Banding Records of Gambel Quail
Banding Records of Gambel Quail
On January 3, 1936, while engaged in trapping and banding Gambel quail (Lophortyz gambelii) on the Santa Rita Experimental Range, Tucson, Arizona, I succeeded in retrapping five cocks which furnished some valuable data. Two of these were banded by Mrs. Gorsuch and myself, December 31, 1931, at which time they were definitely more than eighteen months old as determined by the unbarred feathers of the abulas. This accurately establishes the present ages of these birds as more than five and one-half years. Considering the daily perils to which our quail are exposed these are believed to be noteworthy records.
One of the oldest of these quail had been shot about six months before. A number 7, or 76, shot had perforated the band near its top, breaking the leg just above. The shot was embedded in scar tissue on the opposite side of the leg which it penetrated. The leg healed in a slightly crooked manner, but the foot was still flexible with the exception of the second toe which was paralyzed either directly by injury from the shot, or from the resultant swelling which more than filled the band. The band was removed and replaced by another on the left leg. Despite the suffering and handicaps involved, this quail recovered and it may live to be retrapped in future years.
The sedentary habits of this species are well illustrated by such trapping records. One bird was retrapped at the identical spot where banded four years previously, three were taken but two hundred yards from the original point of capture, while the fifth, the greatest wanderer of all, had moved less than eight-tenths of a mile during a four-year period.
D. M. Gorsuch
U. S. Forest Service, Albuquerque, New Mexico, February 7, 1936
