California Quail

Callipepla californica

Order GALLIFORMES - Family ODONTOPHORIDAE

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

A common bird of the chaparral and other western brushy areas, the California Quail is tolerant of people. It is common in parks and suburban areas.

Cool Facts

• The topknot looks like a single feather, but it is actually a cluster of six overlapping plumes.

• The California Quail digests vegetation with the help of protozoans in its intestine. Chicks acquire the protozoans by pecking at the feces of adults.

• Several California Quail broods may mix after hatching and are attended by all of the parents of those broods. Adults that engage in communal brooding live longer than adults that do not.

• Mated pairs call antiphonally: they alternate calls and fit them into a specific pattern.

• Despite living in arid environments, the California Quail needs drinking water during periods of sustained heat. During cooler weather, it can get enough moisture from eating insects and succulent vegetation.

Description

• Size: 24-27 cm (9-11 in)
• Wingspan: 32-37 cm (13-15 in)
• Weight: 140-230 g (4.94-8.12 ounces)

• Medium-sized quail.
• Forward-facing plume on top of head (topknot).
• Belly scaled with buff and black.

• Back and chest gray.
• Black and white scaling on back and sides of neck.
• Sides have white streaks.

Sex Differences

Male more boldly patterned.

Male

Black face bordered by white eyestripe and white line around bib. Forehead buffy-yellow. Crown and nape brown. Large, comma shaped topknot. Belly has black and buff scaling, with a central chestnut patch.

Female

Topknot small. Face gray. Belly scaling without chestnut patch.

Immature

Juvenile similar to adult female, but topknot shorter and browner.

Similar Species

• Gambel's Quail similar, but has bold chestnut on the sides, a black patch on the belly, and lacks scaling on the belly and white and black markings on neck.

Sound

Call a loud "cu-Ca-cow."

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Resident from southern British Columbia southward through Baja California, with some eastward to western Montana, Utah, and Arizona. Introduced in Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Corsica, Argentina, and Chile.

Habitat

Found in chaparral, sagebrush scrub, grassland oak, and foothill woodlands.

Food

Seeds, leaves, flowers, and insects.

Behavior

Foraging

Forages on ground. Scratches ground for seeds. Feeds in small flocks (coveys).

Other Behavior

Forms flocks (coveys) in the nonbreeding season, with up to 73 birds in one covey.

Reproduction

Nest Type

A depression in the ground. Lined with grass and weed stems.

Egg Description

White with brown splotches.

Clutch Size

Usually 1-28 eggs.

Condition at Hatching

Downy and able to follow parents.

Conservation Status

Not threatened or endangered in any part of its range.

Other Names

Colin de Californie (French)
Codorniz californiana (Spanish)
California Partridge, Valley Quail, Crested Quail, Topknot Quail (English)

Sources used to construct this page:

Calkins, J. D., J. C. Hagelin, and D.F. Lott. 1999. California Quail (Callipepla californica). In The Birds of North America, No. 473 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.