FIRE EFFECTS AND USE
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Callipepla squamata | Scaled Quail 



DIRECT FIRE EFFECTS ON ANIMALS : 
No information concerning the direct effect of fire on scaled quail was
available in the literature.  Adult birds could easily escape fire,
although their habit of running rather than flying when disturbed may
render them slightly more vulnerable than other gallinaceous birds.
Nests are probably vulnerable to fire, but since scaled quail nest
during the summer rains there is a low probability of wildfire during
nesting.  

Gallinaceous birds are attracted to fires and fresh burns where dead
insects and seeds are abundant [33].


HABITAT RELATED FIRE EFFECTS : 
Wright and Bailey [33] stated that fire, by favoring low growing shrubs
and grasses over dense brush, would probably be beneficial to scaled
quail.

In a study to assess the effects of fire (used to control Pinchot
juniper [Juniperus pinchotii]) on scaled quail habitat, populations of
scaled quail on 3- and 7-year-old burns were compared with populations
on unburned pastures.  Scaled quail on the 3-year-old burn had diets of
materials which were coarser and less digestible than those on the
7-year-old burn or on unburned areas.  Scaled quail on the 3-year-old
burn had lower amounts of stored fat than those on the 7-year-old burn
or on unburned areas.  The lower lipid reserves were attributed to the
lower quality diet and reduced roosting areas associated with the more
recent burn [17,18].  Common broomweed (Amphyiachyrus dracunculoides)
comprised 40 percent of scaled quail diets on 4-year-old burns [17].


FIRE USE : 
Brush control in rangelands often includes the use of fire.  Any
prescribed burning for brush control in scaled quail habitat should be
conducted so as not to eliminate the type of cholla cover used as
loafing coverts [27].  Cactus species vary in their response to fire.
Fire effects on cacti also depend on the size of individual plants [35].
Tree cholla (valuable for cover) experienced 73 percent mortality of
short plants and 27 percent mortality of tall plants as measured 3 years
after a prescribed fire [35].  Scaled quail will use dead cholla for
cover; however, fire-caused necrosis of lower limbs could prevent the
formation of adequate lateral cover, particularly where cattle are
present.  High-crowned shrubs without lateral cover were not used by
scaled quail for resting coverts from January to early May [27].
Prescribed burning of pastures to control prickly pear (Opuntia spp.)
should be conducted so that 1-acre (0.4 ha) plots of prickly pear, with
clumps 100 yards (90 m) apart, are left for quail cover [16].


REFERENCES : 
NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Wildlife Species: Callipepla squamata | Scaled Quail