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Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips
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
.