iN VIDEO: Chubby chukars huddle for warmth in Kamloops

Arguably one of the most adorable birds to see in the Kamloops area and Okanagan Valley are the chukars that run along the ground in large groups in forests and residential areas.

Members of the partridge family, the game birds are plump with short legs and small round heads, and tend to run instead of fly, according to All About Birds.

The highly sociable birds make gurgling sounds and cackling calls, and when frightened will burst into the air squealing.

Kamloops resident, and owner of Wild Birds Unlimited, Kurtis Huston captured footage of several chukars huddling for warmth on a cold morning in his neighbourhood earlier this week.

On his Instagram post, the bird expert said the behaviour of pressing tightly together is a survival strategy that saves energy and reduces heat loss during cold spells. The butterballs shield one another from wind, reduce exposed surface area and share body heat.

“Winter is the most demanding season a bird will face,” Huston’s post reads. “Food is harder to find, daylight is short, and every unnecessary movement comes with an energy cost. Behaviours like this allow birds to conserve what little energy they have until conditions improve and the sun begins to help again.”

Chukars were introduced to BC in the mid-1900s for hunting purposes and are originally from southeastern Europe, northern India, China and Mongolia, according to the University of British Columbia. In BC, they are most commonly found on dry, steep hillsides south of Okanagan Falls in the Okanagan Valley and from the Kamloops area south and west to Lytton.

Like most non-migratory birds, chukars benefit from seed feeders in the winter, particularly when snow covers the majority of their natural food.

Go here to see more bird videos and educational birding tips on Huston’s Instagram.