naturerecordists
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: Montezuma Quail story

Subject: Re: Montezuma Quail story
From: Kevin J. Colver <>
Date: Mon, 5 Sep 2005 12:10:18 -0700
Martyn,
The descending tremolo you recorded is the display courtship
vocalization of the female Montezuma quail.  I was going for this,
along with the male display buzz, but didn't get the female call.=20
Where were you and what habitat were you in when recording this?  It is
a rare recording you have.  Greg Lasley recorded in TX the version in
the Stoke's Western Guide which I mistakenly labeled as male song.

Kevin Colver


On Monday, September 5, 2005, at 09:39 AM, Martyn Stewart wrote:

> Great story Kevin, I stumbled across a Montezuma quail back in June of
> this
> year, I managed to get 3 calls from him. To be honest with you, I
> didn't
> know what the heck it was calling and I didn=92t see the bird but I met
> up
> with a guy from the Audubon society in El-Paso who he told me it was a
> typical call from the Montezuma quail, of course I was highly
> delighted, I
> tried to relocated the bird but I guess he knew that I knew who is was
> now
> and shut the hell up!!!
>
> Here is the call included with Mockingbirds etc. it=92s a kind of
> descending
> whistle type call.
> http://www.naturesound.org/Sound%20Files/Mystery/MontquailTX.mp3
>
> You hear him at 7 seconds 28 seconds and 53 seconds.
>
>
>
> Martyn
>
> ****************************************
> Martyn Stewart
> Bird and Animal Sounds Digitally Recorded at:
> http://www.naturesound.org
> Redmond. Washington. USA
> N47.65543=A0=A0 W121.98428
>
> e-mail: 
> Tel:=A0=A0=A0 425-898-0462
>
> Make every Garden a wildlife Habitat!
> *****************************************
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: 
>  On Behalf Of Kevin J. Colver
> Sent: Sunday, September 04, 2005 5:26 PM
> To: 
> Subject: Re: [Nature Recordists] Montezuma Quail story
>
> I must confess to being one less interested in mic construction,
> (although I have asked for and made a few mic comments in the past.)=A0
> Stories and sounds are what I enjoy, so I'll share a story.
>
> Jim Morgan was kind enough to accompany me on a long-shot chase for the
> sounds of Montezuma Quail last week in southern AZ.=A0 Few recordings
> exist for this quiet and elusive species.=A0 I had never even seen the
> bird in all my time recording in AZ.
>
> We started with an attempted camp in Sunnyside canyon.=A0=A0 After a
> friendly,=A0 pistol-totting ranch hand told us about the back-country
> robberies by drug-running, automatic rifle bearing gangs in the canyon,
> we retreated to safer nighttime quarters at an established campground.
>
> Hours combing the canyons in evening and morning turned up no quail and
> few other vocalizing species at this time of year.=A0 The hills are
> beautiful, the summer rains have greened the grass, wildflowers are
> everywhere.=A0 Jim got photos.
>
> We decided to try the foothills of the Chiricahua mountains, so with
> the assistance and permission of a generous landowner, we again hiked
> and listened, hiked and listened.
>
> It was after a long morning working the oak grassland that I finally
> gave up and headed down the hill.=A0 Suddenly a softball-sized tiny male
> quail burst from the grass under my feet.=A0 Flying only 5 meters away he
> landed while I froze and began recording.=A0 He walked from side to side
> and a little toward me, all the time calling with faint moaning cries.=A0
> I seemed to hear another quail also moaning in my stereo Telinga but
> could see no other bird in the thick grass.=A0 A few times I heard a
> faint insect-like buzz.=A0 The BNA monograph describes the male's
> "insect-like buzz call" but I have never heard a recording of this
> vocalization type.=A0 Was I just hearing=A0 a nearby insect?=A0 Finally,
> unable to hold still longer, my leg falling asleep, I moved and the
> quail flew off.
>
> A review of BNA (Birds of North America) showed mention of a "predator
> distraction display" made by male birds while nearby chicks creep
> unseen into the grass.=A0 This would be a behavior similar to the
> broken-wing display of an adult Killdeer designed to draw a predator
> away from the young.=A0 I believe I was witness to this display and got
> it all on tape from 5 meters away!=A0 I don't have the tape processed
> yet, sorry no sound to share as yet.
>
> Many thanks to Jim for all his help.
>
> I would look forward to hearing about some adventures from all of you.=A0
> Good recording!
>
> Kevin Colver
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
> "Microphones are not ears,
> Loudspeakers are not birds,
> A listening room is not nature."
> Klas Strandberg
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "Microphones are not ears,
> Loudspeakers are not birds,
> A listening room is not nature."
> Klas Strandberg
>
>
<image.tiff>
>
> YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
>
> +     =A0Visit your group "naturerecordists" on the web.
> =A0
> +     =A0To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> =
> =A0
> +     =A0Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
>
>
<image.tiff>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the naturerecordists mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU