Texas Quails: Ecology and Management

3. Montezuma Quail Ecology and Life History

Montezuma Quail Ecology and Life History Louis A. Harveson, Ty H. Allen, Froylan Hernández, Dave A. Holdermann, James M. Mueller, and M. Shawn Whitley Without bulbs, the Montezuma quail disappears, for from them the bird obtains not only food but water. Leopold (1959) Montezuma quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae), or Mearns’ quail, are unique birds found in the pine-oak woodlands of Mexico and the southwestern United States, with limited occurrence in Texas (figure 3.1). Their strange appearance and behavior have earned them numerous colloquial names, including harlequin quail, black quail, Massena, painted quail, crazy quail, fool’s quail, and codorniz pinta. They differ from other Texas quails in many respects, including foraging behavior, diet, habitats, defense mechanisms, clutch size, covey size, and covey dynamics. Four subspecies of Montezuma quail are recognized. Cyrtonyx montezumae mearnsi occurs in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, whereas, C. m. montezumae , C. m. rowleyi, and C. m. sallei occur exclusively in Mexico. Montezuma quail are sister species to ocellated quail (C. ocellatus) of southern Mexico and Central America and are thought to be closely related to wood quail (Odontophorus spp.) and singing quail (Dactylortyx thoracicus ) (Holman 1961; Johnsgard 1973; Stromberg 2000). Montezuma quail are sexually dimorphic, with males being more ornate and larger (195 grams, or 6.9 ounces) than females (176 grams, or 6.2 ounces) (Brown 1989; figures 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4). Males are striking and have a distinct black-and-white harlequin face mask and dark charcoal contour feathers with white spots along the breast, sides, and flanks (figure 3.5). Females are a duller version of the male but with buff and chestnut colors replacing the black-and-white patterns of the males. Both sexes have a slight crest that extends to the nape, bluish mandibles, short tails, and a “bug-eyed” appearance. Montezuma quail possess strong legs and large feet with long claws that are used for scratching and digging for subterranean plant foods (Fuertes 1903; Miller 1943; figure 3.6). 3 Figure 3.1. Geographic distribution of Montezuma quail in Texas. Courtesy Mark Lockwood Figure 3.2. Female (left) and male (right) Montezuma quail. Photos courtesy Larry Ditto/ KAC Productions Figure 3.3. A male Montezuma quail sits atop a small rock that is surrounded by herbaceous cover. Photo by Louis A. Harveson Figure 3.4. A radio-marked female Montezuma quail being aged using the presence (juvenile) or absence (adult) of buffy coloration on the primary wing coverts. Photo by Louis A. Harveson Figure 3.5. Male Montezuma are ornately colored with a harlequin mask, white spots down their flanks, and a bluish bill. Photo by Louis A. Harveson Figure 3.6. Montezuma quail are well equipped for digging for tubers and seed, as noted by the abnormally long claws. Photo by Louis A. Harveson In Arizona and New Mexico, Montezuma quail are game birds. However, in Texas, Montezuma quail are classified by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) as a game bird with no open season. The life history and ecology of this quail are known primarily from widely scattered field observations (e.g., Fuertes 1903; Ligon 1927; Bent 1932; Miller 1943; Wallmo 1954) and relatively few dedicated studies (Leopold and McCabe 1957; Bishop and Hungerford 1965; Brown 1978; Albers and Gehlbach 1990; Stromberg 1990). Stromberg provides a detailed review on the life history of Montezuma quail; however, most of the literature (i.e., nesting, habitat requirements, food preferences) regarding Montezuma quail is based on natural history observations. Further, other than Stromberg’s, no data have been collected on Montezuma quail using contemporary methods (i.e., radiotelemetry, markrecapture ) (figure 3.7). This chapter is an overview of the life history and ecology of Montezuma quail in Texas. Because almost no data exist on the ecology of Montezuma quail in Texas (Hernández, Harveson, and Brewer 2002a), we draw upon literature from other regions of their distribution. Distribution in Texas Historically (pre-1950), Montezuma quail have been reported from the Edwards Plateau and Trans-Pecos regions of Texas (Oberholser 1974); both regions connect biogeographically with the Sierra Madre in Mexico. The Trans-Pecos range minimally included portions of the following counties: Brewster (Chisos, Del Norte, and Glass mountains), Culberson (Guadalupe Mountains), El Paso (Franklin Mountains), Jeff Davis (Davis Mountains), Presidio (Chinati Mountains and Sierra Vieja), and Reeves (Barilla Mountains) (figure3 .8;table3.1).TheEdwardsPlateaurangeofMontezuma quail was bounded on the west by...