Gambel Quail in Death Valley
by Janette Boyd
Title
Gambel Quail in Death Valley
Artist
Janette Boyd
Medium
Photograph - Photo/texture/digital
Description
Photo of Gambel Quail taken near Death Valley with textures added for color.
Featured in the following FAA Groups:
*Wisconsin Flowers and Scenery
*Poetic Poultry
*Animal Photographs
*Greeting Cards for All Occasions
*Photograph Manipulation
*All Media Acceptable
*A Birding Group - Wings
Gambel's Quail are gregarious birds of the desert Southwest, where coveys gather along brushy washes and cactus-studded arroyos to feed. Males and females both sport a bobbing black topknot of feathers. The male's prominent black belly patch distinguishes it from the similar California Quail (the two species' ranges don't overlap). This ground-hugging desert dweller would rather run than fly-look for these tubby birds running between cover or posting a lookout on low shrubs.
Size & Shape
Like other quail, Gambel's Quail are plump, volleyball-sized birds with short necks, small bill, and square tail. The wings are short and broad. Both sexes have a comma-shaped topknot of feathers atop their small heads, fuller in males than females.
Color Pattern
Richly patterned in gray, chestnut, and cream that can serve as excellent camouflage. Males have a bright rufous crest, chestnut flanks striped with white, and creamy belly with black patch. Females are grayer, lacking the strong head pattern. Neither sex is as strongly scaled as the California Quail is.
Behavior
Gambel's Quails walk or run along the ground in groups called coveys that can include a dozen or more birds. They scratch for food under shrubs and cacti, eating grasses and cactus fruits. Flight is explosive, powerful, and short.
Habitat
Lives in the hot deserts of the Southwest�the Sonoran, Mohave, and Chihuahuan�below about 5,500 feet elevation. Frequents mesquite thickets along river valleys and arroyos, shrublands and cactus, dry grasslands, and agricultural fields
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gambels_Quail/id
Uploaded
August 22nd, 2016
Statistics
Viewed 579 Times - Last Visitor from Mount Laurel, NJ on 03/25/2024 at 10:45 AM
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Comments (9)
Jean OKeeffe Macro Abundance Art
Congratulations for the feature of your artwork on the Greeting Cards For All Occasions homepage, voted!
Janette Boyd replied:
Thank you, Jean, for the feature in the lovely group, "Greeting Cards for All Occasions". I love your group!
Anita Faye
Wonderful color and texture Janette! Featured on Poetic Poultry! http://fineartamerica.com/groups/poetic-poultry-.html
Randy Rosenberger
Congratulations on being chosen to have your artwork Featured on the homepage of the Wisconsin Flowers and Scenery group. It is with pride and joy that I can share this beautiful piece of artwork with the FAA art community. Thanks for sharing. like and fave Randy B. Rosenberger (admin of WFS group)