Quail and bobcat

[Kattt]

This little guy is the covey sentry, both sounding the alarm and telling the cat off a bit.

Seemed like a cool capture to me :)

[David Thomas]

Do both male and female tend the chicks?  i.e. is there another parent with the chicks while this one keeps watch?  Or is this an covey of adults with one bird on sentry duty?

I usually try not to disturb them, but it’s interesting to watch the parent fake a broken wing and try to lure you away if you are heading towards the chicks.  The closer you get to the chicks, the bigger the show they put on – sort of reverse of children playing “hotter / colder”.  Then, when you’ve be led away, they explosively take flight and glide to cover (away from the chicks).

[Kattt]

I think the covey has males  and females and all look after the chicks. In this case there are currently no chicks that I have seen but only a covey of about ten adult quail. At least that is what I have seen on that camera earlier and later that day and since then too.

[Author]

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