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
>
>
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>
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