Wildbird
HOME Bird name:

Mountain Quail

Oreortyx pictusOrder: GALLIFORMESFamily: Quails (Odontophoridae)

Breeding Location:

Bushes, shrubs, and thickets, Mountain slopes



Breeding Type:

Solitary nester



Breeding Population:



Egg Color:

Creamy buff to red buff



Number of Eggs:

6 - 15



Incubation Days:

24



Egg Incubator:

Both sexes



Nest Material:

Bits of plant material, needles, and grasses.



Migration:

Altitudinal movements



Splitbar
BEYOND THE BACKYARD...
800+ BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA
FORUMS - ID HELP - ARTICLES - FREE SOFTWARE - MUCH MORE
If you like the Project Wildbird ID Engine you may want to check out the WhatBird North America database - the gold standard of bird identification that Project Wildbird is based on.

Whatbird.com - a commercial web site - offers the same search capability for every bird in North America, including rare and vagrants, shorebirds, raptors, even extinct species. You'll find the same outstanding illustrations, bird calls, plus these features:

Browse Birds - view birds by location, shape, color, size, etc.

Bird Expert - guides you ID with simple questions

Forum - Visit our Identification Forum and get personal answers from our ornithologists David Lukas and Simone Whitecloud.

FORUMS - ID HELP - ARTICLES - FREE SOFTWARE - MUCH MORE

Overview

Mountain Quail: Large,striking quail with long elegant black head plume, white-bordered rufous-brown face and throat, gray-brown upperparts, blue-gray breast, and rufous-brown belly and sides with distinct white bars. Rapid direct flight, series of several stiff wing beats followed by a short glide.

Range and Habitat

Mountain Quail: A quail of dry brushy montane hillsides throughout the west.

Breeding and Nesting

Mountain Quail: Nest is a simple scrape on the ground under dense cover. Lays six to fifteen creamy buff to red buff eggs that are apparently incubated by both parents for 24 days. Chicks are able to walk and feed at one day, and make short flights when 2 weeks old.

Foraging and Feeding

Mountain Quail: Forages almost exclusively on arid brushy hillsides, feeding on a wide variety of seeds and flowers. Will dig for bulbs and climb trees to reach seeds or fruit. In the fall eats many acorns.

Readily Eats

Cracked Corn

Vocalization

Mountain Quail: Loud descending "quee-ark."

Similar Species

Mountain Quail: California Quail has short black plume tilted forward, dark brown crown and scaly underparts with white streaking on sides.

.

Copyright © 2005 WBFI Research Foundation Bird database and its related content and media is Copyright (C) 2002 - 2005 Mitch Waite Group All rights reserved.

Family Pheasants, Quails and Partridges (Odontophoridae)_blue
Species Oreortyx pictus
Length11 Inches
Wingspan15.25 Inches

Mountain Quail

Mountain Quail: Large,striking quail with long elegant black head plume, white-bordered rufous-brown face and throat, gray-brown upperparts, blue-gray breast, and rufous-brown belly and sides with distinct white bars. Rapid direct flight, series of several stiff wing beats followed by a short glide.

● Song: "quee-ark"

● Foraging & Feeding: Mountain Quail: Forages almost exclusively on arid brushy hillsides, feeding on a wide variety of seeds and flowers. Will dig for bulbs and climb trees to reach seeds or fruit. In the fall eats many acorns.

● Breeding & nesting: Mountain Quail: Nest is a simple scrape on the ground under dense cover. Lays six to fifteen creamy buff to red buff eggs that are apparently incubated by both parents for 24 days. Chicks are able to walk and feed at one day, and make short flights when 2 weeks old.

● Similar species: Mountain Quail: California Quail has short black plume tilted forward, dark brown crown and scaly underparts with white streaking on sides.

Flight Pattern

Alternates between strong flapping flight and gliding.
Mountain Quail Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Mountain Quail: A quail of dry brushy montane hillsides throughout the west.
BreedingSolitary nester
Population
MigrationAltitudinal movements
Weight8.2 Ounces