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always for the community VOL 23, NO 12
December 2018
www.valleysentinel.com
SPOTLIGHT
Memorial Dedication for Marine Lance Cpl Kyle D Crowley, San Ramon By Sandee Wiedeman
At age 15, Kyle Crowley told his Dad Mark that he wanted to be a United States Marine! His dad was concerned about this idea and advised Kyle to give it some deep thought over the next three years until, at age 18, he would be eligible
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PRESORTED STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID DANVILLE, CA PERMIT NO. 70
See MEMORIAL page 4
On November 23, Danville celebrated its 42nd Tree Lighting to kick off the Holidays. Undaunted by a little rain, folks came out to hear music performed by students, enjoy Father Christmas and the Snow Angel, and stroll downtown to visit businesses that rolled out the red carpet with refreshments.
Meet the California Quail, our State Bird By James M. Hale
The California Quail (Callipepla californica), also known as the Valley Quail, was established as the state bird of California in 1932. It is a small, fairly common to locally abundant, year-round resident in the western Pacific states, ranging from British Columbia to Baja California. The California Quail is found from sea level to 6,000 feet. It prefers habitats ranging from chaparral, brush lands, some foothill coniferous forests, oak woodlands, stream-side woodlands, along the brushy edges of suburban parks, and in gardens, orchards, and agricultural fields. I have seen coveys in downtown Concord at Todos Santos Square, and wondered how they navigated through the concrete and steel “jungle” from more suitable habitat. For most of the year, the ground-dwelling, California Quail
occurs in tight, cohesive coveys, foraging throughout the confines of protective vegetation. Postbreeding coveys, during the fall and winter, may number more than 200 individuals. Seven subspecies are recognized. Their closest relative is Gambel’s Quail, which has a more southerly distribution and, a longer topknot, brighter head, and scalier appearance. The two species separated about one to two million years ago, during the late Pliocene or Early Pleistocene Epoch. The California Quail is a plump, short-legged, shortnecked, game bird with a small head and bill. The wings are short and very broad, an adaptation for flying through dense vegetation. The tail feathers are long with a square tip. They range from 9.5 to 10.5
inches in length, 5 to 8.5 ounces in weight, with a 12.5 to 14.5 inch wingspan. Their flight is explosive, when threatened and flushed, lasting just long enough to reach escape cover. The adult male California Quail is a rich gray and brown, with a black face outlined with bold white stripes. Fine black and white scalloped markings accent the neck. The male has a dark brown cap, gray-blue chest, and chestnut colored belly patch. Females are a plainer brown and lack the facial markings. Both sexes have a pattern of white, creamy, and chestnut scaled feathers on the belly, and brown flanks with white streaks. Juvenile birds look like females, however they have a shorter topknot. Diagnostic to the California Quail is the curving crest or plume, made
This month’s Special Sections: Sentinel Newspapers, Inc. P.O. Box 130 Danville, CA 94526 925-820-6047
Happy Holidays pages 7-9 Senior Services page10 - 11
of six feathers, that droops forward. It is longer and black in males, and brown in females. The California Quail is a highly sociable bird that gathers in small flocks or coveys. It gleans items from the ground while foraging, and may scratch at the substrate or leaf litter to reveal potential food. One of it’s daily communal rituals is dust bathing. California Quail prefer fine, soft, deep soil in sunny places where See QUAIL page 5