Hi everyone,

This morning en route to a doctor appointment I saw a weird bird standing on the side of the road in Havre de Grace.  It was fairly large, almost the size of a chicken.  It had a reddish belly with black and white striped sides, and a white head with bold back stripes around the neck and face.  The bill was red or orange.  It did not seem to care how close I approached, and I got about 10 digital photos- nice clear ones that I will post when I get home tonight.  It didn't appear injured, and it walked around some and pecked at the ground a few times.

A woman driving by stopped and said it was a California Quail, and it had been seen roosting in the condo complex up the road (at the corner of MD 155 and Canvasback, near I-95 exit 89).  But it doesn't really look like the photos I checked out on line of the California Quail.  Of course, none of the photos i saw realy match what I saw.. .but the photo on this page:

http://www.surfbirds.com/Features/fuerteventura2.html

labeled "Barbary Partridge" comes pretty close.  Put a white head on the bird on that page and run a black stripe around the neck and face and you'll be pretty close.  It was definitely not a Barbary Partridge, but i have no clue what it really is, or what it was doing there.

If anyone wants to investigate in person, I saw the bird at 7:30 EST on Canvasback Rd in Havre de Grace, between MD rte 155 and Chapel Dr.  There is a stop sign by a playground at the bottom of a hill- the bird was standing alongside the road, by the stop sign.  This is in the middle of a housing development.  There is a small marsh and some reeds across the street.  It did fly off as I got back in the car.

Watch this space for my pictures on line later this evening, after work.

Monroe Harden
Havre de Grace, MD