>>
Patrick
Pedro, that was fantastic. I mean, to see a Montezuma quail-- I've never seen that before. The interesting thing here is this bird only barely gets into North America. It's found here in Arizona and then a little over into New Mexico and west Texas. I guess that's about it. >>
Pedro
Right. >>
Patrick
Primarily, this is a Mexican species. >>
Pedro
Yeah, basically, the Montezuma quail has about four or five subspecies. The one that's present here is the Mearns' subspecies. But this is the hot spot for Montezuma quail, southeast Arizona. >>
Patrick
Because this bird's stealthy, he needs to hide, right, so he needs cover. >>
Pedro
One of the neat things that I've found about this bird here, in the past researchers have examined this bird, its range, and its movements basically in oak woodlands and meadows and those areas, but in here, it tends to occupy also the sacaton. >>
Patrick
Right. The sacaton is this big, tall grass that's basically all out around us throughout this little floodplain. >>
Pedro
Right. It's something that wildlife really depend upon, even in the midst of fire. This is one species that recovers real quickly. >>
Patrick
Yeah, the sacaton comes back real quickly. >>
Pedro
And then since it's bottomland, it also affords opportunity for ephemeral ponds and water sources that species can make use of, especially in harsh times. >>
Patrick
So how important is Mexico, then, for this bird's future? >>
Pedro
Well, Mexico, I think, serves as a genetic reservoir. In the past, this bird survived the drought and grazing and hunting in the late 1800s and the early 1900s because either they had a safe haven in Mexico or they retreated to these sky islands that are known here in the Sonoran. It's not quite known how these birds repopulated since then, when they were thought to have gone extinct. >>
Patrick
What do you think the impact of the border fence issue-- do you have any idea about that on Montezuma quail? >>
Pedro
I think wildlife see barriers as obstructions, and they definitely don't recognize political boundaries. So I think wildlife that would normally cross through, like leopards or mountain lions, the fence or the wall probably inhibits their movement to a great extent. The Montezuma quail, they don't normally migrate through, but I think it's an impediment to the genetic diversity. That's something that I hope to examine in the future. I've collected feathers from all the birds I've trapped to examine the genetic diversity, both at a small scale as well as a landscape scale. >>
Patrick
Right, yeah, and see where these birds came from. Well, we'll keep looking, but we saw a Montezuma quail... very awesome!
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Patrick
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