Texas Quails: Ecology and Management

2. Gambel’s Quail Ecology and Life History

6 2 Gambel’s Quail Ecology and Life History William P. Kuvlesky Jr., Stephen J. DeMaso, and Michael D. Hobson The Gambels [sic] are a hardy bird, and under ordinary conditions multiply rapidly. H. Brown (1900) The Gambel’s quail (Callipepla gambelii) is named after William Gambel , a naturalist employed by the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences who collected specimens along the Santa Fe Trail in 1841 (Brown 1989). Gambel’s quail are most common in the Sonoran Desert and associated semiarid ecosystems of Arizona and Sonora, Mexico (Brown et al. 1998). They are often called desert quail. The birds are gregarious and emit a distinctive gathering call that makes them easy to identify. This distinctive assembly call is the vocalization that most people associate with Gambel’s quail because the birds produce the call throughout the year. The Texas subspecies of Gambel’s quail (C. g. ignoscens) (Johnsgard 1975) has received little attention from biologists, managers, and researchers in Texas because the species has such a limited distribution in the state (figure 2.1). Most of the information we have regarding this bird is from research conducted in Arizona and New Mexico. Many Texas quail hunters are not aware that Gambel’s quail occur in Texas and can be hunted here. This chapter provides information about what is known about Gambel’s quail in Texas as well as some basic guidelines for conservation, habitat management, and research. However, because Gambel ’s quail have been largely ignored by researchers in Texas, little information specific to these quail is available. Consequently, we have relied on information from other states where Gambel’s quail occur in habitats similar to those where they occur in Texas to describe their life history and ecology in Texas. Distribution Brown and Gutiérrez (1980) hypothesized that Gambel’s quail evolved in mild climates where annual rainfall peaks during winter and where the spring and summer are dry. Hot summer temperatures, low humidity , and high evaporation rates characterize these regions. The center of Gambel’s quail distribution in North America is the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts of south-central Arizona, northwestern Sonora, and south to northern Sinaloa, Mexico (Brown 1989). The species occurs from this region west into arid and semiarid areas of California along the Colorado River and north into arid areas of southern Nevada, southern Utah, and isolated locales in southwestern Colorado. From southern Arizona, Gambel’s quail are also distributed to the south and east into the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico and northern Coahuila and Chihuahua, Mexico (Brown et al. 1998). The species range is Figure 2.1. Geographic distribution of Gambel’s quail in Texas. Courtesy Mark Lockwood 7 Gambel’s Quail Ecology and Life History gradually reduced to arid riparian areas of southeastern New Mexico and West Texas, and the populations are eventually restricted to the Rio Grande. Gambel’s quail distribution continues into Texas but is limited to the upper Rio Grande Valley from El Paso to southeastern Terrell County at elevations ranging from 790 to 1,190 meters (2,500 to 3,900 feet) (Texas Game, Fish and Oyster Commission 1945; Oberholser 1974). The species probably extends less than 64.4 kilometers (less than 40 miles) inland from the river, where it is closely associated with the floodplains and bottoms of Rio Grande tributaries and numerous intermittent streams. Annual Cycle and Life History Understanding the annual cycle and life history of any animal is essential for effective management. This section presents an overview of these topics as they relate to Gambel’s quail. Behaviors and Vocalizations Gambel’s quail tend to run and hide in dense, desert vegetation rather than fly. They flush more readily than scaled quail (C. squamata) if a predator or hunter surprises them or if they are persistently pursued. They are among the most gregarious of quail species in North America , as indicated by their diverse vocal behavior and the large feeding concentrations that form during winter. They use woody vegetation for cover, food, and roosts (Brown 1989), which are all important adaptations in environments where herbaceous plants may be available for only a few weeks each year. Appearance Perhaps the most distinctive physical feature of Gambel’s quail is the black, teardrop-shaped plume on the top of the head that occurs in both sexes. The upper bodies and backs of both sexes are blue gray, leading some people to refer to them as blue quail, according to Brown (1989). However, unlike scaled quail, which...