Oreortyx picta
Mountain quail are native to Oregon and found on both sides of the Cascades. These birds were declining or extirpated throughout much of their historical eastside range. A multi-agency effort to translocate mountain quail to their former range has resulted in the recovery of eastside populations to the point where limited hunting is allowed in some areas.
Mountain Quail Translocation Project
Appearance: Mountain quail are the largest North American quail. Genders are similar in appearance, sporting a straight head plume, chestnut throat patch, and white barring on chestnut flanks.
Behavior: The monogamous mountain quail has the potential for extreme productivity, utilizing the technique of laying 2 clutches at once. Both the male and the female may incubate separate, simultaneous clutches of 10-11 eggs. Mountain quail exhibit a seasonal altitudinal migration, nesting at higher elevations than they occupy in the winter.
Habitat: Mountain quail thrive in the steep natural brushlands of southwestern Oregon and are also found in northwestern Oregon when suitable habitat is created by logging, fire or other disturbance. Eastside populations are strongly dependent on brushy and diverse riparian habitat. Improvements to riparian (streamside) habitat management have likely contributed to more stable eastside populations.
Range: Mountain quail might be found in any county of the state, though they are notoriously secretive and difficult to survey. Based on harvest returns and summer inventories by ODFW biologists, the greatest abundance occurs in southwestern Oregon, with numbers gradually decreasing as one moves north. The Columbia Basin, Wallowa County and portions of central Oregon likely host the most abundant mountain quail flocks in the east part of the state.
Distribution Map (jpg)
Hunting: The mountain quail is one of Oregon's lesser hunted upland species.
- Southwestern Oregon provides the best mountain quail hunting in the state. Because of the brushy and often steep nature of mountain quail habitat, and the tendency for birds to run in heavy cover, they are among the most difficult of Oregon's upland birds to hunt successfully. Since coveys may be widely separated, a popular hunting method involves driving logging roads until birds are seen at which time hunters stop to hunt on foot. Once a covey is located it will probably not be far away on future visits.
- Eastern Oregon mountain quail populations are increasing thanks to many years of translocation efforts from southwest Oregon sources. However, not all eastern Oregon counties are open to mountain quail hunting, and the eastside seasons are more restrictive.
- Mountain Quail hunting seasons (jpg)
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