California Quail

Callipepla californicaOrder: GALLIFORMES Family: Quails (Odontophoridae)

Codes: Common Name: CAQU Scientific Name: CALCAL ITIS Taxonomic No.: 175876

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Overview

California Quail: Medium quail with distinctive, curled black head plume and white-bordered black throat. Breast is gray and belly is sharply scaled. The flanks are brown with white streaks and back is olive-brown. Legs and feet are gray. Alternates several stiff, rapid wing beats with short glides.

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.

Topo Map: Perching-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"chi-ca-go", "ka-kah-ko"

Interesting Facts

Multiple 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.

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

It is the state bird of California.

A group of quails has many collective nouns, including a "battery", "drift", "flush", "rout", and "shake" of quails.

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Gary Owen Dick

Related Birds

Chukar
Gambel's Quail
Montezuma Quail
Mountain Quail
Northern Bobwhite
Scaled Quail

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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.

California Quail

● Song: "chi-ca-go", "ka-kah-ko"

● Foraging & 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.

● Breeding & 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.

● 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.

Flight Pattern

Explosive burst of speed over short distances.

● Range & 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.

^BreedingPolygamous

^Population

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight8.2 Ounces

Perching-like Body

Belly

The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Plumes

Large, conspicuous, showy feathers.

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