They hatch fully feathered, with eyes open and legs ready to run. If running away does not suffice, the birds explode into randomly-directed flight, surprising and confusing pursuers with their sudden, noisy wingbeats and the plump bodies hurtling every which way. Quail look striking close up, with their heavily streaked, spotted, and striped plumage, and their head plumes or topknots. But their fancy feather patterns are also defensive, blending quail into the complicated shadow patterns cast by desert shrubs and trees. Quail are often called annual birds, because, like desert wildflowers, their numbers fluctuate widely with yearly rainfall.
Researchers believe that quail food provides a natural birth control.
In dry years when less succulent forage is available, quail graze heavily on locoweeds, plants that accumulate high levels of selenium and other heavy metals. Large doses of these toxic metals cause spontaneous abortions, limiting clutch size. In the Sonoran Desert where rains may come in both winter and summer, quail, like other birds, sometimes breed twice a year. In our Chihuahuan Desert, quail time their breeding to the summer rains. One of my few regrets about living in town is not seeing quail.