Identifying and classifying game birds

1. Identifying and classifying game birds

2. Learning Targets • I will describe the characteristics and types of quail • I will describe the characteristics and types of pheasant • I will describe the characteristics of chukar partridges

3. Terms • Plume – is a long feather located on the top of the head • Top Knot – another name for a plume

4. Describe the Characteristics and types of Quail • There are many different types of quail found in the wild. • Bobwhite Quail • California Quail • Gambel’s Quail • Masked Bobwhite Quail • Mearns’ Quail • Mountain Quail • Scaled Quail

5. Bobwhite Quail • ColinusVirginianus • The widest ranging of quail species • Midwest, Southern, Eastern USA. But can also be found in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and the foothills of the Rockies • Have Reddish Brown coloration with a short gray tail. The male has a white throat and white band above the eye extending down the neck. • The female is duller with her markings having more of a bluff color. • Neither sex has a plume • The species’ call is a whistled “bob-bob-white”

6. Bob White Call

7. California Quail • LophortyxCalifornicus • Is the state bird of California • Also known as the valley quail • Prefers the mixed woodlands and grassy valleys of California, Oregon, and Washington • The male has a black throat and a face bordered by white bands, and a white forhead • The females are duller and lake head markings • Bothe sexes have a forward facing plume • The species’ call is a whistled “chi-caa-go”

9. Gambel’s Quail • LophortyxGambelli • It is sometimes referred to as the desert quail due to its preferred habitat • Found in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah • Prefers to live in brush, frequently thickets of hackberry and mesquite, and close to water • It is similar in appearance to Californian Quail, although the male has a prominent black patch on a cream white belly and a reddish head top • The female also has a cream white belly to help distinguish it from the Californian Quail • Both sexes have forward sloping plumes • The call is also similar to that of the Californian Quail

11. Masked Bobwhite Quail • ColinusVirginanusRidgwayi • It is on the endangered species list • The head is black, as if hooded by an executioner’s mask. The breast feather of males are solid reddish-brown. • The females are colored like other races • It whistles Bobwhite during the breading season, forms roosting circles at night and eats seeds, insects and light greens.

13. Mearns’ Quail • CyrtonyzMontezumae • Also called Montezuma or Harlequin Quail • Found in the southwest from Southern Arizona to Texas and Mexico • Prefers open woodland mountain slopes and grassy slopes • The male has a distinctive harqlequin marked face pattern and a somewhat bug-eyed look with a slight crest, but often not erect, and heavy white spotting on the flanks • The female has a duller, brown face. Both sexes are short tailed • This bird’s call is a soft whistle similar to a screeching owl’s call

15. Mountain Quail • OreortyxPictus • The largest of North American quails • Its is found mostly in the pacific northwest in California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington • Prefers higher elevations in brush, scrub oaks, and thickets • Tall, thin, slightly backward tilting head plume in both sexes • The male has a chestnut throat while the female is duller in coloration. • Its call is a whistled soft “whook”

17. Scaled Quail • CallipeplaSquamata • Often called a blue quail • Prefers to escape on foot, and when flushed it does not fly far • Its range includes parts of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona • Usually found in arid country with sparse grassland • Both sexes look similar with no plume, instead they have a white topped crest extending from mid-head to rear of head

19. Group Activity • Get into two groups • Group one, there are four different types of non-plume quail that we have talked about in class. Try to find a method for figuring out which quail is which. • Group two, there are three different types of quail with plumes that we have talked about in class. Try to find a method for figuring out which quail is which.

20. 2. Quiz 1. 3.

21. 5. 4. 6.

23. 2. Review 1. 3.

24. 1. Bobwhite

25. 2. Masked Bobwhite

26. 3. Mearn’s Quail

27. 5. 4. 6.

28. 4. Mountain Quail

29. 5. Californian Quail

30. 6. Gambel’s Quail

31. What’s Left?

32. What’s Left? Scaled Quail

33. Describe the characteristics and types of pheasant • Ringneck Pheasant • Reeve Pheasant

34. Ringneck Pheasant • PhasianusColchicus • A relatively large bird with distinct color and plumage • The male has a long tail and a head with distinct green, black, and read feathers with a white collar • Both sexes have brownish and somewhat mottled coloration on their bodies • Originally from China • Prefer overgrown grassy fields, or corn fields, near a creek bank

36. Reeve Pheasant • Sometimes called long-tailed pheasant • Found in central China • Although well known in Captivity, attempts to introduce this pheasant into North America, Hawaii, England, and France have been unsuccessful • The males are known to grow tails up to 6 feet long • The crown, chin, and back of head is white with a black band covering the face, eyes and extending to the back of the head

38. Describe the characteristics of chukar partridges • Red-legged partridge • Commonly referred to as the “chukar” • Can best be identified by the black band running across the forehead through the eyes, down the neck, and meeting between the white throat feathers and upper breast. • There are no obvious color differentiation between the sexes.

40. Classifying Game Birds • See if you can name the birds in these pictures without your notes.

41. 1. 2. 4. 3.

42. 5. 6. 8. 7.

43. 9. 10.

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

45. The hunt • Dogs – used to speed up the hunting process, they help locate the game birds and then flush them out once found. • Gun – the instrument used to take down the bird. • Hunting

46. Summary • Be able to describe the characteristics and types of quail • Be able to describe the characteristics and types of pheasant • Be able to describe the characteristics of chukar partridges