There is no better inspiration for a blog post than a first-time encounter with a new bird. And it's especially true when the sighting and photographs help me dig deeper into the fascinating field of ornithology.
I recently made a trip to the Simi Valley area of Southern California and managed to pick up where I left off on a birding trip to the same location last year. On that trip, I observed that some common birds in California were closely related to some common birds in Arizona, but that the geographically separated birds were in fact unique species within their respective families. As a result, Arizona has Woodhouse's scrub-jays, canyon towhees and juniper titmice, while California has California scrub-jays, California towhees and oak titmice, living on opposite ends of a vast landscape of deserts and mountains.
On my first birding trip to the West Coast, I mostly ignored the quails because I assumed they were the Gambel's quail, a common bird in Arizona. But my research showed me that the regions are the homes of separate species of this avian also. I was excited to find a California quail quite quickly on this recent trip and, even better, to snap some photographs of the Golden State's state bird.
The California quail seems scalier due to the busy feather patterns on its belly, something the Gambel's lacks. And they seem to have lighter shaded feathers on their foreheads and wings that are less brown. A long enough geographic separation over one million years ago resulted in today's unique species of quails. How exciting that a single birding encounter can take you on a trip back to the Pleistocene!
I recently made a trip to the Simi Valley area of Southern California and managed to pick up where I left off on a birding trip to the same location last year. On that trip, I observed that some common birds in California were closely related to some common birds in Arizona, but that the geographically separated birds were in fact unique species within their respective families. As a result, Arizona has Woodhouse's scrub-jays, canyon towhees and juniper titmice, while California has California scrub-jays, California towhees and oak titmice, living on opposite ends of a vast landscape of deserts and mountains.
On my first birding trip to the West Coast, I mostly ignored the quails because I assumed they were the Gambel's quail, a common bird in Arizona. But my research showed me that the regions are the homes of separate species of this avian also. I was excited to find a California quail quite quickly on this recent trip and, even better, to snap some photographs of the Golden State's state bird.
The California quail seems scalier due to the busy feather patterns on its belly, something the Gambel's lacks. And they seem to have lighter shaded feathers on their foreheads and wings that are less brown. A long enough geographic separation over one million years ago resulted in today's unique species of quails. How exciting that a single birding encounter can take you on a trip back to the Pleistocene!
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| Male California quail in Simi Valley, California. |
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| Male California quail in Simi Valley, California. |
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| Male Gambel's quail in Phoenix, Arizona. Note the different colors and patterns of his torso feathers. |
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| Male Gambel's quail in Phoenix, Arizona. |
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| Male Gambel's quail in Phoenix, Arizona. |
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| Female Gambel's quail in Phoenix, Arizona. I have yet to see a female California quail so it's time for another West Coat birding adventure! |
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