“Chuk, chuk, chukar, chukar” A native of Eurasia, wherever it now lives in the world, the Chukar enjoys a habitat on drier, rocky, open hillsides covered in scattered scrub and grass where it can feed on the leaves and seeds of a variety of grasses. In the United States they are found in western Colorado and lower elevations of Utah, and farther north towards western Idaho and eastern Oregon and Washington. A robust and long bird, the Chukar is 13 to 14 inches long and has a gray breast and light brown back. Have you seen them in the monument? Many people who see a chukar for the first time misidentify it as a quail. This bird’s name is derived from its boisterous song of “chuk, chuk, chukar, chukar”. They stay in smaller coveys when they are not in mating season. When alarmed, chukars prefer to run rather than fly, but will fly short distances, mostly down slope. Their home range is small, typically no larger than a three mile radius. At Colorado National Monument, they have been seen on many recent mornings between the west entrance to the monument and the top of the switchbacks above the tunnels as they are scurrying across Rim Rock Drive.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 14:42:41 +0000
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