Bird name:

Scaled Quail

Callipepla squamata

Order

GALLIFORMES

Family

Quails (Odontophoridae)

Code 4

SCQU

Code 6

CALSQU

ITIS

175872

Breeding Location:

Scrub vegetation areas, Grasslands, open, Thorny shrubs

Breeding Type:

Monogamous

Breeding Population:

Common but local

Egg Color:

White with light brown spots

Number of Eggs:

9 - 16

Incubation Days:

21 - 23

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Grass, leaves.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

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General

Scaled Quail: Large quail known as the "cottontop," due to its white-tipped gray crest; nape, neck and underparts have dark-edged gray and buff feathers creating a distinctly scaled look. Upperparts are plain gray with a white stripe at base of wings; sides are gray with short white stripes. Female is similar but has a buff-tipped gray crest that is smaller, and is browner overall. Juvenile is more mottled above, and has less scaling.

Range and Habitat

Scaled Quail: Found primarily in New Mexico, western Texas, and portions of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. Inhabits open landscapes, desert grassland, thorn-scrub and savanna. Populations have declined since the 1940's, perhaps due to habitat loss.

Breeding and Nesting

Scaled Quail: Monogamous. Nest is a depression lined with grass and leaves where female lays nine to sixteen white eggs with light brown spots. Female incubates for 21 to 23 days, male incubates rarely. Precocial young leave nest soon after hatching, stay with adults until the following spring. Often will not breed in dry years, or away from open water sources.

Foraging and Feeding

Scaled Quail: Consumes a variety of seeds. Takes more insects than other quail, usually on a seasonal basis. Readily takes food from backyard feeding stations where it prefers millet, cracked corn, and safflower.

Readily Eats

Cracked Corn, Safflower, Millet

Vocalization

Scaled Quail: Song a loud, high pitched "QWEUR" or "QUEESH" heard in the spring. Call is a softer clucking "chur-chur", or "chuch'er" heard year round.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Crest

Tufts of feathers on the head of the bird.

Nape

Also called the hindneck or collar, it is the back of the neck where the head joins the body.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America