#scaled quail

Not great photos, but I was really excited to get so close to this scaled quail.

Most of the quail I see around here are Gambel's quail, and they are charming, but scaled quail are fewer and shyer. This one was determined to crow at dawn, and let me walk right up to take pictures with my macro lens.

Scaled Quail Callipepla squamata

Scaled Quail, in a “classic outward-facing circle”! 

Photo: Grigory Heaton

"Dry southwestern grasslands provide a home for this blue-gray quail. Coveys of Scaled Quail travel about on foot; even when disturbed, they tend to run rather than flying. In the concealing cover of the short grass they can be inconspicuous except in spring, when males often call from atop fenceposts or exposed rocks. At night, coveys of Scaled Quail roost on the ground in dense low growth."

Scaled Quail in the Big Bend

Photo source