| Window | Dates | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Season | 04 DEC 2026 – 07 FEB 2027 | 66d |
As publishedDec 4, 2026-Feb 7, 2027 (statewide, including San Bernardino NWR, excluding all other NWRs)
Distinct species (Cyrtonyx montezumae) regulated in the same Commission Order 16 as Gambel's/scaled/California quail but with its own later-opening season. Counts toward the shared 15/day aggregate quail bag limit, max 8 Mearns'/day; possession may include up to 24 Mearns' of the 45 aggregate possession limit.
AZGFD's own Small Game Forecast gives Montezuma (Mearns') quail the most specific habitat-type region of any Arizona quail species: "the oak and mesquite grassland-woodlands of the southeastern part of the state, south of Tucson." That habitat type corresponds to the Sky Island mountain ranges of southeastern Arizona -- the isolated, oak-forested peaks rising out of the surrounding desert grassland -- rather than the low desert basins Gambel's quail occupies or the flatter Chihuahuan grassland valleys scaled quail favors. The 2025-26 forecast also flagged this as the species hit hardest by drought that year, with numbers "expected to be extremely low" and the agency explicitly asking hunters to voluntarily restrain harvest -- a conservation-status note distinct from the range claim itself.
Provisional: The Arizona Game and Fish Department's own Quail Outlook for 2026 hasn't published yet (expected mid-October; Mearns season opens Dec. 4). Mearns numbers are improving but still well below average. AZGFD's statewide small game program manager expects Mearns "to be well below average this year, but certainly improved over the last two seasons," as long as the rain continues and chicks avoid extreme heat. Quail Forever's 2026 forecast agrees: numbers should be better than last year's, but with low adult carryover, populations may not reach average. A retired AZGFD small game program manager calls this year's monsoon decent with a good hatch, but says it will take more good monsoon seasons for these birds to rebound. Mearns live in the oak woodlands of southern Arizona, where drought has cost some areas a significant portion of their canopy cover and conditions stayed in dry to moderate drought through August, though the Mearns grasslands there have greened up. Hunters in Game Management Units 36A-C should identify birds carefully to avoid shooting ESA-protected masked bobwhites.
A decent monsoon and a good hatch have improved Mearns numbers over the last two seasons, from a very low base. Thin adult carryover and long-term drought damage to southern oak woodland habitat keep the population well below average.
Join the waitlist and tell us what you’re working on — the planner reads it first once your access opens.
Free, invite-gated, unsubscribe anytime. See what it returns