ls g iven by the fe m a le w e re tap ed on a s im p le tap e r e ­

c o r d e r . The fe m a le c a l ls that w e re taped a re th o se g iven by the fe m a le

w hen sep a ra ted fro m h er m a te and a r e probab ly the sa m e a s th o se

g iv en to a ttr a c t a m ate. The b est c a l ls w e r e rep ro d u ced on another

tape g iv in g a s e r ie s o f r e p r e s e n ta t iv e c a l ls .

T h ese tap es w e r e then f ie ld te s te d on G am bel, s c a le d , and

M earn s quail and on ca p tiv e E a ste r n and M ask ed b ob w h ites. The b est

r e s u lt s w ere obtained fro m G am bel quail b eca u se of th e ir w id e o c c u r ­

r e n c e and abundance.

In f ie ld te s tin g , a m ounted fe m a le w a s p la ced n ear the tape

r e c o r d e r in su ita b le quail h ab itat. The r e c o r d e r w a s tu rn ed on and the

o b s e r v e r s r em a in e d hidden a few y a rd s aw ay. It a p p ea red that the

v e h ic le and o b s e r v e r s had l i t t le or no e ffe c t on the m a le G am bel q u ail

a n sw er in g the c a l l . Indeed, in one in s ta n ce a m a le G am bel quail flew

p a st one o b se r v e r and lit on the ca r and co m m en ced c a llin g .

The tape r e c o r d e r c a l l co u ld be h ea rd for 300 y a rd s on a s t i l l

even ing and m a le s resp o n d ed to th e c a ll n o rm a lly w ith in four m in u te s .

The r e c o r d e d c a l ls w e r e m o s t e ffe c t iv e during th e f ir s t two h ou rs a fter

su n r ise and the la s t two h ou rs b e fo re su n se t. The r e s p o n se to the

taped fe m a le G am bel quail c a l ls in c r e a s e d from m id -A p r il to m id -

M ay, then d ec lin ed in m id -J u n e a fter w h ich m a le s did not ap p roach

the r e c o r d e r .

75

In e a r ly M ay a s m any a s f iv e m a le G am bel qu ail w e re a ttra c te d

at one t im e at one sta tio n . D uring M ay an a v e ra g e of two m a le s w e r e

c a lle d in p er tr ia l . In June i t dropped to one m a le p er stop and in July

i t a v e ra g e d . 71 m a le s p er sto p . U su a lly one m a le se e m e d to be d o m i­

nant and other m a le s w ould not c lo s e ly app roach the r e c o r d e r . In

s e v e r a l in s ta n c e s w hen ca u tio u s m a le s app roach ed the r e c o r d e r , th ey

w e re c h a se d from the v ic in ity by a m o r e dom inant m a le . T h is s e e m e d

to in d ica te that m a le s w e re te r r ito r ia l .

The fe m a le c a l ls a p p eared to h ave l i t t le e ffe c t on p a ired b ird s .

P a ir e d b ird s in the v ic in ity gave no r e sp o n se to the r ec o r d in g . It w ould

appear that the m a jo r ity of the b ird s a n sw er in g the fe m a le c a ll w e r e

b a c h e lo r s .

The b eh av ior o f th e m a le s a n sw er in g th e c a l ls w a s quite s p e c ­

ta cu la r . The m a le s w ould ap p roach the r e c o r d e r v e r y ra p id ly g iv in g a

loud "cow ca ll" and w hen c lo s e to th e r e c o r d e r or m ou nted b ird , th ey

w ould g iv e a low "m eow " lik e c a ll w h ile bow ing th e ir head s and s tr u t ­

ting. Som e b ird s w ould contin ue to d isp la y in th is m an ner un til d is ­

turbed, but o th ers w ould r e tr e a t a sh o r t d is ta n ce to a v an tage po in t and

contin ue to c a ll . M a les w e r e r e a d ily en ticed under a hoop net p la ced

betw een th e r e c o r d e r and the m ou n ted b ird and w e r e e a s i ly cap tu red .

F req u en tly no b ird s w ould be ca llin g on a r r iv a l at a sta tion ,

but upon sta r tin g th e tape r e c o r d e r , m a le s in the v ic in ity w ould be in ­

duced to c a ll .

76

R e su lts on M earn s qu ail w e r e not so sp ec ta cu la r a s th o se of

the G am bel quail. June 15 w as the e a r l ie s t date that a M earn s qu ail

w as h ea rd in the f ie ld . A few b ird s w e r e en ticed to an sw er the r e c o r d ­

ing from June 15 until July 20. F ro m Ju ly 25 un til A ugu st 20, n u m e r ­

ous M earn s qu ail m a le s w e r e h ea rd c a llin g on F o r t H uachuca and in the

C anelo H ills and Santa R ita M ountains.

It w as found that the m a jo r ity of the m a le s a n sw er in g the r e ­

co rd er or a w h is tle d c a ll w e r e m a ted m a le s w ith m a tes on n e s t s . On

two o c c a s io n s m a le s w ith fe m a le s p r e se n t a n sw er e d the fe m a le c a ll . I

have no exp lan ation fo r th is b eh a v io r , but the m a le s w ith in cu b atin g

fe m a le s cou ld p o s s ib ly b e lie v e i t w a s th e ir m a te c a llin g . D uring th is

p eak c a llin g p er io d , m a le s w e re e a s i ly c a lle d in by a w h is tle d c a ll . No

s in g le m a le s w e r e c a lle d in or f lu sh e d on the study a r e a s a fter the

b roods hatch ed . T h is p eak c a llin g p e r io d c lo s e ly co rr e sp o n d e d w ith

the in cu b ation p e r io d for the m a jo r ity of b roods sa m p led .

The u se of the tap e r e c o r d e r to a ttra c t b ach elor or m a ted

m a le s w h o se m a te s w e re in cu b atin g p ro v ed to be a u se fu l to o l in c a l ­

cu la tin g the num ber of p a ir s on an a r e a . A lso , a population e s t im a te

co u ld be obtained fro m the num ber o f c a llin g m a le s during the p eak of

n e stin g .

W indy days r ed u ced the d is ta n ce the c a ll co u ld be h ea rd and

i f th e o b se r v e r gave aw ay h is p o s itio n , m a le s r e fu s e d to a n sw er .

77

S u rv ey s w ould probab ly h ave to be ru n s e v e r a l t im e s to g e t the b e s t

p o s s ib le e s t im a te of m a le s a long the su r v ey ro u te .

It w as found that w alk in g s lo w ly and pau sin g freq u en tly to

w h is t le on a ca lm day w as the m o st s u c c e s s fu l m eth od . The u se of

v e h ic le s did not p rove sa t is fa c to r y . The tim e o f day did not se e m to

m ake m uch d iffe re n c e a lth ough so m e of m y b e s t r e s u lt s w e r e ob ta in ed

from 10 A . M. until 3 P . M.

CONCLUSIONS

1. The hab itat m o s t p r e fe r r e d by M earns quail i s the oak -

jun iper g r a ss la n d zon e from 5, 000 to 6, 000 fe e t .

2. M earn s quail a r e la te n estin g b ird s, n e stin g fro m la te

June through la te S ep tem b er . The n estin g c y c le ap p ea rs to be in f lu ­

en ced by su m m er r a in s so that h atch ing o c cu rs ju st a fter new v e g e ta ­

tion e m e r g e s .

3. A peak in c a llin g o c c u r r e d from July 28 through A u gu st 20 ,

but m o st o f the c a llin g w as done by m a le s w hich had m a te s in cu b atin g .

Under the r ig h t co n d ition s the u se of a fe m a le c a ll to in d u ce m a le s to

a n sw er p ro v ed to be a v a lu a b le to o l for a rr iv in g at p op ulation e s t im a te s .

4 . D e n s it ie s of M earn s quail w e re found to be h igh er than

p r e v io u s ly b e lie v e d and quail n u m b ers on the study a r e a s ap p roach ed

248 b ird s p er sq u a re m ile .

5 . F ood h ab its of M earn s quail w e r e d e term in ed by the

abundance of d ifferen t food it e m s . A c o rn s , O xalis b u lb s, C yp eru s

bulbs and tu b ers , v a r io u s s e e d s , and in s e c t s w e re the m ain ite m s

eaten .

6. They w e r e not found to m o v e a d ista n ce g r ea ter than 200

y a rd s in ra d iu s and th ey r e m a in e d in th e s e s m a ll a r e a s from th e t im e

the c o v e y broke up until the hunting se a so n .

78

79

7. S ex data sh ow s on ly a s lig h t fa v o r in g of m a le s and a 3. 5 to

1 young to adult ra tio w as o b se rv e d in d ica tin g v e r y good rep ro d u ctiv e

s u c c e s s .

8 . C oveys w e r e found to be fa m ily groups a v era g in g 9- 3

b ird s during the fa ll and w in ter .

9 . P r e d a to r s w e r e not b e lie v e d to h ave a lim itin g e ffe c t on

the quail populations; h o w ev er, the C oop erts Hawk i s c o n s id e r e d the

m o st d an gerou s p o ten tia l p red a to r .

10. O v erg ra z in g i s the m o s t ev id en t lim itin g fa c to r . A r e a s

w ithout good g r a s s c o v er co n ta in ed v e r y few b ir d s , but a r e a s w ith good

ground c o v er a cco m m o d a ted h igh quail n u m b ers.

11. Under the e x is t in g co n d itio n s , hunting h as no v is ib le

h arm fu l e ffe c t on the pop ulation . B eca u se of the hab itat hunted and

the d ifficu lty of fin d in g b ir d s , even h igh hunter p r e s s u r e cou ld not

lim it b ird n u m b ers.

12. T he p o ten tia l of th is gam e b ird cannot be fu lly r e a l iz e d

until a lon ger se a so n w ith a la r g er num ber of h u n ters i s a ch iev ed .

R E FE R E N C E S CITED

A m e r ica n O rn ith o lo g ists Union. 1957. C h eck lis t of N orth A m er ica n b ird s . Ed. 5, 691p« and su p p lem en ts .

B a iley , F . M. 1928. B ird s of N ew M ex ico . N ew M ex ico D ept. G am e and F ish . 807p.

B en d ire , C. 1892. L ife h is to r ie s o f N orth A m e r ica n b ird s w ith s p e ­c ia l r e fe r e n c e to th e ir b reed in g h ab its and e g g s . U. S. N at.M us. S p ec. B u ll. 1. 446p.

B ent, A . C. 1932. L ife h is to r ie s of N orth A m er ica n g a llin a ce o u s b ir d s . U. S. N at. M us. B u ll. 1 6 2 . 4 9 Op.

Brandt, H. 1951. A r izo n a and i t s b ird l ife (The B ird R e se a r c h Foundation , C levelan d , O hio). 723p.

C am p b ell, B. 1934. B ird n o tes fro m sou th ern A r izo n a . C ondor, 36: 2 0 1 -2 0 3 .

E rr in g to n , P . L. 1963. The phenom enon of p red ation . A m e r ica n S c ie n tis t , 5 1 :1 2 7 -2 8 4 .

F o w le r , F . H. 1903. S tra y n o tes fro m sou th ern A r izo n a . C ondor, 5: 6 8 -7 1 .

G a lliz io li , S. and E dw ard W ebb. 1961. The in flu en ce o f hunting uponquail p o p u la tion s. Job C om p letion R ep o rt. P r o je c t W -7 8 -R -5 . A r izo n a G am e and F is h D ept. 18p.

H augen, A . O. 1957. D is tin g u ish in g ju v en ile fro m adult bobw hite qu ail. J. W ild. M gm t. 2 1 :2 9 -3 2 .

H ungerford, C. R . I960 . W ater r eq u ir em en ts of G am bel q u a il. T ra n s, of the 25 N . A m er . W ild. C onf. 2 3 1 -2 4 0 .

Judd, S. D. 1905. The bobw hite and other q u a ils of the U nited S ta tes in th e ir eco n o m ic r e la t io n s . U. S. D ept. A g r ic . B ur. B io l. Surv. B u ll. 21.

80

81

L eop old , A . S. 1939. A ge d e term in a tio n in qu ail. J. W ild l. M gm t. 3 :2 6 1 -2 6 5 .

L eop old , A . S. and R o b ert A . M cC abe. 1957. N atu ral h is to r y of the M ontezum ae quail in M ex ico . Condor, 5 9 :3 -2 6 .

L ew in , V . 1963. R ep rod u ction and d eve lop m en t of young in a p op u la ­tion of C a lifo rn ia q u a il. Condor, 6 5 :2 4 9 -2 7 8 .

L igon , J. S. 1927. W ild life of New M exico , i t s c o n ser v a tio n and m an agem en t. New M exico State Gam e C o m m ., Santa F e .2 1 2 p .

K earn ey , T. H. and R . H. P e e b le s . 1951. A r izo n a F lo r a . U n iv er ­s ity of C a lifo rn ia P r e s s .

M ille r , G. S . , Jr . and R . K e llo g g . 1955 . L is t of N orth A m e r ica n r e c e n t m a m m a ls . U. S. N at. M us. B ui. 2 0 5 :2 4 9 -2 5 1 .

M ille r , L . 1943. N o te s on the M earn s q u a il. Condor, 4 5 :1 0 4 -1 0 9 .

O 'C onner, J. 1936. M y stery q u a il. F ie ld and S trea m . M arch 1936. pp. 24, 25, 7 2 -7 4 .

S e l le r s , W. D. I9 6 0 . A r izo n a c lim a te . In st. A tm o s . P h y s ic s . U niv. A r iz . P r e s s . T u cso n .

Sm ith, A . P . 1917. Som e b ird s of the D av is M ountains, T ex a s . C ondor, 19:161 -1 6 5 .

Sutton, G. M. and A . R . P h il l ip s . 1942. June b ird l i f e of the P ap ago Indian R e se rv a tio n , A r izo n a . C ondor, 4 5 :5 7 -6 5 .

Swank, W. G. and S tev e G a lliz io li . 1954. The in flu en ce o f hunting and of r a in fa ll upon G am bel quail p op u la tio n s. T ra n s. N. A m er . W ild l. C onf. 1 9 :2 8 3 -2 9 7 .

Sw arth, H. S. 1929. The fau nal a r e a s of sou th ern A rizon a: a study in an im al d istr ib u tio n . P r o c . C a lif. A cad . S c i. S er . 4, 18: 2 6 7 -3 8 3 .

____________ . 1909. D istr ib u tio n and m o lt of the M earns qu ail.Condor, 1 1 :3 9 -4 3 .

82

S ow ls, L . K. I9 6 0 . R e su lts of a banding study of G am bel quail in sou th ern A r izo n a . J. W ild l. M gm t. 2 4 :1 8 5 -1 9 0 .

V o r h ie s , C. T. 1928. Do so u th w estern quail r e q u ir e w ater ? A m e r . N at. 6 2 :4 4 6 -4 5 2 .

W allm o, O. C. 1951. F o r t H uachuca w ild life a r e a su r v e y s , 1 9 5 0 -1 9 5 1 . A rizo n a G am e and F is h C o m m ., P h oen ix . 126p.

. 1954. N estin g of M earn s quail in so u th ea ste rn A r izo n a .Condor, 5 6 :1 2 5 -1 2 8 .

W illard , F . C. 1913. L ate n estin g of c e r ta in b ird s in A r izo n a .Condor, 15:227.