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<\/p>\nSpringtime fights between male Chukars can be vicious affairs that sometimes leave the participants looking like they’ve stepped on a land mine.<\/p>\n
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Chukars form pair bonds in the spring and I photographed this obviously mated pair two days ago on Antelope Island.\u00a0 This time of year their plumage is fresh and handsome as you can see with these contrasting poses of both birds.\u00a0But males become extremely aggressive toward other males\u00a0who enter their nesting territory or approach their females and the resulting fights can\u00a0really make a mess of their feathers.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0This apparent male, photographed on the same day, shows some of the scars of war on its neck.<\/p>\n
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Their fights can be truly epic.\u00a0 The action is extremely fast, furious and difficult to photograph\u00a0but this image should give you a flavor\u00a0for its intensity.\u00a0 Notice that the top bird has a firm grip on a beak-full of\u00a0its opponents neck feathers and feathers were flying during\u00a0the\u00a0altercation.\u00a0 \u00a0I’ve posted these last two images before but they’re the best images I have to illustrate the behavior and its results (prepare yourself, this last shot isn’t pretty…).<\/p>\n
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This is the most battle-scarred Chukar I’ve ever seen.\u00a0 The image was taken in the second week of June which is earlier than Chukars on the island generally\u00a0molt so I’m relatively sure this isn’t some bizarre molting pattern in this individual bird (though that’s what I suspected when I first posted this image last year).\u00a0 I\u00a0very much doubt it’s the result of disease as this bird seemed\u00a0vigorous and healthy – as you can see he’s calling enthusiastically and apparently\u00a0spoiling for another fight.<\/p>\n
Just looking at this poor bird makes my eyes water…<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
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Springtime fights between male Chukars can be vicious affairs that sometimes leave the participants looking like they’ve stepped on a land mine.<\/p>\n