We know who you are. You have a spring in your step and a sparkle in your eye. Your most prized possession is a beat-up Remington 870 or a double gun showing its wear at the muzzle and the foregrip.

Dave Jones bagged this brace of chukar. These desert birds feed downhill in the mornings and then back uphill in the afternoons. Photo by Gary Lewis.

There is dog hair on the seat of your truck, a worn-out map and a half-used box of No. 6s on the floorboard. For you, the year need only be divided into two parts: chukar season and dog training.

If you are one of those people who can't get enough, if your eyes go glassy when someone mentions rimrock and cheatgrass in the same sentence, then you know there is something magical about chukar: in the fog that hangs over the mountain, or a hunter and dog working the skyline.

But what is the reality behind the chukar's magic, behind that siren call from the rimrock? What is it about its habits and habitat, about the weather and pressure and predation that make our quarry one of the most prized of upland game birds?

Chukar don't live in hospitable habitats. In fact, the more rugged and desolate, the better they like it.

If the terrain grows nothing but sagebrush, bunchgrass, cheatgrass and softball-sized rocks, it's just about perfect.

THE EARLY BIRDS
Chukar thrive in and around sagebrush habitats, but sage doesn't account for much of a chukar's diet. This Eurasian transplant makes most of its living on another transplant from the same region: cheatgrass. Early in the season, where you find the best cheat, you will find birds.

But cheatgrass is only part of a chukar's diet. In one study, 91 different foods were found in the crops of 87 chukar. Russian thistle, grasses, dandelions, wheat, fruits and seeds were well represented. About 10 percent of the diet included insects.

The covey thrives in a dry environment, as long as there is water nearby. Early in the season, the birds are as predictable as they get, feeding down a slope to water in the morning and again in the evening.

Prospect for tracks in dried mud near a waterhole. Look for fresh droppings. Watch for signs of dusting where the birds make hollow depressions in loose, sandy soil. Find the feed and follow the chow line. It might be in the green fringe along a creek or around a stock tank.

Early in the season, you may find chukar anywhere, from the flats to the tops of the cliffs, but certain types of habitat hold more birds. Look for features that seem out of place: where green vegetation shows against a dry brown hillside, where a bump in the ground provides shelter from the wind, or a rocky outcropping on an otherwise bare hill.

Chukar start feeling the pressure on opening day, but their patterns don't change much until after the first heavy precipitation.

WHEN THE RAIN COMES
When the water is easy to find in the hollow of a rock and on the stems of grass, chukar don't have to feed all the way down to the river. When it rains in November and December, the birds are able to move farther afield on their search for groceries.

Tiny shoots of green grass push up through the soil. Brown hillsides take on a verdant hue. The green-up draws birds into smaller coveys and disperses them across a wider range. They feed on green grasses and broadleaf plants.

Now is the time of year when a hunter is most likely to find chukar on flat ground. Grassy mesas and hilltops may hold scattered coveys, at least until hunting pressure pushes them back down into the canyons.

Take a look at your favorite habitat with a map. Studies suggest that east-facing terrain holds the most promise. One researcher found that almost 90 percent of chukar nests occurred on southeast slopes. And this warmer location most often coincided with the best chukar feed.