Check out this chukar — a rare game bird — spotted in Calgary

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'Well this is an interesting and odd bird,' says avian expert

CBC News · Posted: Jul 11, 2019 1:43 PM MT | Last Updated: July 11

An unusual bird photographed by a southwest Calgary resident this week is a rare chukar, according to an avian expert.

"Well this is an interesting and odd bird," Birds of Alberta author Chris Fisher said in an email, after reviewing the images.

Chukars are a type of partridge. They have stripes on their sides and a black band of feathers that runs over their faces and around their eyes, giving them a distinct look in a city known for its magpies.

Native to Eurasia, chukars have been introduced to North America and have succeeded in setting up sustainable populations in the western United States and some parts of British Columbia, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

It's uncommon to see them in Calgary, although this is not the first time one has been spotted here. Another was photographed in the city in 2016.

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Exotic game bird spotted in southeast Edmonton 'thrive pretty well': Wildlife expert

NATALI TRIVUNCIC

Updated: May 2, 2019

Steve Taylor came home this week to find an unusual looking bird — rotund with orange eyes and beak — pecking away at his front lawn in southeast Edmonton.

The bird is believed to be a chukar, a type of partridge introduced as a game bird in Canada during the 1920s.

“From 5 o’clock to about 9 or 9:30, it was still on our front lawn and it appeared to be digging a little bit in one of our planter boxes and may be nesting or something, but it didn’t stick around after that,” said Taylor earlier this week.

Dale Gienow, who heads up WILDNorth (formerly the Wildlife Rehabilitation Society of Edmonton), said chukars are often farmed as game birds or for meat, but it is not unusual for one of them to fly the coop.

“Every year we get one or two of these guys that get brought in and people are like, ‘What the heck is this, this isn’t supposed to be around here,’” said Gienow.

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Rare bird is the talk of a Halifax retirement home

Chukars are the national bird of Iraq and Pakistan, but one is now calling the Parkland Clayton Park home

Richard Woodbury · CBC News · Posted: Jan 19, 2019 6:00 AM AT | Last Updated: January 19

A bird that's a long way from home is being welcomed with open arms by residents at a Halifax retirement complex.

Last summer, a chukar appeared outside the Parkland Clayton Park and has remained there ever since. The red-billed partridge has since been named Clayton, a nod to the Clayton Park neighbourhood where the retirement facility is located.

Chukars are the national birds of Iraq and Pakistan, and are native to the Middle East and southern Asia. According to the National Audubon Society, they were brought as a game bird to North America and have thrived in some arid regions in the western U.S.

"We have no idea how he got here, but you know, he seems to be faring well so far and he's certainly being well fed and well looked after," said Jennifer Shannon, the general manager at Parkland Clayton Park.

Clayton can generally be found somewhere in the courtyard, which is enveloped by the retirement buildings.

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