Check out this chukar — a rare game bird — spotted in Calgary

An unusual bird photographed by a southwest Calgary resident this week is a rare chukar, according to an avian expert.

"Well this is an interesting and odd bird," Birds of Alberta author Chris Fisher said in an email, after reviewing the images.

Chukars are a type of partridge. They have stripes on their sides and a black band of feathers that runs over their faces and around their eyes, giving them a distinct look in a city known for its magpies.

Native to Eurasia, chukars have been introduced to North America and have succeeded in setting up sustainable populations in the western United States and some parts of British Columbia, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

It's uncommon to see them in Calgary, although this is not the first time one has been spotted here. Another was photographed in the city in 2016.

Fisher said chukars are brought to Alberta as game birds.

"These birds have been raised on farms for decades — only to end up on the dinner table or on the unfortunate end of a hunting trip," he said.

"They've been released by breeders (not yet by the Alberta government) or escaped from farms for a while now. It does seem that some are surviving and maybe soon to be reproducing and setting up a viable population."

He said chukar sightings are reported "numerous times a year" in the north Calgary and Airdrie areas, and he suspects those all might arise from the same source farm.

"What makes it interesting," he added, "is that it is probably on the verge of being recognized as a regular member of the Alberta bird community."