Gambel's Quail

Look West

by Lynn Hassler Kaufman

Take a hike in the desert, turn any street corner in the West, and you will find the plump silhouette of the Gambel's quail. From the dry desert floor to gift shop collectibles, these endearing birds are often found in a graceful convoy, waddling along with their young trailing behind. In Gambel's Quail, a new addition to the Look West series, we will find that while these birds, looking quite snappy with their plumed topknots, exude a quiet sense of elegance, they can be quite obnoxious with their loud and boisterous clucking and crowing.

These social birds always travel in a group and use different vocalizations for different behaviors. In Gambel's Quail, learn how to invite Gambel's quail into your yard, how to encourage nesting in your prized pot, and how to interact with them. 30 photos and illustrations.

About the Look West Series:

What do you find? Wide, wild landscapes ... extraordinary plants and animals ... rugged people rich in history ... ghost towns and working ranches ... ancient pueblos and ultramodern urban areas. In the West, coyotes howl. Native Americans endure and flourish. Kokopelli, the mythical humpbacked flute player, prances across the cliff dwellings and into popular culture—and thousands of curio shops. Every small, handsome book in Rio Nuevo Publishers' new Look West series presents a unique aspect of the American West. Using words and pictures, each volume explores a special Western topic or phenomenon, and all have been written and illustrated by regional experts. Each of these attractive 6 × 6-inch hardcover books contains 64 pages of text, illustrations, and photographs. And each one allows the reader to capture the spirit of the West in the palm of a hand.

64 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 2004

Reviews

[GoldGato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quail are smart birds and they usually travel as a large family, which makes living in the desert a real treat. I like to think of them as The Dawn Patrol, as they march across the landscape from largest to the littlest chick. They are cute-a-licious. And plump. Plump-a-licious.



These birds, who will fly but much prefer a good hike, are related to pheasants and turkeys. Acclimated to desert life, they can sometimes be called Desert Quail, but I prefer Gambel's Quail which is "beautiful robe" in their scientific nomenture. One usually hears them before seeing them and, along with the splendiferous hummingbirds and crafty roadrunners, enthrall visitors to the desert. Alas, human development has taken away much of their habitat and trying to explain that to the local leaders doesn't make one popular. So, I have planted many native plants and patterned both the front and back areas with foliage cover for their own protection. I hope they will one day choose my patio for a nesting site for that means I will probably win the lottery when they do (Gambels are considered lucky).

This book is part of the Look West Series, which means a book one can hold in one's palm but with enough pictures and data to appreciate the chosen subject. One reason I also enjoyed this book is that it explains other quail relatives, such as California Quail, Mountain Quail, Scaled Quail, Montezuma Quail, Northern Bobwhites, and Masked Bobwhites. That's quite a bit of information for some sixty-odd pages and the photos are spot on. Excellent nature book for anyone, young or old.

Book Season = Autumn (call to assembly)

[E Rachelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great information on Gambel's and other quail, most of which I can corroborate from observation. I wish there was some cited research (even if it was only referenced in a bibliography at the end) to back the claim that quail mate for life and their average life expectancy is one and a half years, but that's the scientist in me.

[Johanna Cormier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was quite delightfully surprised that this book actually really did have useful information which I had not already gleaned from my internet research. The photos are clear and very good reference.