BirdUp · Species
California Quail
Callipepla californica(Shaw, 1798)
- Order
- GALLIFORMES
- Family
- Odontophoridae
- Genus
- Callipepla
At a glance
The California Quail is a medium-sized bird, about 25 cm long, listed as Least Concern. It can be seen year-round.
- Size
- 25 cm
- Conservation status
- Least Concern
- Origin
- Introduced
- Best seen
- Year-round
- Commonness
- Very common
01 · Identification
How to tell it apart
What does a California Quail look like?
The California Quail is a medium-sized bird, about 25 cm long and weighing 162–176 g.
The California quail, also known as the California valley quail or Valley quail, is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. These birds have a curving crest, plume or topknot made of six feathers, that droops forward: black in males and brown in females; the flanks are brown with white streaks. Males have a dark brown cap and a black face with a brown back, a grey-blue chest and a light brown belly. Females and immature birds are mainly grey-brown with a light-colored belly. Their closest relative is Gambel's quail, which has a more southerly distribution and a longer crest at 2.5 in (6.4 cm), a brighter head and lacks the scaly appearance of the California quail. The two species separated about 1–2 million years ago, during the Late Pliocene or Early Pleistocene. It was selected as the state bird of California in 1931.
Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
03 · When
When to look
When can you see a California Quail?
The California Quail is present across its Australian range year-round, so it can be seen in any month.
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
05 · Behaviour
Habits and haunts
What does a California Quail eat?
The California Quail feeds on seeds, usually foraging in pairs or flocks.
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