Gambel's Quail (Callipepla gambelii), male and female, family Odontophoridae, order Galliformes, western USA

photograph by Rex Short

[1997/11056] California quail - Callipepla californica

Order: Galliformes Family: Odontophoridae (new world quail)

Photo credit: Drew Beamer via Macaulay Library

A male California quail (Callipepla californica) in Anza Borrego Desert State Park, California

by Robyn Waayers

BOTD: Scaled Quail

Photo: Grigory Heaton

"Dry southwestern grasslands provide a home for this blue-gray quail. Coveys of Scaled Quail travel about on foot; even when disturbed, they tend to run rather than flying. In the concealing cover of the short grass they can be inconspicuous except in spring, when males often call from atop fenceposts or exposed rocks. At night, coveys of Scaled Quail roost on the ground in dense low growth."

- Audubon Field Guide

Gambel's quails (Callipepla gambelii)

Gambel’s quail / codorniz de Gambel (Callipepla gambelii).

At Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary, Cochise County, Arizona. 

^image: By ALAN SCHMIERER - https://www.flickr.com/photos/sloalan/16935159393/, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57031708

Scaled Quail (Callipepla squamata)

The Scaled Quail, getting its wonderfully rhyming name from the scale-like feather patterns, is found in arid regions from the Southwestern United States to Central Mexico. Scaled Quails are opportunistic feeders and consume more grass seeds than other quail species. When they are disturbed, they hide in clumps of grass or in snakeweed.

Critter fact #6:

The California Quail (Callipepla californica) is the national bird of Molossia, and the state bird of California. The scale-like pattern on its underparts distinguishes it from the similar Gambel's Quail (C. gambelii), and the pattern being restricted to the underparts distinguishes it from the Scaled Quail (Callipepla squamata).

A new variant has been added!

California Quail (Callipepla californica) © Mammuthuss

It hatches from audible, black, brown, fat, frequent, long, native, new, obvious, open, rotund, rusty, similar, small, western, and white eggs.

squawkoverflow - the ultimate bird collecting game          🥚 hatch    ❤️ collect     🤝 connect

Gambel's quail at the Bosque del Apache National Wildife Refuge in New Mexico, USA. May 2023

California Quail (Callipepla californica), male, family Odontophoridae, SW United States

photograph by Maren Semler

California Quail (Callipepla californica)

© Michel Gosselin (MCN)

CODORNIZ DE CALIFORNIA

CALLIPEPLA CALIFORMICA NOMBRE CIENTÍFICO: CALLIPEPLA CALIFORMICA LONGITUD: 25 CM. PESO: 175 GRAMOS. PLUMAJE: DIFERENTE SEGÚN EL SEXO. MIGRACIÓN: NO MIGRATORIO. ESTADO: COMÚN. UBICACIÓN: SUR, OESTE DE CANADÁ, OESTE DE ESTADOS UNIDOS, NOROESTE DE MÉXICO.. LAS CARACTERÍSTICAS DISTINTIVAS DE ESTA ELEGANTE AVE DE CAZA SON UNA CRESTA LARGA, NEGRA Y EN FORMA DE LÁGRIMA; PLUMAS NEGRAS Y BLANCAS DE LA…

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BOTD: California Quail

Photo: Mick Thompson

"This sharply-marked bird with the curving topknot is common along the California coast and in a few other areas of the west. It has adapted rather well to the increasing human population, and is often found around well-wooded suburbs and even large city parks. California Quail live in coveys at most seasons, and are often seen strutting across clearings, nodding their heads at each step. If disturbed, they may burst into fast low flight on whirring wings."

- Audubon Field Guide