Outdoor Ontario
Request for Information => Bird ID => Topic started by: TuxedoNoir on April 26, 2015, 07:41:33 AM
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My brother snapped a pic of this bird at Don Mills & Steeles. Can anyone tell me what it is? Thanks.
[attachment=0:1o1849ma]Bird.jpg[/attachment:1o1849ma]
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"Chukar" Quail type bird, kept as pets and used for hunting, not native to Ontario,
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When was this? I've been hearing of Chukars around that area...but that was last year.
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Also can you please provide exact location? I"ll be in the area today and might as well take a look...I mean if the picture is recent.
Thank you.
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Thanks so much! Maybe it was out for a walk? :wink:
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I found them...there are two in the Food Basics plaza. One is injured looks like it has a broken leg...hobbling on one foot. Took some pictures.
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Just read that they are very fast and tough flyers...even after being shot they can fly long distances. I don't recommend a rescue for that reason. They may be escapees but surely they are able to fly and the 404 is right next door to the plaza and they could get themselves killed.
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I found them...there are two in the Food Basics plaza. One is injured looks like it has a broken leg...hobbling on one foot. Took some pictures.
I just talked to my brother, and that's exactly where he saw them. He saw them on Friday morning - 2 days ago.
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Interesting find.
And regarding the Ontbirds report, Chukar is not on the Checklist of the Birds of Ontario (http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/checklist.checklist), so it's not officially countable in Ontario.
/Thomas
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Just found them behind the Food Basics with the help from a gentleman and a camera trotting young lad. The birds are on the northern embankment of the pathway where many cars traverse back and forth. One even started following me along the road! The one with injured leg has been sitting down in one place and eating grass. I don't see how it can get any better without specialized help. Lovely bird.
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Interesting find.
And regarding the Ontbirds report, Chukar is not on the Checklist of the Birds of Ontario (http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/checklist.checklist), so it's not officially countable in Ontario.
/Thomas
Yeah I got a few emails that straightened that up. Sorry if I mislead anyone. I guess I was looking at a North American range on allaboutbirds.org and assumed that if it's on there, then it's countable for North America and for Ontario.
But the origin of the birds is still perplexing. No they're not native to North America so most likely they are escapees...but since we do have a fairly sizable number out west...could it be these actually flew in? With both possibilities floating in the air, it's hard to be certain about either one without some sort of proof.
I did notice the birds looking up a lot, especially when a large gull would circle above...as if it was checking for hawks. Now I don't know much about Chukar behaviour but that strikes me as being a behaviour of a wild bird. Captive birds may not even know what a hawk is, much less check for them. Anyway, maybe I'm wrong, but it was one observation I made.
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Just found them behind the Food Basics with the help from a gentleman and a camera trotting young lad. The birds are on the northern embankment of the pathway where many cars traverse back and forth. One even started following me along the road! The one with injured leg has been sitting down in one place and eating grass. I don't see how it can get any better without specialized help. Lovely bird.
Perhaps it can be taken to the Toronto Wildlife Centre? Certainly these birds don't belong in a Food Basiscs parking lot...but apparently they've been there a while. I wonder how they got there. There were a few that were seen near Bethesda and Bayview last year. That's approximately 10KM almost straight north from the Food Basics plaza. Could these been the same ones?
About one year ago, I kid you not, I did see a fat type of bird that flew down the 404 one morning (shortly after the Bethesda sighting and before the Food Basics sighting of last year) and it flew very fast and straight. Almost like a fat white pidgeon that was shot out of a cannon. Now I can't say what it is that I saw, but I was always wondering.
Anyway, like you said, it's a lovely bird, an interesting sighting...worth a look for sure.
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Just found them behind the Food Basics with the help from a gentleman and a camera trotting young lad. The birds are on the northern embankment of the pathway where many cars traverse back and forth. One even started following me along the road! The one with injured leg has been sitting down in one place and eating grass. I don't see how it can get any better without specialized help. Lovely bird.
I was the boy with the camera. Nice to know you're on this site too!
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Chukars are essentially sedentary, so there's really no possibility of one arriving here from out west. They are out and about in Ontario though, I know that there's a record of a pair with young west of Toronto somewhere. I don't think they can regularly survive our winters though.
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I was the boy with the camera. Nice to know you're on this site too!
It was nice meeting you too. I love your enthusiasm - keep up the good work.
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Chukars are essentially sedentary, so there's really no possibility of one arriving here from out west. They are out and about in Ontario though, I know that there's a record of a pair with young west of Toronto somewhere. I don't think they can regularly survive our winters though.
Cool, I didn't know that about the breeding couple. Who knows...this might be the next Ring-necked Pheasant or Gray Partridge. In a few decades, they might be a relatively regular sighting.
Some people who have responded to my OntBird alert informed me that they've seen Chukars in the area since last fall...but that they've seen 3...maybe one perished. So maybe they can survive our winters.