{"id":4633,"date":"2012-03-15T13:12:22","date_gmt":"2012-03-15T20:12:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=4633"},"modified":"2025-11-29T14:40:30","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T20:40:30","slug":"chukars-and-fighting-for-the-right-to-mate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/03\/15\/chukars-and-fighting-for-the-right-to-mate\/","title":{"rendered":"Chukars And Fighting For The Right To Mate"},"content":{"rendered":"

The behavior of the Chukars indicates that the males are already acting territorial and fighting for the right to mate.<\/p>\n

\"ChukarChukar with the Wasatch Range in the background – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/640, ISO 640, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking at the Chukar above one wouldn’t think that they are aggressive. They seem fairly docile foraging for seeds in the grasses or perched on a rock calling. But during breeding season they can be fierce, aggressive and downright mean.<\/p>\n

I am not happy with the quality of the images\u00a0below because there was just too much vegetation in the way to get clear views of the fighting but despite that I wanted to share them. Hopefully I will get another ring-side seat one day soon where I can get great views of the sparring match.<\/p>\n

\"ChukarsChukars fighting in the grasses<\/span><\/p>\n

I came upon these Chukars after the battle had already started, in this image you can see two males in the center having a go at it. The bird in the right hand side of the middle has the other birds throat feathers in its bill and is tugging on them. It may have the skin of the bird in its bill too. The other two birds just seemed to observe the fighting.<\/p>\n

\"ChukarsChukars fighting on Antelope Island<\/span><\/p>\n

In this image one of the males has pinned the other down on the ground. I sure wish all the grasses hadn’t been in the way.<\/p>\n

\"ChukarsChukars sparring for mating rights<\/span><\/p>\n

This image shows the winner of the round standing\u00a0more erect\u00a0than the loser, the loser is looking at the other bird with its bill slightly open.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Chukars fighting for breeding rights<\/span><\/p>\n

The two birds that were watching the fighting may be females, the males usually do not just defend the nesting territory, they also chase intruding males away from them. These three birds were on the closer side of the rabbitbrush and another birds can just be barely made out on the other side of it.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Chukars sparring<\/span><\/p>\n

It didn’t take long for the dominant male to kick the other male to the dirt. He also has some of the loser’s feathers in his bill.<\/p>\n

I’d love to spend more time with sparring Chukars, hopefully out in the open where I can get sharper images with\u00a0far fewer\u00a0distracting elements but I am still thrilled to have seen and photographed this action today.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Chukar photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The behavior of the Chukars indicates that the males are already acting territorial and fighting for the right to mate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":165071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[511,27,442,1022,26],"tags":[4004,5246,1361,4146,5279,4346,4073,445,4773,8879,4337,8880,4363,5247,5248,8881,1359,165,5245,401],"class_list":["post-4633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-chukars","category-davis-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-aggressive","tag-agonistic-behavior","tag-alectoris-chukar","tag-battle","tag-breeding-behavior","tag-breeding-season","tag-chukar","tag-chukars","tag-dominant-male","tag-fighting","tag-loser","tag-mating","tag-mating-rights","tag-nesting-territory","tag-pinned-down","tag-sparring","tag-spring","tag-territorial","tag-upland-game-birds"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/chukars-fighting-mia-mcpherson-8069.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-1cJ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7093,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/01\/12\/chukars-on-a-cold-winter-morning\/","url_meta":{"origin":4633,"position":0},"title":"Chukars On A Cold Winter Morning","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It is almost hard to believe that in just two months these Chukars will be fighting for territories as they begin the mating season while there is over 9 inches of fresh snow on the ground where I live this morning.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Chukar fluffed up against the cold, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/chukar-8752.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/chukar-8752.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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