Chukar in El Cajon, CA USA (1 Viewer)

Hi everyone,

I've been hearing this bird cackling away for about a month now, and yesterday he came down from the hillside canyon brush above our home to visit us. The attached image is him in the eves above our garage door. He's a pretty brave guy too; he even came down to ground level and let me get within a few feet of him.

At first, I assumed he was a quail-type bird, based on his call, but on seeing him now, I very much doubt it. The best I've been able to figure is that he is a chukar partridge.

The thing is, nothing in any of the birding sites I've visited place him in suburban Southern California. Maybe in the local mountains, at best.

What do you think? Is he a chukar? If so, has anyone seen one in suburban Socal, or is he, as I suspect, a bit out of place here?

Thanks, in advance, for your thoughts.
Bob

Yep, Chukar Partridge. A refugee who's managed to escape from a shooting farm (which is why it's so tame).

Thanks for your very quick response, Nutcracker.

Though, notably, there is no place anywhere close by where it is legal to hunt gamebirds. Perhaps someone's pet on the loose?

There are a lot of Chukar raised domestically around here (western Colorado), in addition to established wild populations. Apparently they are pretty easy to raise. My guess is that he was raised by somebody not too far away.

Around here, there are plenty of private "Rod and Gun Clubs" where they release tame game birds into the fields for a not-so-sporting hunt. There might be one of those near you.