> > > A friend sent me pictures taken a week or so ago in his Littleton > backyard of a Chukar. How unusual is this? Chukar isn't a bird > that's on my radar. > > Whenever any gamebird (including Chukars and quail) is found outside of known ranges consideration should include whether it is an escaped species. As I noted in a post regarding an exotic quail species seen on the southern Front Range last month, the Colorado Wildlife Commission approved in 2008 a request from a hunting dog training group to allow the release of privately owned game birds on State Wildlife Areas as part of hunting dog training programs. In the request the group noted that they use "mallard ducks, chukar, pheasant or bobwhite quail and, many times, trapped wild pigeons or homing pigeons" in their dog training. They noted that other hunting groups would like to release unspecified game birds for dog training also. The approval does not restrict the release of game birds to those normally found in an area. Clearly some of these game birds will get away and such species as Chukar and Bobwhite Quail will be found by birders all over the state in future years.
Additionally, game birds escape from breeders. I can attest to this as I found a Chukar on the east side of Canon City a year or so ago. After some investigation, I found that they were being raised by the Colo Dept of Corrections on their property a mile or so from where I saw this Chukar. I have read that Chukar are easy to keep and breed plus a number of hunters enjoy the challenge they provide in hunting them so they are bred in a number of locations around the state. By the way, Chukars are not native to Colorado-like the big dove that has expanded it's range across most of the state, they are native to Eurasia. They were introduced by the CDOW in 1938 on the western slope to feed the desire of hunters for this species. Additionally, there are some who enjoy raising unusual and exotic gamebirds. These can be generally be found anywhere that allows raising poultry and likely in locations where it is less than legal also. The odds are that the Littleton Chukar is an escapee. I don't know how they taste but they are members of the partridge family are likely good to eat. SeEtta Moss Canon City http://BirdsAndNature.blogspot.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Colorado Field Ornithologists: http://www.cfo-link.org/ Colorado County Birding: http://www.coloradocountybirding.com/ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.as/group/cobirds?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
