Page 9 - Summer 2012 magazine-2

It was a gorgeous southwestern morning and my friend Mickey carefully placed pans of water

and handfuls of seeds around the garden on his ranch. "Who are you feeding?" I asked as I
looked around and saw nothing in sight. "Just wait," he replied and wait I did. Suddenly a covey

of quail with their topknots bobbing up and down scurried out of the surrounding shrubs and had
their morning meal. Just as quickly, with short bursts of flight and graceful dips back to earth,
they were gone. I later learned that these wonderful birds feed early and late in the day to avoid

predators. And, quite a list of predators they have! Hawks, falcons, bobcats, king snakes, you
name it, and worst of all...humans! Hunting season lasts a full 125 days. My close encounter with
these fascinating birds prompted me to study them in a pencil sketch.

The Gambel Quail (named after the nineteenth century American naturalist, William Gambel)
ranges along the Rio Grande, then westward to Arizona, Nevada and California. This amazing

little bird can be found in the lowest depths of Death Valley and also as high up in our desert
mountains as 6,000 feet. It is not unusual to see Mom and Pop Quail strolling along our city

streets or country roads with a single file of chicks hustling behind. The chicks are naturally a bit
awkward, so please excuse the way they flop over the curbsides.

Callipepla Gambelii is the Gambel Quail's scientific name. The perfect name really, as Callipe-
pla is Greek for "beautiful robe.” A beautiful robe they have and I won’t forget that warm desert

morning and the feeding of the quails. I hope you enjoy the sketch.

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