Wild bird breeding season is still in full swing. Some species breed early, and some breed late. For others, the time for breeding is a season, not necessarily a one-time event. Many species produce clutches of eggs from spring until fall.

The timing for breeding is different for different species. Large species—such as bald eagles and great horned owls—usually start nesting in January! At our elevation, mourning doves start breeding as early as February and March, and will have multiple clutches during the breeding season, nesting as late as September.

Non-migratory species tend to breed earlier as they are already here in March and April. Migratory species don’t start breeding until May or June, after they get back from where they wintered.

Weather plays a significant role impacting when species breed, how many times they breed in a nesting season, and how many eggs they lay per clutch. A cool, wet spring might result in birds breeding later compared to a year where we have an unusually warm spring in which they will nest earlier.

Gambel’s quail are common here in the Arizona Central Highlands, and their nesting behavior is strongly influenced by weather. If we have a wet spring, they tend to produce more eggs compared to drier years. Some years you will see a quail family with only a few babies, and other years you will see families with ten or more babies.

The mortality rate for quail is about eighty-five percent the first year. This means that only fifteen out of one hundred babies will make it from hatchling to adulthood. Baby quail are highly susceptible to predation, and the number of predators is long and varied, including snakes, roadrunners, feral cats, scrub-jays, ravens, Cooper’s hawks, fox, coyote, and bobcats. It is a lucky quail that makes it to adulthood!

When baby quail hatch, their eyes are open, they are covered in a downy coat of feathers, and they are mobile and capable of feeding themselves within a few hours of hatching. This level of development is referred to as precocial.

This is exactly the opposite of most songbirds—their development in the egg is referred to as altricial. When they hatch, their eyes are still closed, they are featherless, and they are completely dependent upon their parents for food and care.

I have always been impressed with how attentive adult quails are as they watch over their brood. Watching baby quail forage down on the ground is very entertaining. The speed with which they run is shocking! Their feet are huge for their body size.

Mother quail are usually down on the ground, teaching their young what to eat, while papa quail is usually sitting on an elevated lookout, ever vigilant for any possible danger.

Quail are very cover-dependent. They spend a lot of time underneath low shrubs and bushes. When they do venture out from the cover of vegetation, they usually run quickly to the next clump of shrubs.

If you are wanting to feed quail, their food of choice is white-proso millet. It is a small round seed that can be broadcast directly down onto the ground. Quail are not very water dependent—they get most of their water through the food they eat.

If you do provide a birdbath down on the ground, make sure the water is shallow—anything over an inch in depth poses a drowning threat for the baby quail, as they have no experience with water. I hope you are seeing and enjoying a lot quail families in your yard this summer. We certainly are!

Until next week, Happy Birding!

Eric Moore is the owner of The Lookout, in Prescott, where you will find a Hallmark department, wild bird products, and Swarovski and Vortex optics. Eric has been an avid birder for over 55 years. Eric can be contacted at eric@thelookoutaz.com.