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Natural Resources and Conservation

Arizona

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Characteristics Of Hunter Harvested Montezuma Quail Wings And Implications For Molt Phenology, Charles J. Randel Iii, Pedro M. Chavarria, C. Zach Johnson, Roel R. Lopez, John M. Tomeček, Nova J. Silvy Sep 2022

Characteristics Of Hunter Harvested Montezuma Quail Wings And Implications For Molt Phenology, Charles J. Randel Iii, Pedro M. Chavarria, C. Zach Johnson, Roel R. Lopez, John M. Tomeček, Nova J. Silvy

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

We obtained 1,899 hunter-harvested Montezuma quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae) wings from southeastern Arizona, USA, from the 2008–2009 hunting season. We determined age and sex based on plumage characteristics for 98.2% (1,864) of the original sample. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) of wing-chord length found differences (P < 0.001) based on sex, but not age, with mean (± standard error) male wing chord (113.76 ± 0.15 mm) longer than mean female wing chord (111.03 ± 0.13 mm). Mean male and female wing-chord lengths from our study population were 6.8% and 7.7% shorter, respectively, than previously reported in the literature. We additionally calculated a complete prebasic molt cycle of 177 days based on previously reported preformative molt patterns. The primary benefits of our results are: 1) a more accurate sex-based wing-chord length based on a large sample size, 2) a method to back-calculate molt onset dates for hunter harvested after hatch year Montezuma quail, and 3) a potential means to model the influence of precipitation on population dynamics of Montezuma quail.


Winter Diet Of Montezuma Quail In Arizona And New Mexico, Oscar E. López-Bujanda, Alberto Macías-Duarte, Reyna A. Castillo-Gámez, Angel B. Montoya Sep 2022

Winter Diet Of Montezuma Quail In Arizona And New Mexico, Oscar E. López-Bujanda, Alberto Macías-Duarte, Reyna A. Castillo-Gámez, Angel B. Montoya

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Investigating the diet composition of Montezuma quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae) is fundamental for unveiling how food resources limit the species’ population size and may provide relevant tools for their harvest and habitat management. The objective of this research was to determine the composition and geographic variation of the winter diet of the Montezuma quail in Arizona and New Mexico, USA, from quail crops harvested during the hunting seasons of 2008–2017. In addition, we used beta regression analyses to determine the effect of environmental factors and ecological variables (annual mean precipitation, annual mean temperature, landscape diversity, diet diversity, time of …


Composition Of The Montezuma Quail’S Diet In Arizona, New Mexico, And Texas, Ana G. Paredes-Acuña, Alberto Macías-Duarte, Reyna A. Castillo-Gámez, Angel B. Montoya, James H. Weaver Sep 2022

Composition Of The Montezuma Quail’S Diet In Arizona, New Mexico, And Texas, Ana G. Paredes-Acuña, Alberto Macías-Duarte, Reyna A. Castillo-Gámez, Angel B. Montoya, James H. Weaver

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

The Montezuma quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae) is a popular game bird and an indicator species of oak-pine savannas in the northern part of its range. In Arizona and New Mexico, USA, robust populations allow for a hunting season from mid-November through mid-February. However, there is no open hunting season for this quail in Texas, USA. Data on the Montezuma quail’s diet can provide new information and improve management of the species. Our objective was to analyze the diet composition of the Montezuma quail in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Specimens were collected by hunters in Arizona and New Mexico …


The Saga Of The Masked Bobwhite: Lessons Learned And Unlearned, David E. Brown, Kevin B. Clark Nov 2017

The Saga Of The Masked Bobwhite: Lessons Learned And Unlearned, David E. Brown, Kevin B. Clark

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

No bird has generated so much interest and controversy as has the masked bobwhite (Colinus virginianus ridgwayi). From its discovery in 1884 to the present, this gallinaceous game bird has captured the attention of hunter-naturalists, ornithologists, collectors, game breeders, conservationists and bureaucrats. Believed threatened with extinction throughout its 130 year history, the masked bobwhite prompted several collecting expeditions, a survey technique study, a plethora of propagation attempts, and the purchase of an 117,464 acre refuge by the federal government, and expenditures totaling millions of dollars. Yet, despite propagated stock existing in a captive facility on Buenos Aires National …