Montezuma Quail

Montezuma Quail male

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Reproduction
8. Conservation Status
9. Other Names

The strikingly marked Montezuma Quail is a bird of Mexican Mountains, reaching the United States only in southern Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas.

Cool Facts

• The Montezuma Quail usually crouches and stays still when danger threatens, and then explodes into flight from a leaping start if the danger comes too close. In captivity, even with clipped wings, it can leap at least 2 m (6.5 feet) straight up, often with enough force to cause severe injury or death if it strikes the roof of a cage.

Description

• Size: 20-23 cm (8-9 in)
• Wingspan: 41-43 cm (16-17 in)
• Weight: 122-230 g (4.31-8.12 ounces)

Small quail. Small round head with slight rounded crest. Round body with very short tail. Male with bold black-and-white face pattern, black chin, dark chest with many small white spots, and streaks and bars across back. Female brown with indistinct head pattern like male's.

Sex Differences

Male boldly marked with black-and-white face, female muted in browns.

Immature

Juvenile similar to adult female.

Similar Species

• Northern Bobwhite has bushy, pointed crest, distinct face pattern with white or buff eyebrow and throat.

Sound

Calls a series of quavering metallic whistles and a descending whistle combined with a buzz.

Range

Range Map

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

About the map

Summer Range

Resident in southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, and western Texas, southward to southern Mexico.

Habitat

Pine-oak forest, arid montane scrub, and northern temperate grassland.

Reproduction

Clutch Size

Condition at Hatching

Downy and able to follow mother.

Conservation Status

The secretive nature of the species makes obtaining accurate population estimates difficult. It is hunted in the three states where it occurs.

Other Names

Colin arlequin (French)
Codorniz Moctezuma (Spanish)
Harlequin Quail (English)

Sources used to construct this page:

Stromberg, M. R. 2000. Montezuma Quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae). In The Birds of North America No. 524 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.