John,
I don't mean to sidetrack the thread, but when you mentioned eight species of upland birds I started trying to come up with all of them. I'm coming up a couple short.
I've got: Pheasants
Huns
Ruffed grouse
Dusky (Blue) grouse
Spruce grouse
Mourning Doves
What am I missing? Snipe? I didn't think there would be Sharptails or Quail up there. I'm stumped.
The other MT UGB species with hunting seasons are:
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Wild Turkeys
Sage Grouse
Chukar Partridge
Franklin's Grouse
All of them except chukar can be found within 50 miles of the tri-county region where Mule Deer and I hunt. BTW, mourning doves aren't considered an UGB species in MT.
https://fwp.mt.gov/hunt/regulations/upland-game-bird Also, there are two species of quail in MT (Gambel's and California) that are found mostly west of the Continental Divide. FWP considers them illegally introduced exotics that can be hunted and killed at any time without a license. But while alive those quail can not legally be possessed, bought, sold or exchanged, or transported within the state of MT.
