About the Image(s)

Canon R5 Canon 100-500 @343mm f10 ??“ 1/3200th sec Tv on a tripod.
That is a male Gambel’s Quail??”a Tucson classic desert quail. His black face, chestnut crown, bold white flank markings, and high forward-curving “topknot” identify him immediately. Females are softer brown and gray with a shorter, plainer crest.
They are year-round residents of the Sonoran Desert, especially around mesquite, catclaw acacia, desert hackberry, cholla, prickly pear, washes, and other dense low cover. They normally travel in family groups called coveys, walking and running far more than flying. When alarmed, they explode into a short, noisy flight, then drop back into cover.
They use waterholes and backyard water most often in the cooler morning and late afternoon. Their fortunes rise and fall with rainfall. Good winter and spring rains mean more green food, insects and nesting success, I capture this guy in the fall after a wet summer. They are quite abundant down here and I see them around and, in my backyard, frequently. I got a bit lucky and captured this shot at a water hole created by a recent heavy rain and free from any evidence of the hand-of-man.