The trees and wildflowers bloom, and the desert comes alive. Springtime in the high Sonoran desert–still plenty of time to thrust dread thoughts of the coming hundred ten degree dog days and the much-needed, yet ominous monsoons to the back of the mind and revel in the mild temperatures and lush landscapes.

Come mid-April to mid-May, those of us lucky enough to live in just the right locations begin to notice little brown-speckled eggs under bushes and cacti and in the wells of big Terracotta planters. The more of those eggs we see, the happier Arizonans are because of the promise of a surge in the Gambel’s Quail population.

Gambel’s Quail hang out mainly on the ground, but can fly short distances—sort of. They’re not very good at it. These airborne journeys are reminiscent of Howard Hughes’s Spruce Goose. Initiating sudden agitated flapping of wings, the birds burst upward only a short distance then glide down.

When the eggs hatch, the cheeping and chirping is constant. The babies, fuzzy dorky little things but cuter than heck like most baby creatures, look as if they’re strung together like beads. Where one goes, all go. Short little legs carry them in frantic circles around the adult male and female. Pretty sure all the noise is just quail-speak for, “Mama! Papa! Mama! Papa!” and “OMG, feed us now!”

The monogamous couples are such good mommies and daddies. Both parents herd the babies around like little sheep. If a head count comes up short, the adult bringing up the rear circles back for the straggler—like the Marines, no one left behind. Their street crossings are similar to a mama duck and her young ones heading for the pond.

When the chicks are older, the families join up with others in quail communes. Our yards become “beehives” of activity. Dozens of quail adults and chicks scurry here and there–busy, busy, busy, until it’s time for the families to split up as the young adults go off to mate and start their own families. Makes you want to sing “The Circle of Life,” doesn’t it?

They have so much personality, how could our heroine of Stealing the Moon & Stars, Jordan Welsh, resist painting them? Obviously, she couldn’t.

The evidence suggests: Just one family of Gambel’s Quail in the bush is worth at least four dozen other birds in the tree.

WANNA MEET A FAMILY OF GAMBEL’S QUAIL? CHECK OUT A VIDEO EXCERPT FROM STEALING THE MOON & STARS.