| Window | Dates | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Season | 15 NOV 2026 – 15 FEB 2027 | 93d |
As publishedNov 15, 2026 – Feb 15, 2027
NM regulates it as a distinct quail type with its own sub-cap nested inside the overall aggregate quail bag limit (Scaled/Gambel's/Bobwhite/Montezuma share one season and one 15/day-30-possession ceiling, but no more than 5 of the 15 daily / 10 of the 30 in possession may be Montezuma quail). HIP not required.
Montezuma quail is New Mexico's mountain quail, confined to pine-oak woodland habitat in the state's south-central and southwestern high country — the sharpest habitat-type distinction among NM's four quail species (the other three are lowland/plains species). NMDGF's own habitat description (steep slopes, oak-scrub, grass understory) is sharpened by an NMDGF magazine feature naming three specific mountain ranges where the species was recently reported. NMDGF's own distribution map shows those three ranges falling into two geographically disconnected masses — southwestern (San Mateo) and south-central (Sacramento/Capitan) — not one, so the region-naming pass's single bundled region is split accordingly below.
Provisional: NMDGF hasn't published its own 2026 quail survey results. Quail Forever's 2026 forecast calls Mearns prospects "slightly below average," with prior years of low reproduction still weighing on birds in the south and west. 2025 was a poor year, with Mearns harvest significantly lower than in 2024. NMDGF's own resident game bird biologist expects slightly better Mearns production than 2025 and says habitat is looking better than last year, but cautions "...it's still not a great year." Mearns live in the southwest and south-central mountains, and the southwest stayed dry apart from some January and February moisture. Heat, with many days over 100 degrees, was the main risk to broods.
A slight production gain over a poor 2025, per NMDGF's own biologist, against the lingering effect of several years of low reproduction.
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