The California Quail is so seclusive and secretive in leaving and approaching their nests that relatively few nests have ever been found (Leopold 1977).
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
There are no negative impacts of California quail on humans.
California quail are sometimes kept as pets and are hunted as a source of food. (Leopold 1977).
Positive Impacts: pet trade ; food
The primary daily diet of California quailconsists of seeds from broad-leafed plants, such as Lupinus, Lotus, Erodium, Trifolium, Medicago, and Amsinckia. If available, they also eat fruits, berries, and insects(Leopold 1977).
Animal Foods: insects
Plant Foods: seeds, grains, and nuts; fruit
Primary Diet: herbivore (Granivore )
Western United States, British Columbia, Chile, and New Zealand: The California Quail Callipepla californica can be found in the Pacific coast region of the United States. Its original range stretched from Baja California to a small portion of Western Nevada and the southern counties of Oregon. The California Quail is kept as a pet and is favored as a game bird. Because of this, the California Quail has been successfully introduced to other regions of the United States such as Northern Nevada, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Utah. It has also been introduced in Chile, New Zealand, and British Columbia (National Geographic: Field Guide to the Birds of North America 1999;Leopold 1977).
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Introduced , Native ); neotropical (Introduced ); australian (Introduced )
California quail are most commonly found in the west coast regions of the United States. California quail prefer living in open woodlands, bushy foothills, valleys with streams, and suburbs. They can also live in brushland and agricultural land (National Geographic 1999; Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 2).
Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; chaparral ; forest ; scrub forest
Other Habitat Features: suburban ; riparian
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 83 months.
Average weight of California quail is between 150.6 g to 189.5 g (5 - 7 oz.). Males are slightly heavier. An adult California quail grows to be 25 cm (9.8 in) in length. They have a distinctive black and white pattern on the face and belly has black and brown feather tips which makes the California quail look like it has scaled underparts. The overall color is blue-grey and brown. The crown is chestnut colored with streaking along the sides. California quail have black bills and grey legs. Sexes are dimorphic. The males have a black throat and the females have more of a greyish colored throat with black streaks. California quail can be identified by their prominent teardrop-shaped plume or a double plume on the forehead. Immature California quail have general coloration of mostly greys and browns which gives it a cryptic look (National Geographic 1999;World Book 2000;Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 2).
Range mass: 150.6 to 189.5 g.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: male larger; sexes colored or patterned differently; ornamentation
When the winter days start to lengthen, the pituitary glands of California quail start to release gonadotropic hormones. The blood stream then carries these hormones to the gonads, which initiates the growth and development of ovaries and testes. The most typical time for egg fertilization is during May, June, and July. These three months are when viable sperm is at its highest concentration in males. Females lay their eggs between May and June. If California quail do not successfully nest on their first attempt, they then make a second nesting attempt later in the summer. Their nests are made in shallow scrapes in the ground lined with grass. They can lay from 6 to 28 eggs, with 13 to 17 eggs being the average. Eggs are pointed ovals which measure on average 31.6 by 24.1 mm (1.24 by .95 in). The eggs are creamy white in color with light golden brown spots.
Breeding interval: Breeding occurs once yearly.
Breeding season: Breeding occurs between May and July.
Range eggs per season: 6 to 28.
Range time to hatching: 22 to 23 days.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); oviparous
Average eggs per season: 14.
Females incubate the eggs with the male close at hand to tend to her. Incubation lasts 22 to 23 days. In the event of the female's death, the male may assume incubation duties. Chicks hatch synchronously and begin running about within an hour of hatching (precocial) (Leopold 1977;Grizmek's Animal Encyclopedia 1972).
Parental Investment: precocial ; male parental care ; female parental care
The California quail (Callipepla californica), 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 or plume, 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.[2] It was selected as the state bird of California in 1931.[3]
There are seven recognized subspecies:
The California quail is a highly sociable bird that often gathers in small flocks known as "coveys". One of their daily communal activities is a dust bath. A group of quail will select an area where the ground has been newly turned or is soft, and using their underbellies, will burrow downward into the soil some one to two inches. They then wriggle about in the indentations they have created, flapping their wings and ruffling their feathers, causing dust to rise in the air. They seem to prefer sunny places in which to create these dust baths. An ornithologist is able to detect the presence of quail in an area by spotting the circular indentations left behind in the soft dirt, some 7–15 cm (2.8–5.9 in) in diameter.
They are year-round residents. Although this bird coexists well at the edges of urban areas, it is declining in some areas as human populations increase. They were originally found mainly in the southwestern United States but they have been introduced into other areas including British Columbia, Hawaii, Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, South Africa, New Zealand, and to Norfolk Island and King Island in Australia.[4] These birds forage on the ground, often scratching at the soil. They can sometimes be seen feeding at the sides of roads. Their diet consists mainly of seeds and leaves, but they also eat some berries and insects; for example, Toyon berries are a common food source.[5] If startled, these birds explode into short rapid flight, called "flushing". Given a choice, they will normally escape on foot.[6]
Their breeding habitat is shrubby areas and open woodlands in western North America. The nest is a shallow scrape lined with vegetation on the ground beneath a shrub or other cover. The female usually lays approximately 12 eggs. Once hatched, the young associate with both adults. Often, families group together, into multifamily "communal broods" which include at least two females, multiple males and many offspring. Males associated with families are not always the genetic fathers. In good years, females will lay more than one clutch, leaving the hatched young with the associated male and laying a new clutch, often with a different associated male.
They have a variety of vocalizations including the social "chicago" call, contact "pips" and warning "pips". During the breeding season, males utter the agonistic "squill" and will often interrupt their social mate's "chicago" call with a "squill," a possible form of antiphonal calling.
The California quail is the state bird of California. It was established as the state bird in 1932.[7]
The quail population has fluctuated significantly throughout California. Once plentiful in San Francisco, by 2017 only one California quail remained in the city. Local birders named the male bird Ishi after the last known member of California's Native American Yahi tribe.[8] Quail were likely introduced to Santa Catalina Island, in Los Angeles county about 12,000 years ago by Native Americans, and there is a minimal genetic difference between the island and mainland quail populations.[9]
A pair introduced in New Zealand
Male
Female and young chick
Egg – Muséum de Toulouse
The California quail (Callipepla californica), 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 or plume, 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.
