- Callipepla californica
Identification
150.6 g to 189.5 g (5 - 7 oz.) 25 cm (9.8 in) Males slightly heavier
- Mainly blue-grey and brown plumage
- Distinctive black and white face pattern
- Black and brown feather tips on belly giving a scaly appearance
- Chestnut crown
- Streaked flanks
- Black bill
- Grey legs
Sexes are dimorphic
Males have a black throat; females a greyish throat with black streaks
- Prominent teardrop-shaped plume or a double plume coming off its forehead
Immature: mostly greys and browns which gives it a cryptic look
Distribution
Western North America from extreme southwest British Columbia south through Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and California to Baja California, Mexico.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Eight subspecies are recognized[1]:
- C. c. californica in Mexico and Oregon
- C. c. orecta in California and Oregon
- C. c. brunnescens in California and Oregon
- C. c. catalinensis in Santa Catalina region, California
- C. c. canfieldae in Owen Valley, California
- C. c. plumbea in Mexico and California
- C. c. achrustera in southern Baja, Mexico
- C. c. decolorata in Baja, Mexico
Habitat
Dense vegetation near water at low altitudes.
Replaced in montane forest by the Mountain Quail and in desert by the Gambel's Quail.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet includes seeds, leaves, berries and insects.
Breeding
The nest is a shallow scrape lined with vegetation. The clutch consists of up to 12 eggs.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- summagallicana
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) California Quail. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/California_Quail
External Links
