Skip to Content
Abert’s Towhee Acadian Flycatcher Acorn Woodpecker Alder Flycatcher Allen’s Hummingbird Altamira Oriole American Avocet American Bittern American Black Duck American Coot American Crow American Dipper American Golden-Plover American Goldfinch American Kestrel American Oystercatcher American Pipit American Redstart American Robin American Three-toed Woodpecker American Tree Sparrows American White Pelican American Wigeon American Woodcock Anhinga Anna’s Hummingbird Arctic Tern Arizona Woodpecker Ash-Throated Flycatcher Atlantic Puffin Audubon’s Oriole Bachman’s Sparrow Baird’s Sandpiper Baird’s Sparrow Bald Eagle Baltimore Oriole Band-tailed Pigeon Bank Swallow Barn Owl Barn Swallow Barred Owl Barrow’s Goldeneye Bay-breasted Warbler Bell’s Vireo Belted Kingfisher Bendire’s Thrasher Bewick’s Wren Black Guillemot Black Oystercatcher Black Phoebe Black Rail Black Rosy-Finch Black Scoter Black Skimmer Black Swift Black Tern Black Turnstone Black Vulture Black-and-white Warbler Black-backed Woodpecker Black-bellied Plover Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Black-billed Cuckoo Black-billed Magpie Black-capped Chickadee Black-capped Vireo Black-chinned Hummingbird Black-chinned Sparrow Black-crested Titmouse Black-crowned Night-Heron Black-footed Albatross Black-headed Grosbeak Black-legged Kittiwake Black-necked Stilt Black-throated Blue Warbler Black-throated Gray Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Black-throated Sparrow Blackburnian Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Blue Grosbeak Blue Jay Blue-footed Booby Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Blue-headed Vireo Blue-throated Hummingbird Blue-winged Teal Blue-winged Warbler Boat-tailed Grackle Bobolink Bohemian Waxwing Bonaparte’s Gull Boreal Chickadee Boreal Owl Botteri’s Sparrow Brandt’s Cormorant Brant Brewer’s Blackbird Brewer’s Sparrow Bridled Titmouse Broad-billed Hummingbird Broad-tailed Hummingbird Broad-winged Hawk Bronzed Cowbird Brown Booby Brown Creeper Brown Pelican Brown Thrasher Brown-capped Rosy-Finch Brown-headed Cowbird Brown-headed Nuthatch Buff-bellied Hummingbird Buff-breasted Flycatcher Buff-breasted Sandpiper Bufflehead Bullock’s Oriole Burrowing Owl Bushtit Cackling Goose Cactus Wren California Condor California Gull California Quail California Thrasher California Towhee Calliope Hummingbird Canada Goose Canada Jay (Previously Gray Jay) Canada Warbler Canvasback Canyon Towhee Canyon Wren Cape May Warbler Carolina Chickadee Carolina Wren Caspian Tern Cassin’s Auklet Cassin’s Finch Cassin’s Kingbird Cassin’s Sparrow Cassin’s Vireo Cattle Egret Cave Swallow Cedar Waxwing Cerulean Warbler Chestnut-backed Chickadee Chestnut-collared Longspur Chestnut-sided Warbler Chihuahuan Raven Chimney Swift Chipping Sparrow Chuck-will’s-widow Chukar Cinnamon Teal Clapper Rail Clark’s Grebe Clark’s Nutcracker Clay-colored Sparrow Cliff Swallow Colima Warbler Common Eider Common Gallinule Common Goldeneye Common Grackle Common Ground-Dove Common Loon Common Merganser Common Murre Common Nighthawk Common Pauraque Common Poorwill Common Raven Common Redpoll Common Tern Common Yellowthroat Connecticut Warbler Cooper’s Hawk Cordilleran Flycatcher Costa’s Hummingbird Couch’s Kingbird Crescent-chested Warbler Crested Caracara Crissal Thrasher Curve-billed Thrasher Dark-eyed Junco Dickcissel Double-crested Cormorant Dovekie Downy Woodpecker Dunlin Dusky Flycatcher Dusky Grouse Eared Grebe Eastern Bluebird Eastern Kingbird Eastern Meadowlark Eastern Phoebe Eastern Screech-Owl Eastern Towhee Eastern Whip-poor-will Eastern Wood-Pewee Elegant Tern Elf Owl Emperor Goose Eurasian Collared-Dove Eurasian Tree Sparrow Eurasian Wigeon European Starling Evening Grosbeak Ferruginous Hawk Field Sparrow Fish Crow Flammulated Owl Florida Scrub-Jay Forster’s Tern Fox Sparrow Franklin’s Gull Fulvous Whistling-Duck Gadwall Gambel’s Quail Gila Woodpecker Gilded Flicker Glaucous Gull Glaucous-winged Gull Glossy Ibis Golden Eagle Golden-cheeked Warbler Golden-crowned Kinglet Golden-crowned Sparrow Golden-crowned Warbler Golden-fronted Woodpecker Golden-winged Warbler Grace’s Warbler Grasshopper Sparrow Gray Catbird Gray Flycatcher Gray Kingbird Gray Partridge Gray Vireo Gray-cheeked Thrush Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch Great Black-backed Gull Great Blue Heron Great Cormorant Great Crested Flycatcher Great Egret Great Gray Owl Great Horned Owl Great Kiskadee Great-tailed Grackle Greater Pewee Greater Prairie-Chicken Greater Roadrunner Greater Sage-Grouse Greater Scaup Greater White-fronted Goose Greater Yellowlegs Green Heron Green Jay Green-tailed-towhee Green-winged Teal Groove-billed Ani Gull-billed Tern Gunnison Sage-Grouse Gyrfalcon Hairy Woodpecker Hammond’s Flycatcher Harlequin Duck Harris’s Hawk Harris’s Sparrow Heermann’s Gull Henslow’s Sparrow Hepatic Tanager Hermit Thrush Hermit Warbler Herring Gull Hoary Redpoll Hooded Merganser Hooded Oriole Hooded Warbler Horned Grebe Horned Lark Horned Puffin House Finch House Sparrow House Wren Hudsonian Godwit Hutton’s Vireo Inca Dove Indigo Bunting Ivory-billed Woodpecker Juniper Titmouse Kentucky Warbler Killdeer King Eider King Rail Kirtland’s Warbler Ladder-backed Woodpecker Lapland Longspur Lark Bunting Lark Sparrow Laughing Gull Lawrence’s Goldfinch Lazuli Bunting Le Conte’s Sparrow Le Conte’s Thrasher Least Bittern Least Flycatcher Least Grebe Least Sandpiper Least Tern Lesser Black-backed Gull Lesser Goldfinch Lesser Prairie-Chicken Lesser Scaup Lesser Yellowlegs Lewis’s Woodpecker Limpkin Lincoln’s Sparrow Little Blue Heron Loggerhead Shrike Long-billed Curlew Long-billed Dowitcher Long-eared Owl Long-tailed Duck Louisiana Waterthrush Lucifer Hummingbird Lucy’s Warbler MacGillivray’s Warbler Magnificent Frigatebird Magnificent Hummingbird Magnolia Warbler Mallard Mangrove Cuckoo Marbled Godwit Marsh Wren Masked Duck McCown’s Longspur Merlin Mew Gull Mexican Jay Mississippi Kite Montezuma Quail Mottled Duck Mountain Bluebird Mountain Chickadee Mountain Plover Mountain Quail Mourning Dove Mourning Warbler Mute Swan Nashville Warbler Neotropic Cormorant Northern Bobwhite Northern Cardinal Northern Flicker Northern Fulmar Northern Gannet Northern Goshawk Northern Harrier Northern Hawk Owl Northern Mockingbird Northern Parula Northern Pintail Northern Rough-winged Swallow Northern Saw-whet Owl Northern Shoveler Northern Shrike Northern Waterthrush Northwestern Crow Nuttall’s Woodpecker Oak Titmouse Olive-sided Flycatcher Orange-crowned Warbler Orchard Oriole Osprey Ovenbird Pacific Golden-Plover Pacific Loon Pacific-slope Flycatcher Painted Bunting Painted Redstart Palm Warbler Pectoral Sandpiper Pelagic Cormorant Peregrine Falcon Phainopepla Philadelphia Vireo Pied-billed Grebe Pigeon Guillemot Pileated Woodpecker Pine Grosbeak Pine Siskin Pine Warbler Pinyon Jay Piping Plover Plain Chachalaca Plumbeous Vireo Prairie Falcon Prairie Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Purple Finch Purple Gallinule Purple Martin Purple Sandpiper Pygmy Nuthatch Pyrrhuloxia Razorbill Red Crossbill Red Knot Red Phalarope Red-bellied Woodpecker Red-breasted Merganser Red-breasted Nuthatch Red-breasted Sapsucker Red-cockaded Woodpecker Red-eyed Vireo Red-faced Warbler Red-headed Woodpecker Red-naped Sapsucker Red-necked Grebe Red-necked Phalarope Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Red-throated Loon Red-winged Blackbird Reddish Egret Redhead Ring-billed Gull Ring-necked Duck Ring-necked Pheasant Rock Pigeon Rock Ptarmigan Rock Sandpiper Rose-breasted Grosbeak Roseate Spoonbill Roseate Tern Ross’s Goose Rough-legged Hawk Royal Tern Ruby-crowned Kinglet Ruby-throated Hummingbird Ruddy Duck Ruddy Turnstone Ruffed Grouse Rufous Hummingbird Rufous-capped Warbler Rufous-winged Sparrow Rusty Blackbird Sabine’s Gull Sage Sparrow Sage Thrasher Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow Sanderling Sandhill Crane Sandwich Tern Savannah Sparrow Say’s Phoebe Scaled Quail Scarlet Tanager Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Scott’s Oriole Seaside Sparrow Sedge Wren Semipalmated Plover Semipalmated Sandpiper Sharp-shinned Hawk Sharp-tailed Grouse Short-billed Dowitcher Short-eared Owl Slate-throated Redstart Smith’s Longspur Smooth-billed Ani Snail Kite Snow Bunting Snow Goose Snowy Egret Snowy Plover Solitary Sandpiper Song Sparrow Sooty Grouse Sora Spotted Owl Spotted Sandpiper Spotted Towhee Sprague’s Pipit Spruce Grouse Steller’s Jay Stilt Sandpiper Summer Tanager Surf Scoter Surfbird Swainson’s Hawk Swainson’s Thrush Swainson’s Warbler Swallow-tailed Kite Swamp Sparrow Tennessee Warbler Thick-billed Murre Townsend’s Solitaire Townsend’s Warbler Tree Swallow Tricolored Heron Tropical Kingbird Trumpeter Swan Tufted Puffin Tufted Titmouse Tundra Swan Turkey Vulture Upland Sandpiper Varied Bunting Varied Thrush Vaux’s Swift Veery Verdin Vermilion Flycatcher Vesper Sparrow Violet-green Swallow Virginia Rail Virginia’s Warbler Warbling Vireo Western Bluebird Western Grebe Western Gull Western Kingbird Western Sandpiper Western Screech-Owl Western Tanager Western Wood-Pewee Western-Meadowlark Whimbrel White Ibis White-breasted Nuthatch White-crowned Pigeon White-crowned Sparrow White-eyed Vireo White-faced Ibis White-headed Woodpecker White-rumped Sandpiper White-tailed Hawk White-tailed Kite White-tailed Ptarmigan White-throated Sparrow White-throated Swift White-tipped Dove White-winged Crossbill White-winged Dove White-winged Scoter Whooping Crane Wild Turkey Willet Williamson’s Sapsucker Willow Flycatcher Willow Ptarmigan Wilson’s Phalarope Wilson’s Plover Wilson’s Snipe Wilson’s Warbler Winter Wren Wood Duck Wood Stork Wood Thrush Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay Worm-eating Warbler Wrentit Yellow Rail Yellow Warbler Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Yellow-billed Cuckoo Yellow-billed Magpie Yellow-breasted Chat Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Yellow-headed Blackbird Yellow-rumped Warbler Yellow-throated Vireo Yellow-throated Warbler Zone-tailed Hawk

Chukar

Originally found in Eurasia, this bird has been introduced to the U.S., so now it's found in the western side of North America.

The Chukar is a game bird with a round, small head, short legs, and a plump body. Their wings are rounded and broad in flight, and their tails are square. These birds are chicken-like, smaller than a Ring-necked Pheasant, and larger than a California Quail.

This bird is originally from Eurasia. It lives in the high desert plains of western North America as well as New Zealand and Hawaii. It’s named after the call it makes, which echoes across the dry, rocky slopes where it lives. It can quickly scamper and run up steep terrain with the speed and agility of a mountain goat. This skill is where it got its nickname from “devil bird.” Hunters gave them this nickname for the chase it provides.

Identification

Chukars can be hard to spot because they blend in exceptionally well with their rocky surroundings, even with their bold markings!

Additionally, they’re naturally very wary. March to May is one of the best times to go looking for this bird because this is when males call from noticeable rocks, increasing your likelihood of seeing one. In the summer, look for groups of these birds, called coveys, around water sources like streams, ponds, and small pools.

Chukar

Photograph © Greg Lavaty

Adult male Chukars have bold, vertical black bars on their sides and are sandy brown overall. Additionally, they have red bills, red eyerings, white cheeks, white throats, and a dark band through the eyes that wraps around the throat and cheeks.

Chukars are 13.4 to 15.0 inches (34 to 38 centimeters) long, weigh 19.0 to 27.0 ounces (538 to 765 grams), and have a wingspan of 20.1 inches (51 centimeters).

Adult Female Chukars look identical to breeding male Chukars. They have bold, vertical black bars on their sides and are sandy brown overall. Additionally, they have red bills, red eyerings, white cheeks, white throats, and a dark band through the eyes that wraps around the throat and cheeks. They’re the same size and length and have the same wingspan as breeding males. They also weigh the same amount.

Food

Chukars forage for food on the ground. Chicks primarily consume insects, but when they reach adulthood, they’re mainly vegetarian. In North America, Chukars prefer to consume the seeds and leaves of perennial and annual grasses.

Additionally however, they will consume pinyon pine seeds, sunflower seeds, rough fiddleneck seeds, and tansy mustard seeds. In the fall and winter, Chukars mostly consume grass leaves.

Nesting and Eggs

Chukars place their nests near brush and rocks to hide them.

Nests can be on mountain slopes, under saltbush, sagebrush, desert tea, or goldenbush. Chukar nests are very simple, only depressions that have been scratched in the ground and lined with breast feathers and dry grasses.

Chukar

The sexes are similar, though females lack leg spurs.

Female Chukars are the ones that do most of the nest care, although some males will stay with their mates and help them during the nesting season.

  • The clutch size is 10 to 21 eggs.
  • Chukars have 1 brood per breeding season.
  • Egg length can be anywhere from 1.5 to 1.9 inches (3.7 to 4.8 centimeters).
  • Egg width can be anywhere from 1.2 to 1.3 inches (3 to 3.2 centimeters).
  • Eggs range from pale white to coffee-colored, with reddish, yellowish, or purplish brown spots.

Current Situation

Chukars were introduced to the U.S. in 1893 from Pakistan, but only a few survived.

Additional introductions from 1931 and 1970 to the western portions of the U.S. helped establish wild populations in California, Nevada, Idaho, Washington, Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Oregon, as well as British Columbia.

These birds also successfully colonized the six main islands of Hawaii after introductions in the 1900s.

They’re now a common bird in Canada and the United States.

They have an estimated breeding population of 7.8 million and have a Continental Concern Score of 5 out of 20. This means they’re a species of low concern.

Chukars live in high-elevation shrublands between 4,000 and 13,000 feet in North America.’

They usually occur on relatively steep and rocky hillsides that have some grasses, forbs, and brush. These birds also inhabit deserts and barren plateaus with scattered grasses. In most of their habitats, big sagebrush is the primary plant species, which can be an essential part of their diet.

These birds tend to stick by water, especially during the hot summers. However, in harsh winters with a lot of snowfall, Chukars may travel down into towns or agricultural fields to look for food.

Chukar

Facts

  • Chukars take advantage of any source of water they can find because they live in such dry country. They can be found around ponds, rivers, springs, etc. During the scorching summer months, they can sometimes be found in mineshafts 10 feet below the ground.
  • The Chukar was named after its very noisy song that sounds like it’s saying ‘chuck-chuck-chukar-chukar.’
  • Chukars will take a dust bath almost every day to keep their feathers in perfect shape. To take a dust bath, they’ll create a shallow depression in the ground and scratch and toss dust over their bodies.
  • Chukars are mainly vegetarian when they reach adult age.
  • The Chukar is the national bird of Iraq and Pakistan.

Similar Species

The Chukar has features that are similar to other bird species. Here are some similar species:

Gray Partridge – Chukar’s have red bills and bold black stripes, while The Gray Partridge is grayer overall and lacks the stripes and the red bill.

Gray Partridges

Gray Partridges

California Quail – Female California Quails are not sandy brown like a Chukar. Instead, they’re a darker brown. Additionally, they lack the stripes and the red bill that Chukar’s have.

California Quail - State bird of California

California Quail

Mountain Quail – The Mountain Quail is mostly rich brown and gray instead of sandy brown. Additionally, they have brown flanks with white stripes instead of pale flanks with black stripes.

Mountain Quail

Mountain Quail

Frequently Asked Questions About Chukar

Is Chukar a quail?

No, the Chukar is not a quail; it’s a partridge. Chukars tend to be larger and more social than Quail.

Are Chukars native to the US?

Chukars are not native to the U.S. Chukars were introduced to the U.S. in 1893 from Pakistan, but few survived. Additional introductions from 1931 and 1970 to the western portions of the U.S. helped establish wild populations in California, Nevada, Idaho, Washington, Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Oregon,

Where are Chukars found?

Chukars live in high-elevation shrublands between 4,000 and 13,000 feet in North America. They usually occur on relatively steep and rocky hillsides that have some grasses, forbs, and brush.

These birds also inhabit deserts and barren plateaus with scattered grasses. These birds tend to stick by water, especially during the hot summers. In harsh winters with a lot of snowfall, Chukars may travel down into towns or agricultural fields to look for food.

How long do Chukars live?

Chukars can live to be anywhere from 3 to 5 years old. Of course, there are exceptions, but the average Chukar lives to that age.

About the Author

Brianna Goulet

Brianna loves to get outdoors for everything creative and fun. She has a passion for birds and is a hobbyist wildlife photographer based in Central Florida. Her goal is to share everything you need to know about birds so you can get out there, explore, and identify confidently!

Let others know your thoughts or ask an expert

Would you like to get new articles of birds (Once a month?)

No SPAM! We might only send you fresh updates once a month

Thank you for subscribing!

No thanks! I prefer to follow BirdZilla on Facebook