General

California Quail: Medium-sized quail with distinctive, curled black head plume and white-bordered black throat. Breast is gray and belly is sharply scaled. Flanks are brown with white streaks and back is olive-brown. Female and juvenile are smaller, with brown plume, and without black throat.

Range and Habitat

California Quail: Originally resident from southern Oregon south to Baja California, but introduced to the Pacific northwest, Idaho, and other inland states. Preferred habitats include brushy chaparral foothills, live oak canyons, and adjacent deserts and suburbs.

Breeding and Nesting

California Quail: Twelve to sixteen buff to yellow eggs, with large blotches of brown gray, are laid in a shallow ground depression lined with grass. Incubation ranges from 18 to 23 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

California Quail: Eats seeds from broad-leafed plants, such as Lupinus, Lotus, Erodium, Trifolium, Medicago, and Amsinckia; also feeds on fruits, berries, and insects; forages on the ground.

Readily Eats

Berries, Cracked Corn, Millet

Vocalization

California Quail: Makes a loud distinctive "ka-kah-ko" or "chi-ca-go", with second note being highest.

Similar Species

California Quail: Gambel's Quail lacks scaled underparts, brown sides, and brown crown. Mountain Quail has gray-brown upperparts and two long, thin straight head plumes that appear as a single plume.